Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
George H.W. Bush's Recovery Continuing: Spokesman
Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush is continuing his
recovery from a bronchitis-related cough and there's no timetable
for his release from hospital, according to a statement released
Monday.
Bush, 88, has been in Methodist Hospital in Houston since Nov.
23, the
Associated Pressreported.
Monday's statement by the former president's spokesman Jim
McGrath is the first information about Bush's condition since Dec.
30., when it was announced that he had been moved out of intensive
care.
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Microwaves Extend Bread Life
Bombarding bread with microwaves for about 10 seconds will keep
the bread mold-free for 60 days, according to a Texas company that
developed the new technology.
The microwaves kill mold spores, Don Stull, chief executive
officer of MicroZap Inc., told the
Associated Press. He said the process could eliminate the
need for bakers to use preservatives and ingredients to mask the
preservatives' flavor.
The technology could also increase bread's shelf life and reduce
food waste, according to Stull.
Mold develops on unrefrigerated bread in plastic packaging after
10 days, so the new technology may prove useful in bread storage
and transportation. But it may not do much to protect your bread
once you get it home, an expert said.
There are thousands of airborne mold spores everywhere and once
"you open (the bag of bread), all bets are off," Ruth MacDonald,
professor and chair of food science and human nutrition at Iowa
State University, told the
AP.
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DASH, Weight Watchers Best Diets Overall: Report
The DASH diet is the best overall diet, beating out 28 others,
including Jenny Craig, Slim-Fast and Atkins, according to the Best
Diets 2013 ranking released by
U.S. News & World Report.
Weight Watchers was rated the best of 12 commercial diet
programs marketed to the public, and the Mediterranean diet was
judged to be the best plant-based diet.
The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) wasn't
created to help people lose weight, but rather to fight high blood
pressure, according to
U.S. News & World Report.
The diets were scored by a panel of experts based on short- and
long-term weight loss, how easy they are to follow, potential
health risks, how well they conform to current nutrition standards,
and their ability to prevent and control diabetes and heart
disease.
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U.S. Supreme Court Refuses Case Challenging Stem Cell
Funding
A challenge to the Obama administration's funding for research
using human embryonic stem cells will not be considered by the U.S.
Supreme Court.
In a one-line written order released Monday, the court backed an
appeals-court ruling supporting National Institutes of Health
funding guidelines for research involving the stem cells, the
Wall Street Journalreported.
In 2010, a federal trial judge ruled against funding for the
research. But an appeals court later reinstated the funding, ruling
in favor of the government on two separate occasions.
Supporters of the research say it could lead to new treatments
for a wide range of diseases, while opponents question the morality
of using embryos, which are destroyed in the process to retrieve
the stem cells,
WSJreported.
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