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Fat accumulating around the hips may actually do some good to your health, as the latest research showed that it may protect against diabetes.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston discovered that subcutaneous fat in the hips and thighs areas may contribute to reduction of insulin levels and improvement of insulin sensitivity, which is important for regulation of blood sugar.

Those women who decided to give up smoking may succeed if they chose the right time of the month- during a premenstrual period, the study says.

The study conducted at the University of Michigan showed that 85 percent of women who tried to give up smoking after their periods did not managed to do it. In comparison, 66 percent of women who attempted to quit smoking after ovulation stage and before their periods failed to do so.

Experts explain that during the menstrual cycle different levels of female sex hormones influence their ability to stop the bad habit.

Vitamin supplements are taken by million of people as they are claimed to make us healthier, but the latest research showed that some vitamins may actually increase the risk of premature death.

Scientists at Copenhagen University said that healthy people, who take vitamins known as antioxidants to lower their chances of developing cancer, may do more harm than bad. It was found that these vitamins may interfere with natural body defence system and this can increase the risk of dying prematurely by 16 percent.

Drinking tea is beneficial for your brain, protecting its cells from degeneration and helping to keep your mind sharp, scientists say.

Professor Ng Tze Pin from the National University of Singapore's psychological medicine, who was a leading researcher of the four-year study, says any type of tea is good for brain.

Catechins, a natural compound in tea, was found to protect brain cells from the protein, that build up over the years and undermines cognitive function.

Parents' smoking habits can reduce their chances of conceiving a baby boy by almost half, scientists say.

The study conducted by paediatricians at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine implied that smokers are less likely to have a boy. Besides, smoking during pregnancy may prevent male embryo implanting in the womb and may become a cause for miscarriage.

Chronic bad breath can be an embarrassing problem for many people, still the cure might be very simple. Brushing your teeth twice a day with toothpaste containing triclosan and cleaning your tongue surface is effective enough to help you get rid of bad breath, experts say.

Halitosis or more commonly called chronic bad breath is thought to be caused by oral bacteria, producing sulfur compounds that have a specific smell. More than 25 percent of the population suffers from bad breath, and this number may be actually higher due to the fact that many people try to hide their problem. This condition may negatively affect a person's personal life, business relationships and lead to stress and low self-esteem.

Scientists found that popular anti-wrinkle treatment with Botox can pose serious health risks as the toxin may spread from face to the brain.

During a study conducted at the Italian National Research Council's Institute of Neuroscience in Pisa, scientists injected Botox into the whisker muscles of rats and found that traces of the toxin was present in the brain of the rats three days later and six months after the experiment.

Dr. Matteo Caleo, a leading author of the study said that the experiments showed that toxin spread from the area that controls long-term memory and spatial navigation to other areas of the rat's brain and was found in the part of the brain that controls eye-head coordination.

Natural antioxidant found in red wine has the potential to fight with pancreatic cancer cells, study says.

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center suggest that antioxidant resveratrol in grape skins and red wine can reach to the mitochondria, a core of cell's energy source and damage its function. Also if the treatment includes the combination of using resveratrol and irradiation, it resulted in apoptosis, the cancer cell death.

Scientists developed a test able to predict a risk of miscarriage for pregnant woman. The test measures the level of anandamide, a naturally occurring 'cannabis' in pregnant women who may have a negative outcome of their pregnancy.

Justin Konje, a professor and his colleagues at the University of Leicester, said that they managed to use their method of measuring the level of naturally occurring cannabis anandamide to foresee the possible risk of miscarriage in women with viable baby and having vaginal bleeding. The high level of anandamide indicates that woman is at increased risk of miscarriage.

Scientists developed a way to diagnose depression quickly and determine if antidepressants are efficient with a help of blood test.

Mark Rasenick and his colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine conducted a study, including 16 people diagnosed with depression who committed suicide and compared the results with the brains of dead people who did not had any psychiatric disorders.

Inhalation of the diesel fumes may evoke stress response in the brain and have long-term effects for the normal brain functioning, Dutch researchers reported.
Paul Borm from Zuyd University, who lead the research explained that regular exposure to air pollution especially in busy cities may seriously interfere with brain functioning and information processing.

Breakfast is an important meal, helping you to stay fit especially if you are a teenager, scientists say.

Feeling stressed was revealed to have a negative effect on woman's health being one of the causes to lead to cervical cancer, study says.

German scientists found a way to develop skin cells in a laboratory taken from a person's own stem cells from the hair roots. This breakthrough discovery may lead to applications in plastic and reconstructive surgery for treatment of the burns and wounds and creation of special implants.

Women who feel severely stressed at early stage are at risk of having a baby developing a schizophrenia disorder, scientists say.

The latest research shows that sedentary way of life is not only an enemy to your health, leading to age-related diseases, but also one of the major factors contributing to early ageing.

German researchers found that sperm contains protein that contributes to HIV being more dangerous than if it was alone. Initially, researchers in Germany intended to find if semen had the potential to inhibit HIV. Surprisingly, they discovered that prostatic acidic phosphatase found in semen that forms amyloid fibrilis is actually helping the virus to penetrate cells, making it more powerful.

Drinking black tea regularly is claimed could help lower the risk of the development of Parkinson's disease, study says. Researchers at Singapore's Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and National Neuroscience Institute say that it takes about 23 cups of black tea to reduce the risk of PD by 71 percent.

A birth control skin patch was found to have a higher risk of blood clots than other hormonal contraceptive like birth control pill, the US Food and Drug administration announced. According to the findings, the increased risk to health led to some changes made to the labelling of birth control skin patch to help women make a more sound choice.

German scientists discovered that hops that is used in beer production had essential cancer-fighting agents. The results of the study showed that xanthohumol, found in hops contains agents that inhibit enzymes which trigger cancer. Besides, xanthohumol helps in fighting carcinogens.