A study has found that the risks of a premature birth quadruple if flaxseed oil is consumed in the last two trimesters of pregnancy. The research was conducted by Professor Anick Bérard of the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Pharmacy and the Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center and Master's student Krystel Moussally. 

The correlation existed only with flaxseed oil.  Women consuming the actual seed were unaffected.

Plentyoffish.com, a free online dating site which generates revenue from sending members to other dating sites, has recently released data that promiscuity among women has doubled since 2004.

The site tracked 315,478 users going to casual only dating sites in 2004. Of those users, the number of women who were looking for sex through the intimate encounter option was about 9%. Among users tracked in 2008, the number of women who were looking for an intimate encounter rose to 18%.

The statistics are surprising given that the male:female ratio of Plentyoffish.com members looking for long term relationships or traditional dates has remained consistent at 55:45.

Three years ago, men who were looking for intimate encounters online outnumbered women 10 to 1.

Viruses aren't just disease agents any more.  Scientists now know they can be used in therapies for cancer but concerns over the safety of  'oncolytic viruses' remain because they can also damage healthy tissues.

But Mayo Clinic researchers say they have discovered a way of controlling the viruses behind potential cancer therapeutics by engineering the virus's genetic sequence, using microRNAs to restrict them to specific tissues. The microRNAs destabilize the virus's genome, making it impossible for the virus to run amok. The discovery is reported in the current issue of Nature Medicine.

Scientists have expressed genes from snapdragon in tomatoes to grow purple tomatoes high in health-protecting anthocyanins.  Anthocyanins are naturally occurring pigments found at particularly high levels in berries such as blackberry, cranberry and chokeberry. Scientists are investigating ways to increase the levels of health-promoting compounds in more commonly eaten fruits and vegetables.

Anthocyanins offer protection against certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and age-related degenerative diseases. There is evidence that anthocyanins also have anti-inflammatory activity, promote visual acuity and hinder obesity and diabetes.

It's not often you can boil down complicated abstract ideas about science or culture into simple concepts everyone can understand.  Gems like "for every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction" don't come along every day.   But every time someone asks me what science is like I simply say "You've seen The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra.  It's like that" and they nod knowingly.

ROSTOCK, Germany, October 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- The German President Presents the DBU Environmental Award to von Weizsäcker and Zinke in Rostock Today

TORONTO, Canada, October 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Wins First Ever All-Female Championship Final Match with a Dramatic Throw of Scissors Beating Paper to Win $10,000 Grand Prize

With Photo

Local RPS talent prevailed when Monica Martinez, a jewelry store owner from Toronto who entered for fun, with no intention of winning, won match after match to eventually seize the title and the $10,000 grand prize.

On Saturday night, Monica battled for more than five hours with spirited walk-ons, seasoned RPS veterans spanning all parts of Canada and the US, and country champs and competitors from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Norway, and Argentina.

A University of Iowa study suggests that the prolonged fatigue after mild exercise that occurs in people with many forms of muscular dystrophy is distinct from the inherent muscle weakness caused by the disease.

The research, which is published in Nature Advance Online Publication Oct. 26, identifies a faulty signaling pathway that appears to cause exercise-induced fatigue in mouse models of muscular dystrophy. Moreover, the study shows that Viagra can overcome the signaling defect and relieve the fatigue. The findings suggest that targeting the signaling pathway may lead to therapies for this type of fatigue.

MUMBAI, India, October 25 /PRNewswire/ --

- Q2FY09: Net Sales Up 76%, Net Profit Up 135%

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Reuters: SUN.BO, Bloomberg: SUNP IN, NSE:SUNPHARMA, BSE: 524715) reported strong growth for the second quarter ending Sep 30, 2008.

There is significant one-time sales and profit component in these financials linked to the sales of products that enjoy limited duration marketing exclusivity in the US.

Twenty-four years, a political party and a gulf of ideology separates the first two women to share the nation’s major party tickets. But has the way the media talks about Sarah Palin and Geraldine Ferraro changed?

Not so much, according to ongoing research by members of “the Palin Watch” at The University of Alabama.  

Newspapers around North America have used similar media frames to describe these very different women, who made vice-presidential runs at different times and for different parties.

Both of these women’s candidacies were framed by the media around, 1) their questionable experience, 2) their selection as a political stunt, and 3) their selection as a gamble.