Particles from car brakes can harm your lungs

November 20th, 2009 LONDON - Slamming on car brakes could cause lung damage to motorists and pedestrians, says a new study. The study, which involved lab tests, found that particles released by brake pads harm lung cells through a chemical process known as oxidative stress.

November 13th, 2009 FDA finds bits of steel, rubber in Genzyme drugsWASHINGTON — Federal health regulators have found tiny particles of trash in drugs made by biotechnology firm Genzyme. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that bits of steel, rubber and fiber found in vials of drugs used to treat rare enzyme disorders could cause serious adverse health effects for patients.

October 29th, 2009 LONDON - In what could come as a rude shock to many alcoholics and smokers, the British government's drug adviser has said that drugs like Ecstasy, LSD and cannabis are less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes. Criticising former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's decision to rate cannabis as a Class B drug, David Nutt, the chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, accused him of "distorting and devaluing" scientific research.

October 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - For the first time, a team of scientists in Canada have successfully used gene therapy to repair injured human donor lungs, making them potentially suitable for transplantation into patients. This technique could significantly expand the number of donor lungs by using organs that are currently discarded, and improve outcomes after transplantation, according to researchers at Toronto's McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University Health Network.

October 28th, 2009 Scientists patch damaged lungs for transplantingWASHINGTON — Call it a genetic patch job for worn lungs: Canadian researchers took donated lungs deemed too damaged to transplant and repaired them with outside-the-body gene therapy. It will take lots more research to see if the fix lasts, to find out if the lungs work as well back inside a body as they do inside a see-through life-support dome in the laboratory.

October 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Exposure to cigarette smoke might weaken immune cells' ability to remove bacterial infections from the lungs, specifically nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI), a pathogen often associated with respiratory infections and the progression of respiratory disease, says a new study. NTHI has been found to cause invasive diseases such as meningitis, sinusitis, pneumonia, and bronchitis.

October 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Are higher levels of exposure to pesticides to blame for the rising tide of suicides among farmers in poor countries? A new study seems to suggest so. The study was carried out by Robert Stewart from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, and scientists from Tongde Hospital in Zhejiang Province, China.

October 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Smarter inhaler design will enable more effective drug delivery to the lungs by minimising waste. Current designs deliver only 10 to 20 percent of asthma medications to the lungs.

October 21st, 2009 LONDON - A new study has revealed that air pollution can significantly increase the risk of memory problems in the elderly. German researchers have found that women who had lived near busy roads for at least 20 years were more likely to show signs of mild cognitive impairment, early memory problems that may lead to dementia.

October 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India, with over a billion population, has a huge market potential for nanomedicine, and nano drugs can improve the healthcare system in the country, experts said Thursday. "Nanotechnology has bright growth prospects in India and other third world countries.

October 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Excessive intake of Vitamin A can have a negative effect on the human body, a new study says. The research shows that Vitamin A plays a crucial role in energy production within cells but too much or too little of it can harm the system.

September 30th, 2009 LONDON - An autopsy that started in 1825 has finally reached a conclusion, determining that the cause of the death of an ancient Egyptian mummy was tuberculosis. The mummy, of a woman named 'Irtyersenu', who died in Thebes around 600 BC, aged about 50, was discovered by Dr Augustus Granville in 1825.

September 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Worried about dust from a nearby construction zone that could harm your family's health? A new tool could either confirm your suspicions or better yet, set your mind at rest. Eyal Ben-Dor, professor at Tel Aviv University (TAU) and his student Sandra Chudnovsky, have developed a sensor called 'Dust Alert' - the first of its kind - to help families and authorities monitor the quality of the air they breathe.

September 11th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists at Imperial College London have warned that pandemic swine flu can infect cells deeper in the lungs than seasonal flu can. They write in a research paper that this may help understand why people infected with the pandemic strain of swine-origin H1N1 influenza are more likely to suffer more severe symptoms than those infected with the seasonal strain of H1N1.

September 5th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Gujarat will set up state-of-the-art food and drug testing laboratories in Rajkot and Bhuj in the state's Saurashtra-Kutch region, Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas said Saturday. "The state already has a modern food and drug testing laboratory at Vadodara.