Meanwhile, US researchers have worked out how to hear melanoma cancer cells spreading through the blood, which may lead to a quick screening test for this deadliest form of skin cancer. 'It could take just 30 minutes to find out if there are any circulating cancer cells,' says John Viator, an assistant professor of biological engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia. By aiming a laser at a blood sample, the researchers are able to pick up sound energy from as few as 10 melanoma cells, WebMD reports.

Right on tract

Drinking more than three glasses of red wine a week can cut the incidence of abnormal growths and cancers of the intestinal tract by two-thirds, according to a State University of New York study of more than 1,700 people. It's the latest in a series linking red wine to reduced risks of cancers such as leukemia, breast and prostate - with most attributing the beneficial effects to resveratrol, found under the skin of grapes.

Grape expectations

No surprise then that University of Colorado researchers have found that grape-seed extract can attack colon cancers in laboratory tests and tests on mice. The researchers say that antioxidants called proanthocyanidins may be responsible for the extracts' effects. Cancer cells treated with the extract were more likely to halt their growth cycle and die. And tumors grew more slowly in mice given the extract, WebMD reports.

Moss have some

US researchers have begun clinical trials of an extract of club moss, a plant widely used in China to treat Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. The trials of Huperzine A, an alkaloid extracted from the plant, are among a growing number of studies of natural and alternative therapies, with the US National Institutes of Health expected to spend US$300 million on such research next year, WebMD reports.

TV-autism link

Autism may be linked to watching excessive amounts of television, according to preliminary studies by Cornell University business school researchers. 'We're not claiming we have definitive evidence, but we have evidence that is awfully suggestive of a link,' says team leader Michael Waldman. In the absence of data about TV viewing patterns for toddlers, the researchers relied on rainfall and cable-TV subscriptions. Families watch more TV when it rains, and those with cable also watch more TV. In both cases - areas of high rainfall and high cable subscription - autism rates were significantly higher, WebMD reports.

Colour test

Blue-eyed men consistently prefer blue-eyed women - probably because eye colour can indicate whether the woman has been faithful, according to Scandinavian researchers. If both parents have blue eyes, the children will always have blue-eyes, as well, Reuters reports. 'Blue-eyed men may have unconsciously learned to value a physical trait that can facilitate recognition of own kin,' the team from the University of Tromso in Norway wrote in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. In tests, blue-eyed men consistently preferred blue-eyed women. Brown-eyed men, who get no clues about paternity from a child's eye colour, had no such preference. Nor did women, regardless of their eye colour.

Breath test

Norwegian researchers say it may be possible to predict the chances of developing asthma from the quality of a newborn baby's breath, based on a 10-year study of more than 800 children. Although none of the babies had severe breathing problems, some had reduced lung function - and these were more likely to have developed asthma by the time they were 10, WebMD reports.

Jason Sankey is a tennis professional