Oct 05, 2009 - Functional food is the food industry's fastest-growing product group, its leading products including dairy products which contain probiotics, that is, bacteria promoting health.

Valio's Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG®) is the most frequently studied and used probiotic. Under the supervision of researchers at the Institute of Biotechnology, and the Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences at the University of Helsinki, an international research team determined the genome sequences of LGG and a bacterium closely related to it. t development in the food industry.

Oct 01, 2009 - When used "off-label," the antidepressant amitriptyline works just as well as placebo in treating pain-predominant gastrointestinal disorders in children, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

To view this article's video abstract, go to the AGA's YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/AmerGastroAssn.

"Many pharmaceutical products are prescribed for off-label use in children due to the lack of clinical trials testing the efficacy of the drugs in children and adolescents.

Oct 01, 2009 - It's often said that overly macho males suffer from "too much testosterone."
But a new study in mice reveals how estrogen might share in that blame.

The report in the October 2nd issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, reveals how early estrogen exposure "masculinizes" the brain circuitry, predisposing boys to be boys as it were.

That early event is specifically critical in producing male mice that will pick fights with other males and that dutifully mark their territories with urine.

Sep 30, 2009 - Exposure to radon gas in homes is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, according to a study carried out by researchers from the University of Cantabria and the Babes-Bolyai University in Romania.

The team has studied data on exposure to this element in a uranium mining area in Transylvania and in an area of granite in Torrelodones, Madrid.Numerous studies worldwide have shown that radon, a natural radioactive gas that seeps into homes in some regions, is the second leading factor (after smoking) in causing people to develop lung cancer.