Study Finds, Unlike Men, Women Who Are Much Older (or Younger) Than Spouse Have Shorter Life Expectancy´ (CBS) While studies have show marriage to extend life expectancy in both men and women, women who marry much younger men had better watch out – they’re much more likely to die younger. A new study shows that women who marry men seven to nine years younger than they are increase their mortality risk by 20 percent. This is the opposite of the finding for men who marry much younger wives – their life expectancy increases. The new study from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic...

Babies should be given something sugary before a jab to reduce pain, Canadian researchers say. Experts at the University of Toronto say newborns are less likely to cry if given a few drops of a sugar solution before immunisation. Data based on 1,000 injections suggests infants given a glucose solution are 20% less likely to cry following a jab. The research, published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, is based on clinical data from 14 studies. Read more…

By LINDSEY TANNER Scientists are puzzling over a surprising increase in stomach cancer in young white adults, while rates in all other American adults have declined. Chances for developing stomach cancer are still very low in young adults but the incidence among 25 to 39 year old whites nonetheless climbed by almost 70 percent in the past three decades, a study found. National Cancer Institute researchers and colleagues examined new cases from 1977 to 2006 of cancer in the lower stomach, which can be caused by chronic infection with a common bacteria called H. pylori. It also causes stomach ulcers....

Artificial lenses implanted inside the eye may be safer than laser surgery when it comes to improving short sightedness, a new summary of the research suggests. But no operation is completely without risk, and the implantable lenses may slightly increase the risk of getting cataracts. What do we know already? Short sight means your eyes can’t focus well on objects at a distance, because the ‘picture’ projected by the lens comes into focus before it hits the retina at the back of the eye. That means the picture received by the brain is blurry. Glasses and contact lenses correct...

Women who take multivitamin pills daily have a higher incidence of breast cancer than those that do not take vitamins supplements, according to a new Swedish study which has been unable to explain why. “Even if we do not know whether there is a causal link, our results are an alarm signal which must be taken seriously and researched further,” said Susanna Larsson at Karolinska Institutet to Uppsala Nya Tidning. 35,000 women in Uppsala and Västmanland county took part in the study which has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. None of the women had cancer when...

A revolutionary class of drugs allowing healthy and productive lives for people up to and over the age of 100 could be available within two years, an ageing expert has claimed. Leading age scientist Professor Nir Barzilai, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said treatments developed for heart disease, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s could be used to tackle the causes of unhealthy ageing, such as metabolic problems, cell-death, inflammation and high cholesterol. Grounding the claims in his own work to identify genetic traits predisposing some towards a longer life, Professor...

An inexpensive drug already in use for other diseases might hold the key to a completely new way of treating cancers — not by killing off cancer cells, but by simply reprogramming them. The finding comes from some exciting Canadian research on patients with brain tumours. The study found that DCA — or dichloroacetate — can shrink the tumours by altering a cancer cell’s metabolism. While the study was small — just five patients were studied, the researchers say their findings are “proof in principle” that the treatment approach works. Read more…

By EMMA MORTON, Health and Science Editor PEOPLE will be given pills to live healthily beyond 100 within TWO YEARS, a top professor revealed yesterday. The drugs – a spin-off from research into age-related illnesses such as Alzheimer’s – are already being developed. Professor Nir Barzilai, one of the world’s leading experts on ageing, said as he joined fellow scientists at a London conference: “Pharmaceutical companies are developing these drugs now. “They will probably be available for testing from 2012.” The astonishing breakthrough follows intensive...

Human growth hormone is powerful enough to make the worst athlete in an Olympic race finish first, a study has shown. By Peter Hutchison The trial, published today, is the first to show that HGH positively affects physical performance. Scientists discovered that injections of the drug enhanced the sprint capacity of athletes considerably. Tests found that HGH could lead to a 0.4 second improvement over 10 seconds in a 100 metre sprint. The results would correlate for professional athletes, reserachers claimed. Dr Ken Ho, who led the study, said: “This improvement could turn the last place finisher...

A 62-year-old woman is providing new insights into how the human brain works after becoming the first person to be diagnosed with a condition that leaves her unable to recognise voices. By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent The successful British businesswoman, who is normal in every other way, is the first known case of someone being born with developmental phonagnosia, which leaves her unable to recognise even the voices of her own family. Her condition is so profound that she often avoids using the telephone and struggles to identify people speaking on the radio. Neuroscientists have now performed...