In Europe, heart attacks dip by 10% after smoking ban.

In Europe, heart attacks dip by 10% after smoking ban 

Jonathan Leake  | Times of India Bangalore | September 14 2009

.

The ban on public smoking has caused a fall in heart attack rates of 10%, researchers have found.
Researchers commissioned by the British government have found a far sharper fall than they expected in the number of heart attacks across England in the year after the ban was imposed in July 2007.
In Scotland, where the ban was imposed a year earlier, heart attack rates have fallen by 14% because of the ban. The success of the public smoking ban is emerging as one of the most significant improvements in public health that UK has seen, even measured by heart attack rates alone.
Over time the ban should bring more benefits by cutting cancer and chronic pulmonary disease killers also caused by smoking. We are amazed by just how big and how rapid (the benefits) are, said John Britton, director of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at Nottingham University.
The research into heart attack rates in England is being led by Anna Gilmore of Bath University . There is already overwhelming evidence that reducing peoples exposure to cigarette smoke reduces hospital admissions due to heart attacks , she said.
Ellen Mason, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: Exposure to cigarette smoke induces rapid changes in blood chemistry , making it more prone to clotting . In someone who has damaged arteries, smoke exposure can tip the balance and cause an attack.
Similar results were reported in western Europe after smoking bans. France had a 15% drop in emergency admissions for heart attacks after a year, while both Italy and Ireland had an 11% reduction . SUNDAY TIMES, LONDON

Soon, drug to wipe out bad memories.

Soon, drug to wipe out bad memories 

John Harlow  | Times of India Bangalore | September 14 2009

.

Scientists believe they could one day be able to create a drug to remove unhappy or embarrassing memories, from the death of a pet to childhood teasing or a failed love affair.
Research by Andreas Luthi, of the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland , has found that, after receiving treatment, laboratory animals stopped being scared of sounds associated with electric shocks, indicating the memories had been erased.
They had been given a drug that dissolves a sheath around the amygdala, an organ in the brain where mammals store memories of fear.
Joseph LeDoux of New York University said human brains had similar sheaths and that drug treatment and therapy could help human sufferers overwrite memories with cheerier thoughts.
A memory-cleansing pill formed the plot of the Oscarwinning film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in which Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey erase memories of their soured love affair.
Ashok Hegde, a neurologist at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, said mockery topped many peoples lists of the memories they want to erase. SUNDAY TIMES, LONDON

Living near noisy roads raises BP.

Living near noisy roads raises BP

September 11 2009, Times of India Bangalore

.

Individuals living near noisy roads are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure, says a new study. A team of researchers from Lund University Hospital, Sweden, investigated the association between living close to noisy roads and high blood pressure. We found that exposure above 60 decibels was associated with high blood pressure among the relatively young and middle-aged , an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke , lead researcher Theo Bodin said.

Smoking can help create stronger memories.

Smoking can help create stronger memories 

September 11 2009, Times of India Bangalore

.

Smoking is injurious to health, everyone knows. Yet, a new study has claimed that it can help create stronger memories. Researchers, led by Baylor College of Medicine, have carried out the study and found that remembering what happened the night before might be easier for smokers as compared to non-smokers . According to them, this is because nicotine, the addictive component in cigarettes, tricks the brain into creating links between smoking and a feeling of well-being . They said that events such a drinking alcohol, dining with friends or even driving home from work can act as cues that give people the urge to light up, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Painkillers can be addictive in just 3 days.

Painkillers can be addictive in just 3 days.

September 07, 2009, Times of India Bangalore 

.

London: Popular painkillers, which are routinely used to ease headaches, back problems and period pain, can cause addiction in just three days, the UK governments drug watchdog has warned. 

.
The drugs, which contain codeine and include brand names such as Nurofen Plus and Solpadeine Plus, are taken by millions of people. However, official figures have shown that tens of thousands of people have become dependent on the drugs, many accidentally , with women most at risk of developing an addiction. 

.
Growing concern about the spread of what experts describe as a hidden addiction , has led the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to announce a series of measures to counter the problem , reports the Telegraph.
The watchdog said that from next year all packets of the painkillers would carry a prominent label that read: Can cause addiction . For three days use only .
The pills will only be available in a maximum of 32 per packet without a prescription, instead of up to 100, and warnings will be repeated on leaflets inside.
Advertising will no longer state that the drugs are remedies for ailments such as coughs and colds; only that they can relieve acute and moderate pain.
The move follows a report in July by MPs on the all-party parliamentary group on drug misuse which highlighted the danger of the drugs. Official estimates state that 32,000 people are addicted to the painkillers but the MPs said that this was just the tip of the iceberg .
The drugs are particularly easy to abuse because they are available without a prescription, said experts. All contain codeine , an opiate related to heroin and morphine. After enjoying initial relief from pain, patients can find themselves taking pills in increasing numbers to gain the same effect.
There are examples of addicts taking up to 70 pills a day, putting them at risk of seriously damaging their health with complications such as stomach bleeding, liver problems, gallstones and depression. Users of codeine have said withdrawal symptoms include sweating, irritability, and nausea. AGENCIES

Worlds first cloned wolf dies.

Worlds first cloned wolf dies.

September 02 2009, Times of India Bangalore

.

A scientist in South Korea says one of the worlds first cloned wolves has died for unknown reasons. Seoul National University professor Shin Nam-sik says the wolf, named Snuwolf, was found dead at its zoo on Aug 26. Shin, who was involved in the project that produced the two first cloned wolves in 2005, said on Monday that autopsy results will be released in about a week. Shin said the other cloned wolf remains healthy. Scientists at Seoul National University also created the worlds first cloned dog earlier in 2005. Their canine cloning was confirmed as genuine, but the published human stem cell work of another cloning expert at the university, Hwang Woo-suk , was later revealed as fraudulent.

World’s coldest place discovered.

World’s coldest place discovered.

September 02 2009, Times of India Bangalore

 .

Washington: Researchers have found the ideal spot for an observatory. The search for the best spot has led to the discovery of what is thought to be the coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth a place where no human is thought to have ever set foot.
The untouched stretch of Antarctic terrain Ridge A is expected to yield images of the heavens three times sharper than any ever taken from the ground.

The team combined data from satellites, ground stations and climate models to assess factors that affect astronomy cloud cover, temperature , sky-brightness , water vapour, wind speeds and atmospheric turbulence.
The researchers pinpointed a site, known simply as Ridge A, that is 4,053m high up on the Antarctic Plateau. It is not only particularly remote but extremely cold and dry.

The study revealed that Ridge A has an average winter temperature of -70 degree Celsius and that the water content of the entire atmosphere there is sometimes less than the thickness of a human hair.
It is also extremely calm, which means that there is very little of the atmospheric turbulence elsewhere that makes stars appear to twinkle: Its so calm that theres almost no wind or weather there at all, says Will Saunders, of the Anglo-Australian Observatory and visiting professor to UNSW, who led the study.
The astronomical images taken at Ridge A should be at least three times sharper than at the best sites currently used by astronomers, says Saunders.

Because the sky there is so much darker and drier, it means that a modestly-sized telescope there would be as powerful as the largest telescopes anywhere else on Earth, the expert added.
The site is located within the Australian Antarctic Territory . AGENCIES