Pan-fried meat induces prostate cancer

 Red meats fried at high temperatures, especially in pans, could shoot up the risk of advanced prostate cancer by as much as 40 percent, says a study.

"We found that men who ate more than 1.5 servings of pan-fried red meat per week increased their risk of advanced prostate cancer by 30 percent," said research team leader Mariana Stern at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California.

"In addition, men who ate more than 2.5 servings of red meat cooked at high temperatures (per week) were 40 percent more likely to have advanced prostate cancer," added Stern, the journal Carcinogenesis reports.

The research is based on an analysis of data from nearly 2,000 men who took part in the California Collaborative Prostate Cancer Study, according to a Keck School statement.

Previous studies have stressed a link between diets high in red meat and risk of prostate cancer, but evidence is limited.

Attention to cooking methods of red meats, however, shows the risk of prostate cancer may be a result of potent chemical carcinogens formed when meats are cooked at high temperatures.

Harmless bug makes you suicidal

A seemingly harmless bug may be priming suicide bids by causing subtle changes in the brain.

New research adds to the growing work linking an infection caused by the Toxoplasma gondii parasite to suicide attempts, according to Michigan State University's Lena Brundin.

About 10-20 percent of people in the United States have T. gondii in their bodies, but in most it was thought to lie dormant, said Brundin, associate professor of experimental psychiatry at Michigan, The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry reports.

In fact, it appears the parasite can cause inflammation over time, which produces harmful metabolites that can damage brain cells, according to a Michigan statement.

"Previous research has found signs of inflammation in the brains of suicide victims and people battling depression, and there also are previous reports linking T. gondii to suicide attempts," she said.

"In our study, we found that if you are positive for the parasite, you are seven times more likely to attempt suicide."

The work by Brundin and colleagues is the first to measure scores on a suicide assessment scale from people infected with the parasite, some of whom had attempted suicide.

Simple test detects fake drugs in minutes

A simple 10-minute test that involves swiping a pill over chemically treated paper could detect fake drugs and slash the incidence of illness and deaths.

A team led by Toni Lo Barstis, chemistry professor, St Mary's College in Notre Dame University, has devised a new test for Panadol and other drugs, which takes less than 10 minutes. Testing suspect drugs may often take as much as three to six months as it is usually done in Europe or the US.

Problems have been documented in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Vietnam and Panama. Many of the deaths occur among people who unknowingly take fake antibiotics and anti-malaria drugs that lack the active ingredient to combat those diseases, according to a St Mary's statement.

Barstis' test consists of chemically treated business card-size paper. A person simply swipes the pill over the paper and dips it in water. Colour changes indicate suspicious ingredients. Barstis validated the test on 570 pills, including many with fake ingredients added by researchers. The college has applied for a patent for the test.

Panadol is one of multiple brand names used abroad for the pain-and-fever-reliever acetaminophen, most familiar in the US as Tylenol. Scientists emphasised that no such problem exists with Tylenol or other acetaminophen products marketed in the US.

However, Barstis said that counterfeit Panadol and other fake brand-name acetaminophen products are the tip of the iceberg in a wider problem of fake drugs sold in developing countries.

Juice from potato cures ulcers
Juice from the humble potato could treat gastric ulcers, thanks to its unique anti-bacterial properties, says a new research.

A Manchester University microbiology team now hopes the compound, dubbed 'potato juice' could go into production as a daily diet supplement. Inspiration came as one of the department's scientists tucked into a spud for Sunday lunch.

It led to the discovery of a key molecule which could both cure and prevent the bacteria that lives in the stomach and causes stomach ulcers and heartburn.

Uniquely, unlike with anti-biotics, the gut bug cannot develop resistance to the 'potato juice' which also does not cause any side-effects. Scientists even carried out the test on different types of potatoes -- discovering that Maris Piper and King Edward varieties worked the best.

The process to extract the as yet unnamed molecule has now been patented, with hopes it could one day be sold as a supplement similar to pro-biotic yoghurt drinks, the Daily Mail reported.

Ian Roberts, professor of microbiology at the Faculty of Life Sciences, who worked on the discovery, said: "When I first heard about the idea of using potatoes to treat stomach ulcers I have to admit I was a bit sceptical. But on another level I wasn't surprised - a lot of botanical products have very interesting compounds and we just have to find them."

"We see this 'potato juice' as a preventative measure to stop stomach ulcers developing that people would take as part of a healthy lifestyle. It could be a huge market if we can get it developed," added Roberts.

Mothers have sharper memories after childbirth

Childbirth seems to invest women with a sharper, improved memory. Mothers performed better in tests regarding the ability to perceive and remember information about their surroundings compared with those who didn't have children.

Melissa Santiago from Carlos Albizu University in Miami, US, who led the study, said the findings negate the belief that women experience a decline in memory and cognitive function after they have children. "You don't have to feel that because you have kids, your memory isn't the same," she said.

Previous studies on the topic have had mixed results: some showed motherhood hurts cognition, and others showed the opposite. Santiago analysed information from 35 first-time mothers whose children were aged 10 to 24 months, and 35 women who had never been pregnant.

To test such memory, the women were shown a paper containing six symbols for 10 seconds, and then asked to draw what they remembered. This task was repeated several times. The first time women were shown the paper, both groups remembered about the same amount, according to the Daily Mail.

On the second and third occasions, mothers performed better than those without children, indicating that the mothers garnered more information each time than the other women.

Later, the women were shown a variety of different symbols and asked to remember which ones were present on the earlier task. Again, the mothers displayed a better memory. In pregnancy, many physiological changes happen to the body, and previous research has suggested the brain even shrinks up to five percent.

It returns to its normal size six months after childbirth, and during this time of re-growth, the brain may re-map itself in a way that is responsible for the memory changes seen in the study, Santiago said.

These findings would be presented at a meeting of the American Psychological Association in the US.

Carbon monoxide's damaging role in heart rhythm found


The way that even low levels of carbon monoxide can be fatal, by disrupting the heart's rhythm, has been unravelled by researchers in Leeds.

They found that levels common in heavy traffic could affect the way the heart resets itself after every beat.
Their study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine showed a common angina drug may reverse the effect.

The British Heart Foundation said the research was a promising start.

Carbon monoxide is produced by faulty boilers, cigarettes and car exhausts.

It is deadly at high levels as it "shoulder-barges" oxygen out of the blood, meaning less is transported around the body. Carbon monoxide poisoning kills more than 50 people in the UK each year and many more around the world.

However, studies have suggested that even low levels, such as that found in built-up cities with lots of traffic, may also damage the heart.

The University of Leeds research team found that the gas kept sodium channels, which are important for controlling the heartbeat, open for longer.
Disrupting the sodium channels can disrupt the heart's rhythm, leading to cardiac arrhythmia, which can be fatal.

Solution
In collaboration with researchers in France they tested an angina drug - which also affects the sodium channels - on rats.

Prof Chris Peers, from the University of Leeds, told the BBC: "It was very exciting for us. When we monitored rats exposed to levels of carbon monoxide similar to heavy pollution, they had the same heart problems and we could reverse them.

"At the moment no one knows how to treat this. We're saying look there's a drug on the shelf that might be able to help.
"Of course it needs clinical trials, but we believe it is a great start."

Dr Helene Wilson, a research advisor at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study is a good example of research being used to better understand the underlying causes of an abnormal heart rhythm and in this case it has uncovered the ability of an old drug to perform a new trick.