Can a new supplement boost immunity, slow aging?

A new study out this week suggests a dietary supplement from a Chinese plant may create changes on the ends of our chromosomes that help keep DNA intact, possibly boosting the immune system. The research, published in the scientific journal Rejuvenation Research , reports on a year-long study on a dietary supplement called Telomerase Activator TA-65, which researchers believe may help reverse the aging process by lengthening telomeres — the caps on the ends of chromosomes that keep DNA intact as cells divide. Shortened telomeres are linked with aging and a lowered immune response. But some aging and telomere experts are skeptical. The study raises more questions than answers, says Janko Nikolich-{Zcaron}ugich, chairman of the Department of Immunobiology and co…

FDA considers approving genetically modified salmon for human consumption

The Food and Drug Administration is poised to approve the first genetically modified animal for human consumption, a highly anticipated decision that is stirring controversy and could mark a turning point in the way American food is produced. This Story FDA considers approving genetically modified salmon for human consumption Poll: Would you eat genetically modified salmon? FDA scientists gave a boost last week to the Massachusetts company that wants federal approval to market a genetically engineered salmon, declaring that the altered salmon is safe to eat and does not pose a threat…

3 to 4 drinks per week may raise risk of breast cancer’s return

Drinking even moderate amounts of alcohol may raise the risk for breast cancer recurrence in some women, new research indicates. The association seems confined to former breast cancer patients who are postmenopausal or overweight or obese, the researchers noted. However, drinking moderately (about three to four drinks per week) was not linked to increased risk for all-cause death, and may in fact lower the risk for dying from a non-breast cancer-related health issue, the study suggests. The observations are reported in the Aug. 30 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology by a team led by Marilyn L. Kwan, a researcher at Kaiser Permanente in …

Official: Obama to back permanent R&D tax credit

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking ways to spur economic growth ahead of the November elections, President Obama will ask Congress to increase and permanently extend research and development tax credits for businesses, a White House official said Sunday. Obama will outline the $100 billion proposal during a speech on the economy Wednesday in Cleveland, the official said. The announcement is expected to be the first in a series of new measures Obama will propose this fall as the administration looks to jump-start an economy that the president himself has said isn’t growing fast enough. In addition to making the research credits permanent, Obama…

Labor Day holiday travel should be up from last year

Americans will take to the roads and skies for the Labor Day holiday in greater numbers than a year ago, thanks to low gas prices and pent-up demand for air travel, experts say. Uncertainty over the path of Hurricane Earl, which is bearing down on the East Coast of the USA, could dampen travel along the Eastern Seaboard, but the rest of the nation should see relatively robust travel. “Everywhere else, the pricing climate is favorable,” says Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates, an oil trading advisory company. “I don’t see prices deterring anybody from taking a weekend trip.” ‘PENT-UP DEMAND’: Travel erupts over July 4…

Exercise can override ‘fat genes,’ study finds

If you’ve been blaming your weight on your genes, get out and take a brisk walk. It will help fight your tendency toward overweight, a new study shows. Researchers in Great Britain studied 12 genetic variants known to increase the risk of obesity and tracked the physical activity levels of 20,430 people. They created a genetic summary score to quantify a person’s risk of obesity and then examined whether an active life could reduce the genetic influence. Findings: Physical activity can reduce the genetic tendency toward obesity by 40%, according to the research, reported Tuesday in PLoS Medicine. “Our findings challenge the popular myth that obesity is unavoidable if it…

Obama says he isn’t worried about Muslim rumors

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — President Barack Obama said Sunday he isn’t worried about a recent poll showing that nearly one-fifth of Americans believe he is a Muslim. “The facts are the facts,” said Obama, who is a Christian. In an interview broadcast on NBC Nightly News , the president blamed the confusion over his religious beliefs on “a network of misinformation that in a new media era can get churned out there constantly.” POLL: Americans uncertain …

Kindergartens see more Hispanic, Asian students

The kindergarten class of 2010-11 is less white, less black, more Asian and much more Hispanic than in 2000, reflecting the nation’s rapid racial and ethnic transformation. The profile of the 4 million children starting kindergarten reveals the startling changes the USA has undergone the past decade and offers a glimpse of its future. In this year’s class, for example, about one out of four 5-year-olds will be Hispanic. Most of today’s kindergartners will graduate from high school in 2024. More Hispanic children are likely in the next generation because the…

Archaeologists find new clues why the Maya left

YUCATAN, Mexico— Bird calls ring from the forest, echoing amid the crumbling ruins whose darkened doorways have long beckoned explorers and scholars. The Maya ancients who built the ruins of Kiuic (kee-week) here fled those doorways in a hurry, an international archaeology team now realizes. Left behind may be frozen-in-time clues to the fabled collapse of their civilization. “Why did they leave? That’s the question,” says archaeologist George Bey of Millsapps College in Jackson, Miss. The ancient Maya fled Kiuic, nestled in the Puuc (pook) foothills of the Yucatan, around 880. “Things were going full-bore, construction was underway. And things…

Class sizes are getting bigger, but does it really matter?

Two years of cuts in state support saddled the Natomas Unified School District in Sacramento this spring with what school board president B. Teri Burns calls “horribly painful” choices: fewer teachers and larger classes, or keeping teachers but cutting athletics, counseling and after-school programs. Like many districts across the nation, Natomas chose to lay off teachers. So for every three classes of 20 students each that the schools had last year, this year they’ll put 30 students in two classes. The teaching staff in this 10,000-student district will be cut by 100 to 340 next fall. No one’s happy, Burns says: “We have to make choices, …

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