Health news

• Psychology experts warn cigarettes contain 4,000 chemicals that effect the brain

  24-11-2016 23:01 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The effects of long-term tobacco smoking on other areas such as learning and memory are less well known - but serious, warn two Northumbria University psychology researchers.
  
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• Do YOU feel stressed out? Experts reveal 7 tips to stop anxiety from affecting your work 

  24-11-2016 23:01 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  From drink recommendations to anti-anxiety techniques, we have spoken to a group of experts for nerve-soothing lifestyle tips to help you stop sweating the small stuff.
  
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• Why the poor really are more poorly: Stress of struggling to get by affects your immune system say experts

  24-11-2016 21:39 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  According to a new study being on the bottom rung of the social ladder can alter the body’s immune system so it goes into overdrive and starts attacking the body by causing inflammation.
  
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• J&J makes takeover approach for Swiss drugmaker Actelion - Bloomberg

  24-11-2016 20:45
  (Reuters) - U.S. healthcare company Johnson & Johnson has approached Swiss biotechnology firm Actelion Ltd about a potential takeover, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people it said were familiar with the matter. The report said that deliberations are still at an early stage following Johnson & Johnson's initial offer, and Actelion is working with an adviser to explore options. Johnson & Johnson Chief Executive Alex Gorsky said earlier this year that the company was interested
  
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• Why cramming for exams never works: Brains 'panic' after last-minute revision and can't take in new information

  24-11-2016 20:12 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The study from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts found it is best to learn through practice tests to protect your brain from the effects of stress (stock image).
  
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• Being popular is GOOD for your health: Climbing the social ladder can strengthen the immune system

  24-11-2016 20:00 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  A team led by researchers at Duke University in North Carolina looked at the effects of pecking order on a group of female macaques, finding status changes affected their immune systems.
  
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• We are divided by more than north and south | Letters

  24-11-2016 19:57
  
  At the heart of Mike Harding’s letter (23 November) is a call for greater understanding of the needs and desires of diverse communities in our country. I am all for that. What a pity he boiled it down to a north-south divide. I too am a lifelong guardian reader (64 years) and I have a day job as a children’s author. Over the past 20 years I have visited hundreds of schools and communities up and down the country. My list of communities where I saw need and neglect would include
  
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• Man who caught leprosy from an armadillo in Florida describes agonizing ordeal

  24-11-2016 19:31 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Mel Riser, who lives with his wife and children in Austin, Texas, lost his ability to walk and see after becoming infected with the disease.
  
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• Andrew Lansley chides chancellor over lack of NHS and social care funding

  24-11-2016 19:28
  
  Former health secretary ‘disappointed’ the autumn statement failed to provide more money to services struggling to copeThe former health secretary Andrew Lansley has joined MPs from across the political spectrum in criticising the autumn statement for its lack of extra funding for the NHS and social care.Lansley, who is now a peer, said he was disappointed there was not extra cash for the health service, which is under increasing pressure because adult social care budgets have been c
  
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• Plus-sized fashion blogger Cynthia Ramsay Noel reveals how she overcame anorexia

  24-11-2016 19:04 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  A Canadian fashion blogger Cynthia Ramsay Noel, 34, who weighs 308lbs (22st) and who who was once anorexic after suffering bullying as a teenager has revealed she still faces abuse online.
  
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• Can YOU stretch your stomach to fit in 6,000 calories at Thanksgiving dinner? 

  24-11-2016 19:04 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  According to Dr Marc Levine, a gastrointestinal radiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, our stomachs can have extraordinary flexibility - if we train them.
  
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• Superbug breakthrough: Predatory bacteria could fight lethal infections such as MRSA

  24-11-2016 18:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A FORM of predatory bacteria could be used as a new weapon in the fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs, UK researchers announced yesterday.
  
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• 1 in 5 wear the same pair of pants multiple times according to YouGov poll

  24-11-2016 18:48 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Just six per cent of women confessed to having the same dirty habit, a survey by YouGov found. But in regards to bras, 41 per cent of women claim to wear theirs five times before washing them.
  
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• Porn watching teens are more likely to become sexual predators according to a new study

  24-11-2016 18:14 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Improving sex education at school and teaching youngsters to respect their future partners could prevent deviant behaviour, researchers from the University of Melbourne say.
  
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• U.N. says reports of Syria envoy resigning are incorrect

  24-11-2016 18:06
  GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday that media reports about the resignation of the U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, were incorrect. "Media reports that Special Envoy de Mistura is resigning his post are not accurate. The Special Envoy remains fully engaged on his mission," the short U.N. statement said. London-based pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat reported on Thursday, citing anonymous U.N. diplomatic sources, that de Mistura had informed U.N. ...
  
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• 'As boys we are told to be brave': men on masculinity and mental health

  24-11-2016 17:59
  
  New analysis found links between so-called masculine traits and depression and substance use. We asked men about gender stereotypes and mental healthEfforts have been made to challenge traditional stereotypes, but there is still pressure on men to be strong, independent, stoical, competitive and tough. According to research published by the American Psychological Association, these “masculine traits” have been linked with mental health issues such as depression and substance abuse. R
  
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• Health experts say parsley and celery stop the stomach storing fat

  24-11-2016 17:54 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Israelian scientists believe that this 'yo-yo effect' may be caused by bacteria in our guts which destroy helpful natural chemicals in our food.
  
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• Man who caught leprosy from an armadillo in Florida describes agonizing ordeal that left him unable to walk and see for a year

  24-11-2016 17:47 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Mel Riser, who lives with his wife and children in Austin, Texas, lost his ability to walk and see after becoming infected with the disease.
  
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• Case of H5N8 bird flu in German farm, turkeys to be culled

  24-11-2016 17:33
  A case of high risk H5N8 bird flu has been confirmed in the German state of Lower Saxony and about 16,000 turkeys on the farm will now be culled, authorities said on Thursday. The case was confirmed in Cloppenburg in north Germany and is the first farm-based case in Lower Saxony, one of Europe's largest poultry production regions, the state's agriculture ministry said. Several European countries and Israel have found cases of H5N8 bird flu in the past few weeks and some have ordered that poultry
  
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• In El Salvador, girls under 12 most at risk of getting pregnant by rape - U.N. study

  24-11-2016 17:27
  By Anastasia Moloney BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly two in every five pregnancies among girls in El Salvador aged 10 to 12 are the result of rape and incest but the rapists nearly always go unpunished, a U.N. agency has said. Girls under 12 are four times more likely to get pregnant as a result of rape by stepfathers and relatives, mainly fathers, grandfathers, uncles and cousins, than girls aged 13 to 17, the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) said in a report this week. "None of them h
  
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• How to Stop Feeling Guilty About Everything

  24-11-2016 17:12
  
  Constantly feeling guilty gnaws at your emotional well-being and causes negativity to snowball. “It can make you feel defeated, anxious, or even depressed,” says Susan Krauss Whitbourne, PhD, professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. And we often beat ourselves up for no good reason, she adds: “Most of the time, we manufacture guilt in our minds simply because of the ridiculous expectations we set for ourselves.” Yank yourse
  
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• Are parsley and celery key to beating yo-yo diets? Experts say they stop the stomach storing fat

  24-11-2016 17:07 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Israelian scientists believe that this 'yo-yo effect' may be caused by bacteria in our guts which destroy helpful natural chemicals in our food.
  
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• Teenagers who watch porn are more likely to become sexual predators, study finds

  24-11-2016 17:03 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Improving sex education at school and teaching youngsters to respect their future partners could prevent deviant behaviour, researchers from the University of Melbourne say.
  
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• Airbus's largest A350 jet carries out its maiden flight

  24-11-2016 16:46
  By Tim Hepher and Johanna Decosse TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) - Europe's largest twin-engined passenger jet, the Airbus A350-1000, took to the skies for the first time on Thursday, seeking to grab the spotlight from Boeing's popular 777. The 366-seat A350-1000 is designed to break Boeing's virtual monopoly in the lucrative "mini-jumbo" segment, typically involving large twin-engined jets carrying 350 people. Both are built from similar advanced materials to Boeing's mid-sized 787 Dreamliner in a
  
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• People hardwired to fall in love with partners with similar level of intelligence

  24-11-2016 16:41 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Researchers from the University of East Anglia and VU University in The Netherlands have warned that this trend could lead to genetic and social inequality.
  
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• Andrew Lansley warns of 'difficult' NHS years

  24-11-2016 16:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An ex-health secretary says an "incredibly difficult" two years await the NHS in England.
  
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• Kaley Cuoco on Why She Doesn’t Regret Any of Her Plastic Surgeries

  24-11-2016 16:00
  
  Plus, how she survived her divorce.
  
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• Exactly How This Rockette Survives 4 Performances a Day

  24-11-2016 16:00
  
  Steal her go-to tricks for staying energized.
  
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• The makeup pregnant women should AVOID 

  24-11-2016 15:49 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Using pharmaceutical levels of vitamin A during pregnancy may interfere with the development of the foetus and cause deformities, especially of the face, pharmacology expert Ian Musgrave says.
  
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• Aleppo rebels agree aid plan, Russia, Syria yet to approve - U.N.

  24-11-2016 15:41
  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Syrian rebels in besieged east Aleppo have agreed to a U.N. plan for aid delivery and medical evacuations, but the United Nations is awaiting a green light from Russia and the Syrian government, humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said on Thursday. With freezing winter conditions setting in, about 275,000 people are trapped in east Aleppo, where the last U.N. food rations were distributed on Nov. 13.
  
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• Russia warns of possible quarantine if ASF spreads in its south

  24-11-2016 15:39
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's food safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said on Thursday a quarantine would be needed if there were more African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreaks at pork breeding facilities in the southern Krasnodar region. The quarantine would hurt agricultural exports, including grain exports, it said in a statement. However, there was no immediate need to impose any significant restrictions, Aleksey Alekseenko, a spokesman for the watchdog, told Reuters. (Reporting by Olga Popova and Pol
  
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• Bumper load of new viruses identified

  24-11-2016 15:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists looking into invertebrate animals discover nearly 1,500 new viruses - the largest number documented in any one study.
  
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• Experts say knitting could help young adults to ward off stress and depression

  24-11-2016 15:02 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Researchers from the University of Otago, New Zealand, say 'old-fashioned activities' that are favoured by the Women's Institute may lead to an upward spiral of emotions in young adults.
  
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• NHS hospitals suffer from chronic bed shortage, surgeons say

  24-11-2016 14:55
  
  Royal College of Surgeons calls for rethink after figures show 89% of beds are full overnight for fourth quarter in a rowThe Royal College of Surgeons has said there is a chronic shortage of NHS hospital beds in England after occupancy rates for overnight stays topped 89% for a fourth successive quarter. The maximum occupancy rate for patients to be well looked after and not exposed to health risks is considered to be 85%, a figure that has not been achieved since NHS England began publishing st
  
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• Want to know how good YOUR work life balance really is? Then take this quiz to find out...

  24-11-2016 14:36 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  UK-based AXA PPP healthcare has built the simple test to challenge the public to reassess their lives. A green answer shows a good balance while red signals an urgent change is needed.
  
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• Somerset disabled teen receives more than 100 Christmas cards after mother's plea

  24-11-2016 14:22 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Giorgia Cole, from Midsomer Norton, Somerset, was born with cerebral palsy and epilepsy but doctors fear she now has the onset of heart failure and may only have a short time left.
  
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• Lansley: 'Incredibly difficult' for NHS

  24-11-2016 14:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is disappointed by the Autumn Statement
  
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• The obesity epidemic is an economic issue

  24-11-2016 14:11
  
  Free-market forces have helped create a health crisis – and governments must take action to stop subsidising junk foodIt is estimated that today’s obesity epidemic costs the global economy about $2tn (£1.6tn) or some 3% of GDP. For individuals, deciding what to eat is a jealously guarded privilege, but for economists obesity is not really about people exercising free-market choice. Instead it is a market failure.The causes of the epidemic are complex, spanning the social scienc
  
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• Alzheimer's and Parkinson's breakthrough: New brain scan shows how diseases are caused

  24-11-2016 14:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A NEW brain scan that shows how Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are caused has been developed by British scientists.
  
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• Airbus's largest A350 jet stages maiden flight

  24-11-2016 14:07
  By Tim Hepher and Johanna Decosse TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) - Europe's largest twin-engined passenger jet, the Airbus A350-1000, took to the skies for the first time on Thursday, seeking to grab the spotlight from Boeing's popular 777. The 366-seat A350-1000 is designed to break Boeing's virtual monopoly in the lucrative "mini-jumbo" segment, typically involving large twin-engined jets carrying 350 people. Both are built from similar advanced materials to Boeing's mid-sized 787 Dreamliner in a
  
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• Ebola nurse Donna Wood had unblemished record, tribunal hears

  24-11-2016 13:31
  
  Wood’s actions – concealing Pauline Cafferkey’s temperature at Ebola screening – were a brief lapse of judgment, panel toldThe nurse who was found to have concealed her colleague Pauline Cafferkey’s raised temperature before she tested positive for Ebola risked her life for others in Sierra Leone and has an otherwise unblemished record, a tribunal has heard.Donna Wood’s lawyer told an independent panel at the Nursing and Midwifery Council that he accepted thei
  
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• Premature baby left to die alone in sluice room, report reveals

  24-11-2016 13:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hospital staff left a premature baby in a basket in a sluice room to die alone, a report reveals.
  
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• 6 foods to boost your brain power

  24-11-2016 12:14 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Cassandra Barns, a London-based nutritionist, says salmon is high in B vitamins including B12, which is vital for healthy nerves and brain cells to improve function.
  
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• Chinese drugmaker invests $36.5 million in British biotech business Kymab

  24-11-2016 12:03
  LONDON (Reuters) - British privately owned biotech company Kymab has secured $100 million (80.13 million pound) of funding from investors, including $36.5 million (29.26 million pound) from China's Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical , to help to fund its pipeline of experimental antibody drugs. Shenzhen Hepalink's involvement reflects growing interest in biotechnology opportunities among Chinese pharmaceutical companies. ...
  
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• At least 67 killed in China power plant mishap

  24-11-2016 11:37
  Rescuers in China were battling on Thursday to free a worker trapped after the collapse of a platform under construction at a power plant killed at least 67 people, state media said. Deadly accidents are relatively common at industrial sites in China, where anger over lax standards is growing. Five injured workers were taken to hospital soon after Thursday morning's accident at the plant in Fengcheng in the eastern province of Jiangxi, the official Xinhua news agency said.
  
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• Czech scientists develop human lung model to aid treatments

  24-11-2016 11:10
  Czech scientists have developed a model of a functioning human lung that can be used to simulate problems like asthma or other chronic diseases and their treatments. The research group from the Brno University of Technology says its mechanical- and computer-based model of the lung can help devise treatment methods with more precision than past testing and tailor it to individual patients. It can also be used as a reference model for developing inhaled drugs.
  
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• Risking flames and mines, Iraq oil workers battle to cap burning wells

  24-11-2016 10:47
  By John Davison QAYYARA, Iraq (Reuters) - His face blackened and helmet coated in soot, Hussein Saleh watched the oil fields of his home town in northern Iraq burn, belching up thick smoke that blotted out the sun. "I've worked in oil for 30 years and I've never seen anything like this," 57-year-old Saleh said, standing close enough to the flames to feel the heat. "Daesh (Islamic State) just put explosives on the wellheads and blew them up," he said.
  
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• Newborn in Northumberland nearly died after contracting 'harmless' infection Strep B

  24-11-2016 10:40 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Andrea Henderson, 32, from Northumberland, contracted a bacterial infection during her pregnancy called Strep B which is usually harmless to unborn babies.
  
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• Premature baby dies at Rosie Hospital in Cambridge after outbreak of MRSA superbug

  24-11-2016 10:34 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Nine newborns were found to be carrying the deadly superbug at the Rosie Hospital, Cambridge, during an outbreak of MRSA in August.
  
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• London and the chancellor's 2016 autumn statement

  24-11-2016 10:04
  
  Despite saying that the UK is too dependent on the capital, Philip Hammond has given it at least some of what its politicians have been asking forLook at it this way: UK economic growth is slowing, public borrowing will be higher than expected and the government no longer thinks it can balance the budget by 2020. Much of this is down to Brexit. Good old Boris. We’ve got our country back. Now we are free to scavenge for consolations from an autumn statement that seeks to limit the damage do
  
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