World's 1st dengue vaccine beats 3 virus strains in clinical trial

A man suffering from dengue fever, sits under a mosquito net while seeking treatment at the Services Hospital in Lahore, in this file picture taken on Sep 18, 2011. The world's first vaccine against dengue, developed by French drugmaker Sanofi, has shown the ability to protect against disease caused by three of four dengue virus strains in a keenly awaited clinical trial in Thailand. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

PARIS (REUTERS) - The world's first vaccine against dengue, developed by French drugmaker Sanofi, has shown the ability to protect against disease caused by three of four dengue virus strains in a keenly awaited clinical trial in Thailand.

Sanofi said on Wednesday the proof of efficacy was 'a key milestone' in the 70-year quest to develop a viable dengue shot, adding the results also confirmed the safety profile of the vaccine candidate.

World cancer cases to rise by 75% by 2030

PARIS (AFP) - Worldwide cases of cancer are likely to rise by nearly 75 per cent by 2030, driven by demographic and lifestyle factors, according to a study published on Friday in the journal The Lancet Oncology.

A team led by Freddie Bray of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France, said that in 2008 there were 12.7 million new cases of cancer, which would rise to 22.2 million by 2030, with 90 per cent of the rise occurring in the poorest countries.

In many countries, falls in cancers linked to infection have been offset by cancers of the colon, rectum, breast and prostate which are associated with a 'westernised' diet, they sid.

One in 10 babies are born premature each year: Study

This July 25, 2006, handout photo provided by the March of Dimes Foundation shows a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Albany Medical Centre. Fifteen million babies, or one in 10 around the world are born premature every year, and 1.1 million of those infants die, according to a United Nations (UN)-sponsored report released on Wednesday. -- PHOTO: AP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Fifteen million babies, or one in 10 around the world are born premature every year, and 1.1 million of those infants die, according to a United Nations (UN)-sponsored report released on Wednesday.

Coffee drinking not linked to chronic illness: Study

(REUTERS) - Coffee drinkers have no more risk of getting illnesses such as heart disease or cancer, and are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a German study involving more than 40,000 people over nearly a decade.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, came in the wake of many previous studies that produced conflicting results, with some tying coffee drinking to an increase in heart disease, cancer, stroke and more.

Alcohol seen killing 200,000 Britons in next 20 years

LONDON (REUTERS) - Up to 210,000 people in England and Wales will be killed prematurely by alcohol over the next 20 years, with a third of those preventable deaths due to liver disease alone, health experts warned on Monday.

Other alcohol-related deaths will be due to accidents, violence and suicide, or from chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, strokes, heart disease and cancer, the experts warned in a projection study in the Lancet medical journal.

Yet Ian Gilmore, former president of the Royal College of Physicians and one of the lead authors of the work, said it was'entirely within the power of the UK government' to take steps to tackle Britain's drink problem and 'prevent the worst-case scenario of avoidable deaths'.

Scientists teach computers to assess psychiatric risk

LONDON (REUTERS) - Computer programmes can be taught to select between brain scans of healthy young people and scans showing adolescents who are at higher risk of developing mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, scientists said on Thursday.

In a study in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE journal, British researchers said their findings suggest it may be possible to design programmes to predict which at-risk adolescents will go on to have psychiatric problems, giving doctors more time to intervene before illnesses set in.

'Combining machine learning and neuroimaging, we have a technique which shows enormous potential to help us identify which adolescents are at true risk of developing anxiety and mood disorders, especially where there is limited clinical or genetic information,' said Janaina Mourao-Miranda of University College London, who led the study.