General Health

Lancet (vol 369, p 1876) mentioned that folic acid supplements can reduce the risk of stroke by 30%. An increase in folic acid can mask a vitamin B12 deficiency which can be dangerous in the elderly. The studies, in which people aged around 60 received either placebo pills or daily folic acid supplements, followed participants for [...]

To: Manager of Public Places Scientific research about the harms of second-hand tobacco smoke has been accumulating for over 20 years. There is no doubt that breathing second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) is very dangerous to human health, causing cancer and many serious respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in children and adults, often leading to premature death. The World [...]

In Vietnam, an experiment has been conducted to use blood cells from two survived avian-flu patients to cure people of the infection. The keyword is to cure, instead of only reducing its severity. Antibodies made from the patients’ blood cells grown in the lab have cured mice infected with the H5N1 avian flu virus, suggesting [...]

Coffee is always the most controversial drink of our age :). Anyway, according to new research, men who drink four or more cups of coffee each day appear less likely to develop gout, the most prevalent type of inflammatory arthritis in men. In 1986, the research began by collecting information from 45,869 men aged between 40 [...]

CFIDS (chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome) refers to a set of various symptoms that vary from person to person in variable periods of time. A person with CFIDS feels weak, exhausted, and finds his/her abilities are severely reduced, even for non-demanding activities. The cause of CFIDS is not clearly known, although a relation to a [...]

As quoted by Reuters, Peramivir, a new anti-viral drug to treat both avian and human flu, will be tested across Asia next month. Developed by BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (USA), Peramivir has boosted the survival rates of mice and ferrets infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus. It is therefore expected as the next-line drug to fight [...]

March edition of Science&Vie explores the possibility of reducing the excessive impact of cholesterol. Cholesterol is a type of insoluble lipid found in the cell membranes of all body tissues, and is transported in the blood plasma. It is highly associated as the major cause of atherosclerosis, which could result in some fatalities, such as [...]