Ciggies ‘deaden’ smokers’ taste buds

October 9th, 2009 SYDNEY - Seeing cigarettes for sale weakens the smoker's resolve to quit by prompting him to puff within four hours, says a new research. Researchers from Macquarie University, led by Suzan Burton, associate professor, examined factors that lead to relapse among smokers, validating beliefs that tobacco displays discourage smokers from quitting.

September 30th, 2009 Starbucks rolls out Via instant coffee nationwideCaffeine addicts nationwide got first tastes of Starbucks Corp.'s newest offering as the coffee giant blanketed the nation with tens of thousands of free samples of its instant coffee called Via. The beverage, which comes in a long cylindrical plastic sleeve and dissolves in a cup of water, debuted nationwide Tuesday after months of preliminary sales in test markets.

September 16th, 2009 LONDON - An electronic nose foil some people's attempt to deceive their doctors by telling them that they are non-smokers, in order to get cheaper life insurance. Paul Thomas at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, has revealed that their invention is a tweaked form of a commercially available e-nose.

August 4th, 2009 LONDON - A cookbook that can enable one to taste a dish before it is made is among the winners of the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), which have just been announced. It has been designed by Scott Shim of Ohio State University and Xi Calvin Chen of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

July 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An Indian American researcher has found that the mechanism which helps detect bad tasting and potentially poisonous foods also protects lungs from harmful substances. Alok Shah, study co-author and doctoral researcher from the Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa (U-I), along with other scientists found why injured lungs are susceptible to further damage -- in them, the mechanism is damaged.

July 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Exposure to coal dust can increase the severity of emphysema in smokers and non-smokers alike, according to a new study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The findings of the study highlight a health problem related to a growing industry, as coal production has nearly doubled worldwide in the past 25 years.

July 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Advertisements that only mention taste and ignore other senses will be less effective, suggests a new study. Naturally, most food advertisements mention the taste of the food being marketed.

July 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Almost all food ads mention the taste of the food being marketed, however, a new study shows that tapping into other senses rather than just 'taste' can actually increase consumers' perceptions. Authors Ryan S.

June 19th, 2009 LONDON - Your birthplace not only decides your accent but also what you like to eat and drink, a new study has shown. If scientists from the University of Nottingham are to be believed, people's culinary preferences could be broken down like regional accents and are highly dependent on an area's history.

May 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The colour of your skin and nicotine dependence could be linked, according to latest research. Smokers with higher concentrations of melanin - the colouring pigment - in their skin and hair may be at an increased risk of nicotine dependence and related carcinogens than lighter skinned smokers.

May 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Previous studies have shown that smokers have less body fat as compared to non-smokers. Now, a new study by U.S.

April 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Smokers interested in quitting the habit can now get some serious help from their iPhones - a new free application of the smart phone provides a live quitline coach and uses live text to advice on how to kick the butt. Developed by The George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) and the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative (NTCC), "My QuitLine" app also provides evidence-based treatment for quitting.

April 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists from the Monell Center in the US have reported that the red panda is the first non-primate mammal to display a liking for the artificial sweetener aspartame. The research related sweet preferences to genetic analyses of sweet receptor structure in six related species.

March 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Kids' heightened liking for sweet-tasting foods is linked to their physical growth, according to a new study. The study has been conducted by researchers at the University of Washington and the Monell Center.

January 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Just seeing someone smoke aborts the smoker's resolve to kick the habit, according to new research. Brain scans taken during normal smoking activity and 24 hours after quitting show there is a marked increase in a particular kind of brain activity when quitters see photographs of people smoking.