China's population living longer
The life expectancy of China's 1.3 billion people is rising and more babies and pregnant women are surviving childbirth, says the ministry of health, which credits increased spending on health care. Average life expectancy rose by more than 2.5 years to 73 in 2005 from 71.4 in 2000, AFP reports, quoting the official Xinhua news agency. Infant mortality fell to 15.3 babies per 1,000 last year from 25.5 per 1,000 in 2003, and the maternal mortality rate fell to 36.6 births per 100,000 last year from 51.3 per 100,000 in 2003. The government has pledged to extend health coverage to all citizens by 2020.
Down's syndrome gene inhibits cancer
A gene involved in Down's syndrome may protect against cancer, despite having been thought to be a cause of the disease. From tests on mice, Johns Hopkins University researchers have found that those with extra copies of a particular chromosome, such as Down's syndrome sufferers, are less likely to develop intestinal cancer and have smaller tumours. The chromosome includes a gene, Ets2, suspected of causing cancer. But when there is an extra copy, it appears to repress tumours, WebMD reports. The researchers say more testing is required, but they hope to develop a drug that will boost Ets2.
Cocaine vaccine in the pipeline
A US-based husband-and-wife team is working on a cocaine vaccine that attacks the drug's molecules, blocking the high. Because most drug molecules are so small, the body's immune system is unable to recognise them and make antibodies. The vaccine being developed by Tom and Therese Kosten of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston circumvents the difficulty of rewiring reward pathways in the brain that are hijacked by drugs such as cocaine, AP reports. Instead, it triggers the body to produce antibodies that bind to the cocaine and stop it reaching the brain.