Search Results for: Research

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FRENCH scientists have pinpointed the area of the brain, which is particularly responsive to nicotine addiction, while identifying how the chemical hunts down receptors that are particularly susceptible to its effects. Experiments on mice at France’s Institut Pasteur have shown that nicotine dependence is linked to a specific molecule, the ß2 subunit of brain receptors detecting and reacting to nicotine, themselves located in the ventral tegmental area.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE BIOHAZ (biohazard) panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recommended that more research be carried out on the risks of goats contracting BSE, following last year’s confirmed case in France. The panel says, for instance, that goats should be given BSE in an experiment, to check how the disease develops.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE CHAMPAGNE-swilling freeloaders that Eurosceptics claim populate the European Parliament have never had an image of hair-shirt monasticism, but a German television station has alleged many MEPs snort the odd line of cocaine. Tests on 46 toilets in the parliament’s Brussels building revealed traces of the controlled drug, said Germany TV magazine AKTE 05, which added that the quantities discovered implied regular use.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
EATING curry could help cure cancer, an American Cancer Society journal has claimed. It cites University of Texas research showing that curcumin, the yellow pigment found in key curry ingredient tumeric, slows melanoma cell growth and stimulates the death of tumour cells.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
SCOTS may drink hard, smoke, and eat deep-fried pizzas with battered Mars bars, but obvious environmental factors do not explain why they are so prone to heart disease says a University of Edinburgh study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
A METHOD of eliminating polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and furans from hazardous waste and hospital incinerators is being developed by European research network Eureka. Coordinated by Czech firm SMS Cz Spol, the system uses chemically treated “active coal” as an inert filter absorbent for intercepting harmful emissions using the dry NEUTREC method.…

BY JONATHAN THOMSON
CARMAKERS have experienced tremendous growth in the Asia Pacific region recently, as China and India in particular generate new sales and manufacturing opportunities. General Motors recently announced that its 2005 first quarter production figures for the region were up by around 14% compared with 2004, with Ford and other leading manufacturers predicting similar growth.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
A CANADIAN study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion has found that sending people unsolicited ‘spam’ emails that promote healthy eating and lifestyle choices can reverse some bad dietary habits and increase physical activity. The 2,598 participants in the University of Alberta research who received spam reduced their mean body mass index (BMI), whereas people who did not receive the e-mails slightly increased their BMI during the study period.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FRENCH scientists have pinpointed the area of the brain, which is particularly responsive to nicotine addiction, whilst identifying how the chemical hunts down receptors that are particularly susceptible to its effects. Experiments on mice at France’s Institut Pasteur have shown that nicotine dependence is linked to a specific molecule of brain receptors detecting and reacting to nicotine, which are located in the ‘ventral tegmental’ area of the brain.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
SCIENTISTS from the USA Agricultural Research Service have discovered that using charred chicken faeces burnt in an oxygen free contained can help remove excess toxins from soil caused by animal waste. The resulting spongy substance also effectively rids wastewater of heavy metals, such as hard to dispose of copper, cadmium and zinc.…