Asia is host to half of the world's cancer cases

Cancer cases in Asia now account for almost half of the global cancer burden, according to the latest report from the World Health Organization.

It estimates that of the 12.7 million new cancer cases every year worldwide, about 48 percent occur in Asia. That is also to say, Asia has many more cases of cancer than any other continent.

The continent with the second highest percentage is Europe, which accounts for 25 percent of the world's cancer cases.

While Asia is the continent with the highest number of cancer cases, its cancer rate is currently one of the lowest. The age-standardized incidence rates are 154 per 100,000 per year. Only Africa has a lower rate, at 111 per 100,000.

Scientists make rice albumin breakthrough

Scientists at a Chinese university said on Monday they have figured out how to use rice to make albumin, a protein found in human blood that is often used for treating burns, traumatic shock and liver disease.

When extracted from rice seeds, the protein is "physically and chemically equivalent to blood-derived human serum albumin (HSA)", says the research in the US-published Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The findings could lead to a breakthrough in production of HSA, which typically comes from human blood donations.

The demand for the blood protein is about 500 tons per year worldwide, and China has faced worrying shortages in the past.

The rice method was devised by scientists at Wuhan University in China and researchers from the National Research Council of Canada and the Center for Functional Genomics at the University at Albany in New York.

Extra tumor risk linked to fertility treatment drugs

Women given drugs during fertility treatment to stimulate their ovaries to produce extra eggs have an increased risk of developing borderline ovarian tumors, Dutch researchers said on Thursday.

A large 15-year study found women undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) were twice as likely to develop ovarian malignancies - defined as either cancer or borderline tumors - as similarly sub-fertile women who were not treated.

The risk was concentrated in borderline tumors, which have abnormal cells that may become cancerous but usually do not. The danger of invasive ovarian cancer was slightly higher in the IVF treatment group but this was not statistically significant.

Fertility experts say the results showed there was a need for further research, although they stressed the apparent risks were still very low.

Cell rejuvenation success opens up possibilities

Scientists said recently they had transformed age-worn cells in people over 90 - including a centenarian - into rejuvenated stem cells that were "indistinguishable" from those found in embryos.

The technical feat, reported in the peer-reviewed journal Genes & Development, opens a new path toward regenerative medicine, especially for the elderly, the researchers say.

"This is a new paradigm for cell rejuvenation," says Jean-Marc Lemaitre, a researcher at the Institute of Functional Genomics at the University of Montpellier and the main architect of the study.

"The age of cells is definitely not a barrier to reprogramming," he says.

Yoga relieves lower back pain and improves lifestyles

People who took yoga classes for chronic lower back pain experienced more lifestyle improvements and better overall health than those who sought a doctor's advice, a study says.

The research in the US journal the Annals of Internal Medicine was led by scientists at the University of York, included more than 300 people and was described as the largest of its kind to date in the United Kingdom.

"Back pain is an extremely common and costly condition. Exercise treatment, although widely used and recommended, has only a small effect on back pain," lead investigator David Torgerson says.

"Our results showed that yoga can provide both short and long-term benefits to those suffering from chronic or recurrent back pain, without any serious side-effects."

China Daily-Reuters-AFP