Scientists have made the first human embryonic stem cells of a high enough grade to use in patients and deposited them in a public stem cell bank.
The cells could be used in human trials as early as 2014.

This could lead the path towards new stem cell treatments for conditions such as blindness, injuries or heart disease.

The cells are the first  to be grown completely free from animal-derived products and developed for clinical and public use.

I have no understanding whatsoever for people who are slowly killing themselves by binge eating or smoking. Deliberately putting one’s life at risk seems rather stupid to me. If you, like many others, want to reach an old age, you may want to follow Dr Clyde Yancy’s advice, 7 simple steps to reach 90 and even 100.

1. Be Active – Dr Yancy says physical inactivity can take almost 4 years off your lifespan.

2. Cholesterol Control – High levels of cholesterol can lead to build-up of fatty deposits in your arteries and bring on heart disease and stroke.

3. Healthy Diet – ok so this may seem a little controversial. But whatever diet you may follow we can agree on plenty fresh vegetables and fruits.

4. Control Blood Pressure – High blood pressure is commonly known as the “silent killer” because there are no warning signs. It can increase the risk of strokes up to 40 per cent and heart attacks by 25.

5. Manage Diabetes – type 2 diabetes is often caused by obesity and poor diet, raises the risk of disease and life threatening complication.

6. Stop Smoking already! – smoking causes 90 % of lung cancer deaths! Stopping smoking also cuts the risk of heart disease and strokes.

Fish Pedicure

Who hasn’t heard of the latest pedicure craze where tiny Garra Rufa fish nibble away dead skin. Aside from it sounding quite strange and bordering animal cruelty, you may even catch a deadly disease.

Blood borne viruses such as HIV or hepatitis could spread from one customer to another via the fish of the contaminated tank water.

Salon Brushes

Visiting a hair salon is common practise for most people. Most of us just don’t risk cutting our own hair. But you might think again as it’s quite common to use the same combs and brushes all day without cleaning them. So it is quite possible, even though the risk is minimal, that you might catch head lice. How does that new haircut sound now?

Bikini Waxes

I don’t quite understand the need for waxing. There are many more preferable methods for getting rid of unwanted hair that are less painful and messy. A salon bikini wax if done wrongly can remove the upper layers of the skin, leaving is vulnerable to infections such as MRSA.

Washbasins

Fancy a stroke with your blow dry? Research suggests the uncomfortable position in which you have to hold your neck when being shampooed could, in some cases, result in a stroke. The condition, Beauty Salon Stroke Syndrome, occurs when an artery in the neck is constricted and cuts the blood supply to the brain.

Symptoms include dizziness, facial numbness and even a blood clot in the brain. If you are worried you may be at risk, avoid over-extending your neck by using towels as padding or ask to have your hair washed leaning forward instead.

According to new research, cooked tomatoes may be just as potent as prescribed statins.

They could be an ‘effective alternative’ to statins, the class of drugs commonly prescribed for these conditions which can lead to heart problems, according to a study.

And just two ounces of tomato paste or a pint of juice a day could be enough to help many patients.

The secret lies in high levels of the  compound lycopene which gives ripe tomatoes their bright red colour. This powerful anti-oxidant is essential for good health as it helps lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Cooked tomatoes are best as tests showed the body can absorb more lycopene from these than raw fruit.

Experts in Australia analysed the results of 14 international studies into the benefits of lycopene over the past 55 years.

They concluded that it could provide a natural defence to raised levels of  so-called ‘bad cholesterol’ – or low-density lipoprotein – in the blood.

The effect was comparable to small doses of statins which are used to treat many of the 2.5million-plus Britons with high cholesterol or blood pressure

Eating tomatoes can help reduce the risk of cancer, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, scientists have revealed.   

Not only that but cooked or processed tomatoes are actually better for you than raw ones.

U.S researchers found the juicy vegetable is the biggest source of powerful antioxidant dietary lycopene, and unlike other fruit and vegetables it has greater potency after it is cooked.

Scientists at the National Centre of Food and Safety in Illinois said the nutrient contains protective mechanisms that help prevent inflammation and blood clots.

A strong link has already been established between the wonder veg and a lower risk of certain diseases such as prostate cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis.

Dr Britt Burton-Freeman and and Dr Kristin Reimers, who carried out the review, said: ‘Leveraging emerging science about tomatoes and tomato products may be one simple and effective strategy to help individuals increase vegetable intake, leading to improved overall eating patterns, and ultimately, better health.

Researchers have claimed recently that natural ingredients found in a cup of tea, can actually improve brain power and increase your alertness. Good news for the nation.

The effects of these ingredients, an amino acid called L-theanine – which is also found in green tea – and caffeine at levels typically found in a cup of tea, were compared with a dummy treatment.

The active ingredients significantly improved accuracy across a number of switching tasks for those who drank the tea after 20 and 70 minutes, compared with the placebo.

Processed meat is known to be a bit on the unhealthy side. The latest news discuss the risk of bowel cancer associated to eating more than 3 slices of ham a day.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), published recommendations designed to cut the risk of bowel cancer.

The latest findings are bound to muddy the already confusing debate around the nutritional benefits of red meat.

Only last week a British Nutrition Foundation study claimed that the majority of adults ate ‘healthy amounts’ of red meat and there was an ‘inconclusive’ link to cancer.

However, the government insists that people who eat 90g or more of red and processed meat a day should cut back.

Cutting down to the UK average of 70g a day can help reduce the risk, the study from SACN said.

Red meat contains substances that have been linked to bowel cancer.

One compound in particular, haem, which gives red meat its colour, has been shown to damage the lining of the colon in some studies.

could keep winter colds at bay! Well actually one particular ingredient could help you ward off colds, fenugreek. The spice is commonly used in curries and has been attributed medicinal properties.

During a three-month winter period 20 volunteers, ten with colds and flu symptoms and ten without, consumed half a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds twice a week in a curry.

The cold-afflicted volunteers reported immediate and sustained relief from symptoms of runny nose, cough, sneezing, sore throat and tiredness.

Volunteers who were fit and healthy at the outset remained that way for the duration of the trial, despite usually coming down with a cold at least once in the same period.

Don’t however think that by taking fenugreek you’re all set and don’t need to pay attention to a healthy diet. The best defence against the common cold is usually a healthy immune system.

We all know smoking is bad. So yanking up prices in tobacco is a really good thing, as many people would surely agree. One in five adults smoke in England causing more than 80.000 deaths a year- is it really worth it? No it surely is not.

Dr Stephen Hecht from the University of Minnesota led a team that studied the level of harmful substances known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 12 smokers.

Scientists have long believed that PAHs are one of the main causes of lung cancer, but until now it was not known how the chemicals caused DNA damage in humans.

Dr Hecht and colleagues added a labelled PAH, phenanthrene, to cigarettes and tracked its fate in 12 volunteers who smoked the cigarettes.   

They found that phenanthrene quickly forms a toxic substance in the blood known to trash DNA, causing mutations that can cause cancer.   

The smokers developed maximum levels of the substance in a time frame that surprised even the researchers: just 15 to 30 minutes after the volunteers finished smoking. 

This has to be one of the most annoying trends of 2010, so called “celebrities” coming out with fitness DVDs. Naturally, they all plaster their DVD covers with before and after photos.

Seems to be an easy way to make some cash! The Daily Mail has a run-down on some of those DVDs with some personal trainers weighing in.