Lice reached
Americas before Columbus
NEW
YORK, Feb 7: The Europeans may have introduced
measles and smallpox to America but fresh DNA
samples absolves Columbus of the responsibility
of bringing the most common parasite, lice to the
people he discovered.
In a reasearch
which reminds one of the making of dinosaurs in
the Steven Spielberg classic Jurassic Park,
scientists have found two fossilised bodies, so
exquisitely preserved by nature that the lice in
their braided hair was also mummified.
According to
scientists the two individuals died 1000 years
ago in the region what is now Peru.
Scientists
extracted well preserved louse DNA to establish
that the parasites accompanied their human hosts
in the original population of Amercia, as early
as 15,000 years ago, New York Times reported.
Evolutionary
biologists maintain that the new technique for
studying mummies give valuable insights into
human migrations and the spread of disease.
The research
conducted by Didier Raoult of the National Center
for Scientific Research in Marseille, France, and
David L. Reed of the Florida Museum of Natural
History in Gainesville proved that 11th century
Americans already hosted the prevalent type-A
strain of lice.
Diseases spread by
lice include epidemic typhus, trench fever and
relapsing fever, which are now treatable with
antibiotics. (UNI)
Australians
continue to be high greenhouse gas emitters:
Study
MELBOURNE,
Feb 7: Australians continue to be high
greenhouse gas emitters and there has been little
growth in the production of renewable fuels over
the past 30 years, a national survey by a
government agency has revealed.
The Australian
Bureau of Statistics 2008 Year Book in its annual
report on Australian life, people and the
economy, found that the non-renewable fuel
production has gone up more than 400 per cent
with little growth in renewables.
The most recent
figures show Australians emit over 17 tonnes of
carbon per person, compared with an OECD average
of just over 11 tonnes.
The report also
showed people were recycling more and are using
less water but are ignoring environmental
concerns in other areas of their lives.
The study found 99
per cent of households are now recycling or
reusing waste - a rise of almost 10 per cent in
10 years.
The publication
also noticed fertility and migration from Asia on
the rise.
Black coal
accounted for half of Australia's energy
production in 2005-06, while renewable energy
such as bagasse (derived from sugar cane) solar
and hydro electricity made up just 2 per cent,
the study said.
The ABS said it
was driven by the high use of coal in electricity
generation and the reliance on cars.
The report said
more migrants came from the UK and New Zealand,
while Indians and Chinese were at third and
fourth rank.
Heart disease
remains the leading cause of death for both men
and women followed by lung cancer for men and
cerebrovascular disease (stroke) for women, it
said.
The study also
found that one in four adults smoke and 13 per
cent drink alcohol at risk levels.
More than half of
Australians over 15 years of age are classified
overweight or obese.
When it comes to
recreation, the ABS found more Australians were
taking short breaks overseas.
A total of 4.9
million short-term resident departures were
recorded in 2006 - the highest ever and among top
destinations were New Zealand, the US, Britain,
Thailand and China. (PTI)
"Hairspray"
smashes UK theatre nominations record
LONDON,
Feb 7: The flamboyant retro musical
''Hairspray'' today won a record 11 nominations
for the Laurence Olivier Awards, Britain's top
theatre prizes.
Leanne Jones and
Michael Ball, stars of the box office smash, led
the show's bid for a clean sweep of acting awards
in a musical.
The battle for
Best Actor took on Shakespearean proportions,
showing that the Bard can still be a theatreland
sellout -- Ian McKellen's depiction of King Lear
takes on Patrick Stewart's Macbeth and Chiwetel
Ejiofor's Othello.
The other
contenders for Best Actor are John Simm for
''Elling'' and Mark Rylance for
''Boeing-Boeing.''
Kristin Scott
Thomas bids for Best Actress for her critically
acclaimed role in ''The Seagull'' but could face
tough competition from Fiona Shaw in ''Happy
Days.''
In London's West
End theatre district, 13.6 million people went to
see shows in 2007, according to official figures.
Box office
receipts were boosted by shows like ''The Sound
of Music'' revival that had tie-ins to TV reality
shows which picked its stars in talent contests.
The Olivier awards
are presented by actor Richard E Grant in London
on March 9.
(AGENCIES)
HIV can be
passed to babies in pre-chewed food
WASHINGTON,
Feb 7: The AIDS virus can be passed from an
infected mother to her baby if she pre-chews the
child's food as sometimes occurs in developing
countries, US government scientists said.
The US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday it
had identified three cases -- two in Miami and
one in Memphis, Tennessee -- in which a child was
infected in this way between 1993 and 2004. The
mother was involved in two of the cases and a
relative who acted as a caregiver was involved in
the third.
In developing
countries, some mothers pre-chew food for babies.
These women may lack access to packaged baby food
or may not have a way to blend baby food. This
practice is thought to be very rare in the United
States or other wealthy nations.
The researchers,
who presented their findings at a scientific
meeting in Boston, said the infected women's
saliva itself did not transmit the virus to the
child, but rather it appears blood present in the
saliva caused the infection.
The researchers
said HIV transmission appears to have occurred
when the children ingested pre-chewed food that
contained blood from the bleeding gums of
HIV-infected women, and this entered the
children's bloodstreams through a cut, sore or
inflammation of the mouth or digestive tract.
They said they
ruled out other possible means of infection such
as breast-feeding or blood transfusion.
''Pre-mastication
is a newly recognized route for HIV transmission
that warrants further investigation in order to
continue reducing cases of HIV transmission in
the US,'' the CDC said in a summary of the
findings by epidemiologist Dr. Ken Dominguez and
other researchers.
''The findings
could have more significant implications for
developing countries,'' the CDC added.
In one case, a
girl, age 9 months, was diagnosed with HIV in
2004. The HIV-positive mother reported giving
pre-chewed food to the child, who is still alive,
receiving HIV drugs.
In a second case,
a 3-year-old boy was diagnosed with HIV in 1995.
The infant's mother had AIDS and had given
pre-chewed food to the child, who died of AIDS in
1996.
In a third case, a
boy, age 15 months, was diagnosed with HIV in
1993. The boy's mother is HIV-negative but his
HIV-positive great-aunt served as a caregiver and
had given him pre-chewed food. The researchers
said the mother did not know the aunt was
HIV-positive until after she died of AIDS. The
boy is still alive, getting HIV drugs.
''The researchers
advise that health care providers and
HIV-infected child caregivers should be aware of
the potential health risks and should advise
those caregivers against the practice of
pre-chewing food for their infants,'' the CDC
said. (AGENCIES)
‘Low blood
sugar levels may increase risk of death in
diabetics’
New
York, Feb 7: Lowering blood sugar to normal
levels may increase risk of death in diabetics, a
major Federal US study has found.
Researchers
believed that maintaining blood sugar levels
helps in decreasing fatalities in those with
diabetes, but the study on 10,000 middle-aged and
older people with Type 2 diabetes proved it to
the contrary.
In view of the
surprising results thrown by the study,
researchers have halted it abruptly and advised
patients to consult their doctors before
effecting any changes in their medication.
During the study
conducted over four years, it was found that 54
more deaths were reported from the group who were
assigned to get their blood sugar levels to
nearly normal than those whose levels were less
rigidly controlled.
Experts, stunned
over the findings, still maintain that blood
sugar was not meaningless as lower levels prevent
further complications like kidney disease,
blindness and amputations. But, the findings hit
at the decades-old dogma that lowering blood
sugar levels to normal actually save lives.
It has sparked a
debate among medical experts who have been
studying the findings in the context of
consequences it may have for younger people who
have no cardiovascular disease and its management
in those living with it.
''It's confusing
and disturbing that this happened,'' president of
American College of Cardiology James Dove was
quoted by New York Times as saying.
''For 50 years,
we've talked about getting blood sugar very low.
Everything in the literature would suggest this
is the right thing to do,'' he added.
Dr Irl Hirsch, a
diabetes researcher at the University of
Washington, said the study's results would be
hard to explain to some patients who have spent
years and made an enormous effort, through diet
and medication, getting and keeping their blood
sugar down. They will not want to relax their
vigilance, he said.
Most surprisingly,
no drug or drug combination or any other unusual
cause of death was reported in the intensely
treated group during the study. For now, the
reasons for higher death rate are up for
speculation.
The study was
proposed in the 1990s by the National Heart, Lung
and Blood Institute and the National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
''It is a great
study and very well run. And it certainly had the
right principles behind it,'' Dr Dove said.
''But maybe, there
may be some scientific principles that don't hold
water in a diabetic population,'' he added. (UNI)
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