Medi Watch

HIV drug cancer potential

A drug commonly used in HIV treatment may help prevent often fatal cervical cancer and could be developed into a cream to be used as an alternative to surgery, according to laboratory tests at the University of Manchester. Researchers found that lopinavir, a type of HIV drug known as a protease inhibitor, selectively killed human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, Reuters reports. At least two HPV vaccines have been developed recently.

A berry good idea

Blueberries and strawberries appear to keep ageing brains sharp - in rats, anyway. Male rats that were fed berry-rich diets for two months and then radiated (to speed up ageing) performed as well in intelligence tests at Tufts University, Massachusetts, as rats that hadn't been radiated and better than radiated rats that had been on normal diets. Their brain levels of the feel-good chemical dopamine were also higher, WebMD reports. A decrease in dopamine can cause a drop in memory, attention and problem-solving skills.

Dad's monkey business

Becoming a father really can mess with your mind - if you're a marmoset, at least. A Princeton University study has been described as 'very exciting' for providing the first link among primates between fatherhood and physical and chemical changes in the brain. Marmoset monkey fathers are typically heavily involved in parenting. Researchers noted two key differences between the brains of fathers and other males, healthday.com reports. First, the fathers had a higher density of spines on neuron branches in the prefrontal cortex, which in humans is associated with emotion and learning the consequences of actions. Secondly, they had more receptors for a hormone called vasopressin, strongly connected to parental behaviour. 'The experience of being a father dramatically alters brain regions important for cognition,' says team leader Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy.

Bus uncles beware

Being an angry old man can really knock the wind out of you - although US researchers who studied 670 men during an eight-year period aren't sure why chronic anger appears to speed up the normal deterioration of lung power with age. The Harvard School of Public Health study suggests that negative emotions may affect biological processes and disturb the immune system, causing chronic inflammation, Reuters reports. Anger, hostility and stress have been linked with heart disease, asthma and other ailments.

A tall story

Tall people not only earn more money than shorter people, they're notably smarter, according to a Princeton University analysis of three major US and British studies. The report lends further support to findings that prenatal care and nutrition through the first three years are critical in determining intelligence and height. In the US and Britain, a height advantage of 10cm equates to a 10 per cent higher wage, on average. The researchers say this advantage is more than just image, and that differences in intelligence are noticeable from the age of three, Reuters reports.

A light warm up

Pulses of infrared light may be a safer and more effective way for athletes to warm up than standard exercises, according

to a small Japanese trial reported in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine. Deep thermal therapy (using polarised near-infrared light) has been used to treat pain from joint and muscle injuries and nerve damage. But the Kanazawa University tests show the treatment is more effective in warming up muscles - and requires no exertion from the athlete - than riding a stationary bike for 10 minutes.

Meditate to less pain

Transcendental meditation may reduce the brain's reaction to pain by as much as 50 per cent, according to a study at the University of California, Irvine. And the effect can be achieved within about five months, healthday.com reports. Previous studies have shown that meditation 'creates a more balanced outlook on life and greater equanimity in reacting to stress', says team leader David Orme-Johnson. 'This study suggests that this is not just an attitudinal change, but a fundamental change in how the brain functions.'

Jason Sankey is a tennis professional