“Hygiene hypothesis” linked to heart disease risk
Early childhood viral infections might reduce the risk of developing heart disease later in life by as much as 90 percent, researchers from Sweden and Finland reported here on Wednesday at the IV World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.
According to the investigators, “improved hygiene in early childhood might partially explain the greatest epidemic of the 20th century—coronary heart disease.”
Low-fat vegan diet may spur weight loss
A diet free of animal products and low in fat may help trim the waistline without the task of strict calorie watching, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that of 64 postmenopausal, overweight women, those assigned to follow a low-fat vegan diet for 14 weeks lost an average of 13 pounds, compared with a weight loss of about 8 pounds among women who followed a standard low-cholesterol diet.
Scientists implant human chromosome in mice
Scientists have transplanted a nearly entire human chromosome in mice in a medical and technical breakthrough that could reveal new insights into Down’s syndrome and other disorders.
The genetically engineered mice carry a copy of the human chromosome 21. It is the smallest of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes with about 225 genes.
