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Scientists revealed on Tuesday that they have been successful in transforming age-worn cells in people over 90 — including a centenarian — into rejuvenated stemcells that were “indistinguishable” from those found in embryos.

This technical feat opens a new path toward regenerative medicine, especially for the elderly, the researchers said.

From news.yahoo.com:

“This is a new paradigm for cell rejuvenation,” said Jean-Marc Lemaitre, a researcher at the Institute of Functional Genomics at the University of Montpellier and the main architect of the study.

“The age of cells is definitely not a barrier to reprogramming,” he told AFP by phone.

That human embryonic stem cells (ESC) can potentially become any type of cell in the body has long held out the tantalizing promise of diseased organs or tissue being repaired or replaced with healthy, lab-grown cells.

The technical feat was reported in the peer-reviewed journal Genes & Development.

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A part of the Titagarh Group, Kolkata-based Sourenee Leaves Pvt Ltd (SLPL), is planning to sell packaged Darjeeling teas in foreign markets like Europe and the US, as also in Canada, from next year.

The company has been selling organic tea in bulk since 2009 through tea auctions and private sales.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

‘The company has now embarked on expanding the sphere of activity from the traditional bulk sales with the launching of smaller unit packaged teas in cartons with leaf teas and tea bags to reach out directly to the consumers of quality Darjeeling teas. Right now we are making a foray into package teas in the domestic market,’ said Vinita Bajoria, a member of the promoter Titagarh Group, here Monday.

Bajoria said the company was likely to sell packaged teas to the consumers in the foreign markets from next year.

‘We are targeting next year to foray into tea tourism. We are planning to set up a hotel at the Sourenee Tea Estate (situated in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district). We are waiting for the tourism department’s clearance,’ Bajoria added.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that world has become more vulnerable to outbreaks of disease caused by contaminated food because of growing global trade.

Top WHO officials said investigating these outbreaks has also become more difficult because food could contain ingredients from around the world and is transported through a complex global supply chain.

From news.yahoo.com:

One challenge faced by governments worldwide is how to “reduce the health and economic consequences of food-borne diseases”, Chan said.

She cited an outbreak this year of a new killer E.coli strain, which infected almost 4,000 people and left 51 dead across Europe and caused massive losses to vegetable farmers.

European farm products such as tomatoes, lettuces, courgettes and sweet peppers were withdrawn from the market between late May and the end of June as a result of the disease, while Russia briefly banned EU vegetable imports.

“Outbreaks of food-borne disease have become an especially large menace in a world bound together by huge volumes of international trade and travel,” said WHO director-general Margaret Chan at a conference in Singapore on improving preparedness against global health threats.

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In this YouTube video, you will be accessing the benefits of flaxseed oil for women. The oil helps in reducing inflammation from arthritis and viewers can get advice from a licensed dietician in this free video on nutritional supplements.

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An enzyme, SGK1, which acts as a fertility switch could trip conception in women or cause a miscarriage depending on its high or low levels.

The findings may potentially open the way to newer treatments for these conditions and lead to better contraceptives.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

One in 100 women trying to conceive experience recurrent miscarriages, defined as the loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies.

Researchers from Imperial College London looked at tissue samples from the womb lining, donated by 106 women being treated for unexplained infertility or for recurrent miscarriages, the journal Nature Medicine reports.

The women with unexplained infertility had been trying to conceive for two years or more and the most common reasons for infertility had been ruled out, according to an Imperial College statement.

‘I can envisage that in the future, we might treat the womb lining by flushing it with drugs that block SGK1 before women undergo IVF,’ said Jan Brosens, professor who led the study at the Imperial College Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology.

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According to a US study, an herbal supplement (palmetto) that is widely sold in the United States and Europe to relieve urinary symptoms in men with an enlarged prostate has no benefit over a placebo.

“Astonishingly enough, there was not any measurable effect — either in benefits or in toxicity — with increasing doses of the supplement in comparison to placebo,” said co-author Claus Roehrborn, chairman of urology at University of Texas Southwestern.

From news.yahoo.com:

“These supplements are apparently not doing anything measurably above and beyond what we call the placebo effect,” said Roehrborn of the research in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Led by Michael Barry of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, researchers followed 379 men age 45 and older whose symptoms included difficulty emptying their bladders, weak and/or frequent urination.

As part of the randomized trial, some received saw palmetto extract — which comes from the berries of the saw palmetto dwarf plant tree — and others were given a sugar pill that smelled and tasted the same.

“None of them showed any effect whatsoever in contrast to placebo,” Dr. Roehrborn said. “These supplements cost about $30 or more a month, and they obviously don’t help.”

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According to a new study, the percentage of Americans of “normal weight” has slightly increased in the past year, but overweight and obese people still command a solid majority.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey found that 36.6 percent of Americans were of normal weight in the third quarter of 2011, compared with 35.6 percent a year ago.

From news.yahoo.com:

The survey found 35.8 percent of Americans to be overweight, compared with 36.0 percent a year ago, and 25.8 percent obese, down from 26.6 percent last year.

The study said it was not clear what caused the change, but said it could be due to the tough economy, with cash-strapped Americans choosing to eat in rather than eating at high-calorie restaurants.

A downward trend in obesity rates could also mean a drop in U.S. healthcare costs, the study said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated medical costs associated with obesity were $147 billion in 2008.

“Although the majority of Americans are still overweight or obese, it is an encouraging sign that obesity rates are trending downward in the U.S.,” the study said.

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The YouTube video suggests that many of the chronic degenerative diseases associated with old age can be delayed or prevented by having the right nutrition and lifestyle. This health video will surely ‘open’ eyes of many people and is a highly recommended viewing option.

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