As per recent reports, it has been revealed that the compound termed as delta-12-protaglandin J3, sometimes also known as D12-PGJ3, attacked and slaughtered the stem cells related to Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). The trial was conducted on mice.

While expressing his opinion in this regard, Penn State's Associate Professor of Immunology and Molecular Toxicology, Sandeep Prabhu explained that the, "Research in the past on fatty acids has shown the health benefits of fatty acids on cardiovascular system and brain development, particularly in infants, but we have shown that some metabolites of omega-3 have the ability to selectively kill the leukemia-causing stem cells in mice".

The compound is generated by Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA), an omega-3 fatty acid observed in abundance in fish oil.

The researchers further claimed that the most imperative aspect of the study is that the mice were made absolutely free of leukemia and the most shocking aspect was that there was no relapse witnessed after the mice were completely cured of leukemia.

The findings, which have been made available in the journal Blood, have claimed that the compound is highly significant in killing cancer-causing stem cells in the spleen of mice as well as in their bone marrow. Particularly, it tends to spark on a gene dubbed p53 in the leukemia stem cell that has an increased tendency of processing the death of the cell.

During their course of study, the researchers claimed that p53 is a typical sort of tumor suppressor gene having the potential of regulating the reaction to damage caused in the DNA and other than that, it tends to maintain a genomic stability.

By destroying the stem cells in leukemia, which is basically a particular cancer related to the white blood cells, the stem cells can be effectively divided for enhancing the production of more cancer cells other than creating additional stem cells.

Mosquitoes like some people better than others, and differences in the microbes living on our skin may help explain the bloodsuckers' dining preferences.

It turns out men with a large variety of microbes living on their skin make for less attractive meals for the African malaria-carrying mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto. The mosquito instead appears drawn to men whose skin bacteria are relatively similar to each other.

Those findings come from a study that also found a connection between certain types of microbes and men's status as more or less attractive to a mosquito.
Mosquito bites are more than just an itchy annoyance; they can spread malaria and other fatal diseases. Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, and in 2010 it was responsible for an estimated 655,000 deaths, mostly among African children, according to the World Health Organization.
So the relationship between mosquitoes' preference and skin microbes has important health implications.

This study suggests skin microbes could be part of a person's built-in defense system, and this line of research could lead to new tools to protect against the spread of disease, the research team writes in a study published Dec. 28 in the journal PLoS ONE.
The logic behind the effect is simple: Odors from human skin are essential cues that guide mosquitoes to our skin, and the microbes living on our skin play an important role in producing these odors. In fact, without skin bacteria, human sweat would be odorless to the human nose, according to the researchers, led by Niels Verhulst of Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

Verhulst and colleagues collected volatiles - the easily evaporated chemicals responsible for odor - from the left feet of 48 men. They then gave the mosquitoes a choice between each sample and a standard ammonia concentration. (The odor of ammonia is known to attract mosquitos.) They also sequenced DNA from the skin of the left foot; this gave them information on what, and how much of it, was living on the men's feet.

Of the 48 men who volunteered for the study, the researchers classifed nine as "highly attractive", while seven were considered "poorly attractive."

In addition to finding that a greater diversity of skin microbes seems to deter mosquitoes, the researchers came to associate certain types of bacteria with how delicious the mosquitoes found the person to be.

The more tasty men had microbes that were less diverse and were likely to include Leptotrichia, Delftia, Actinobacteria Gp3 and Staphylococcus microbes, the researchers found.

Meanwhile, the volunteers who, for instance, had a diverse array of microbes on their skin, as well as lots of Pseudomonas and possibly Variovorax species, were less attractive.

"We hypothesize that the lower attractiveness to mosquitoes is caused by a selective group of skin microbiota that emanates compounds that interfere with the attraction of mosquitoes to their human hosts," the researchers wrote.

A team led by an Indian-origin neuroscientist has found a gene that "turns on" when memories are stored in the brain, a discovery they believe could help pinpoint the exact locations of memories in the brain.

It's known that when one witnesses a new event, the brain encodes a memory of it by altering the connections between neurons. This needs turning on many genes in those neurons. Now, neuroscientists at the MIT have identified a gene, called Npas4, which is very active in the hippocampus - a brain structure known to be critical in forming long-term memories.

The findings, described in the journal Science, would be a breakthrough in pinpointing the exact locations of memories in the brain and might open up new avenues for altering or even creating memory, the researchers said.
"We think of Npas4 as the initial trigger that comes on, and then in turn, in the right spot in the brain, it activates all these other downstream targets," a researcher said.

The Gujarat government has planned to add 450 medical seats every year in the next three years, Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas announced here on Sunday.

Claiming that Gujarat was racing ahead of other States in the country, he said that by 2022, when India was expected to have one medical college for every 25 lakh population, Gujarat would have in place one medical college for every 15 lakh people in the State.

Mr. Vyas was speaking at a function organised to celebrate the beginning of the silver jubilee year of the Pramukhswami Medical College at Karamsad.

At the same function, Chief Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Ramanbhai Gokal Privilege Centre, an extension of the medical facilities being provided at the Shree Krishna Hospital. Once operational, the centre with state-of-the-art infrastructure would cater for the needs of patients from rural areas at an affordable price and the income generated by it would be used for providing subsidy to poor patients at the Shree Krishna Hospital.

The Pramukhswami College was the first private medical college in the State and perhaps first in the country with base in rural areas. Mr. Modi said the State government was committed to laying equal emphasis on preventive healthcare as much as medical care as part of the State's policy for "a healthy Gujarat." He claimed that several welfare schemes of the State government, including measures for providing clean drinking water and pro-active steps to curb pollution, had given Gujarat an edge over other States in terms of public health and family welfare.

Outlining the State's medical education programme, Mr. Vyas said as per present projections, India would need about 6.5 lakh doctors and about 12.5 lakh trained nurses by the year 2025 to meet the demand for skilled medical and para-medical professionals. He said Gujarat was chalking out plans to achieve the goal with focus on quality education and training. He also stressed the need for medical colleges to introduce continuing education and training programmes for doctors and para-medics to keep themselves abreast of the latest advancements in medical technology and procedures.

On average, normally the health cover people take is Rs 1-3 lakh. For minor hospitalisation or surgery, this amount may be sufficient but what if there's something serious? As health costs soar, you need to review your health insurance needs and cover any shortfall.
When increasing
cover, consider top-up health insurance plans.

Top-up plans

A top-up health insurance plan, also known as add-on plan, is a regular indemnity plan that covers hospitalisation costs but only after a threshold limit. In insurance parlance, this limit is called deductible.

Top-up plans start with a basic deductible of R1 lakh; the deductible can go up to R5 lakh. A deductible of R1 lakh means the first R1 lakh of the hospitalisation bill will have to be borne by the insured himself; the balance will be paid by the insurer. Owing to the deductible, these plans are cheap.

Sample Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co Ltd's Extra Care, a top-up health insurance policy. For a sum insured of R10 lakh and a deductible of R3 lakh, the policy charges R2,500 from a 30-year-old. But for Health Guard, their regular indemnity policy, the premium is R10,913 for a sum assured of R10 lakh.

"With year-on-year healthcare inflation at 16-20%, a top-up policy is a low-cost investment, which will pay dividends in the long run," said Mahavir Chopra, head (e-business and retail), Medimanage.com, a health insurance portal.

Top-up policies come as individual & floater plans

Limitations: Some top-up plans may not cover pre- and post-hospitalisation expenses. For instance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd's Healthcare Plus and Star's Super Surplus do not cover pre-and post-hospitalisation expenses. However, Sanjay Datta, head-underwriting and claims, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, said there is a reason why. "Pre-and post-hospitalisation expenses are roughly about 10-15% of the total expenses. This the base policy can cover. The idea behind a top-up cover is to buy extra."

Also, top-up plans cover only "single incidence hospitalisation". If your hospital bill exceeds the deductible during a single incident of hospitalisation, only then does the top-up plan gets triggered.

When do they make sense?

Top-up plans make a lot of sense if you have a comfortable base. "Top-ups are being mis-sold as an immediate extension cover of an existing cover," said Chopra. "But the most important factor that people are unaware of is that the threshold or deductible triggers only when the cost of single hospitalisation goes above the threshold. Hence, in our opinion, one should have a comfortable core cover for the family and a top-up to extend the cover."

In fact, top covers are cost effective the most when the deductible is high. You can afford a higher deductible when your basic cover is decent. "The premiums actually depend on how close you are to the ground," said Datta. "Typically, minor claims that are between R2 lakh and R3 lakh are more frequent than huge claims that are above R4 lakh. So a top-up plan that comes with a higher deductible is cheaper than a top-up plan with a lower deductible."

Other policies

Floater policies: A good time to consider a floater policy is when your family expands. Since a floater policy considers the entire family as one unit, the premiums are lower. But the biggest advantage of a floater policy is also its biggest drawback-in the rare case when the entire family needs medical care, a small floater cover can pinch very hard.

Defined benefit plans: The market does not stop at indemnity policies alone. Health insurance plans that have a defined benefit are equally popular. Since the benefits under these plans are defined, they usually work well as income supplement products.

But if you have enough savings or sufficient health insurance, you could give other defined benefit plans, including hospital cash that pays daily cash during hospitalisation or major surgical benefit that pays a lump sum on major surgical procedures a miss. To make top-up plans work in your favour, ensure you have a comfortable base.