Tag Archives: health
Carers need to be planting potatoes !
Carers need to be planting potatoes and other vegetables to enjoy eating them.
According to a new research conducted by the Texas A and M University and the State University of Texas, it has been revealed that those older adults, who participate in activities like gardening, are going to like their vegetables more.
UK scientists make important blood clot discovery
Thousands of lives could be saved every year, scientists believe, following a breakthrough in the understanding of heart disease.
By Martin Beckford, Health Correspondent 12:01AM GMT 17 Mar 2011
Researchers have discovered that a protein known to regulate cholesterol is also linked to the formation of the type of blood clot known as thrombosis that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
They believe that by developing drugs that can control the important protein, called LXR, they will be able to prevent thrombosis and also control cholesterol levels.
It could help the fight against heart and circulatory diseases, which kill 191,000 people a year in Britain – accounting for one in three deaths in the country.
Professor Jon Gibbins, Director of Reading University’s Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, who led the research, said: “While blood clotting is essential to prevent bleeding, inappropriate clotting within the circulation, known as thrombosis, is the trigger for heart attacks and strokes – which kill more people in the UK each year than any other disease.
“This ground-breaking study paves the way for new and more effective medicines to prevent thrombosis.”
The new paper, published in the journal Blood, details how scientists discovered the “double life” of the protein LXR in cardiovascular disease.
Kaspar the friendly robot helps autistic kids
Eden Sawczenko used to recoil when other little girls held her hand and turned stiff when they hugged her. This year, the 4-year-old autistic girl began playing with a robot that teaches about emotions and physical contact _ and now she hugs everyone.
“She’s a lot more affectionate with her friends now and will even initiate the embrace,” said Claire Sawczenko, Eden’s mother.
The girl attends a pre-school for autistic children in Stevenage, north of London, where researchers bring in a human-looking, child-sized robot once a week for a supervised session. The children, whose autism ranges from mild to severe, play with the robot for up to 10 minutes alongside a scientist who controls the robot with a remote control.
