Cheap breath test may detect stomach, oesophageal cancers

Scientists have developed a cheap and non-invasive test that can measure the levels of five chemicals in the breath to detect cancers of the oesophagus and stomach with 85 per cent accuracy. Together, stomach and oesophageal cancer account for around 1.4 million new cancer diagnoses each year worldwide. Both tend to be diagnosed late, because the symptoms are ambiguous, meaning the five-year survival rate for these two types of cancer is only 15 per cent. Currently, the only way to diagnose oesophageal cancer or stomach cancer is with endoscopy —…

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How long will you live? Your blood test can give the answer

Believe it or not, scientists at Boston University claim to have discovered a game-changing blood test that could help predict lifespans. The study, published in the journal Aging Cell on Friday, used biomarker data collected from 5,000 blood samples and analysed it against the donors’ health developments over the subsequent eight years. Together, they identified patterns which indicated both good and bad futures. Specifically, their chances of getting age-related diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. In all, the researchers generated 26 different predictive biomarker signatures. The breakthrough means…

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Your saliva test can check body’s immunity

Y Researchers from the University of Birmingham have found that antibody levels in saliva are linked to those in blood serum, suggesting a new method for assessment of protection against bacterial infections. The study was published in the journal Biomarkers. They found that in general, higher antibody concentrations in serum were associated with higher concentrations in saliva, with the strongest relationships observed for IgA antibodies. “Protection against bacterial infection is usually inferred by measuring antibody levels in blood serum,” said lead study author Dr Jennifer Heaney. “But taking blood samples…

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New Blood Test May Identify Alcohol Disorders in Foetus

Researchers have identified a blood test that may help predict how severely a newborn can be affected by alcohol exposure during pregnancy. Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is a severe form of mental and physical disabilities. Children and adults affected by FASD may experience a range of symptoms, from physical changes like a small head and subtle differences in facial characteristics to learning difficulties and behavioural issues. The study showed that moderate to high levels of alcohol exposure during early pregnancy resulted in significant differences in some circulating small RNA…

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Dengue Deaths Touch 100 in Lucknow, More People Test Positive

The death toll from dengue has crossed the 100 mark here and still the vector borne disease shows no signs of relenting in Uttar Pradesh. In the past two days, more than 150 patients have tested positive for dengue and the humid weather continues to add to the spread of the disease. Health Department officials while refusing to admit the high toll, said the situation was “serious and worrisome”. The number of dengue patients here touched 1,356, including a large number of children and aged people. After a literal epidemic…

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First next-gen test can detect drug-resistant HIV

First next-gen test can detect drug-resistant HIV (Getty Images) A first-of-its-kind next-generation sequencing test, which can detect HIV drug resistance mutations that conventional tests fail to identify, can be a weapon in the war against AIDS, suggests a new study. Developed by researchers led by Gerd Michel, Charlie Lee and Elian Rakhmanaliev from Vela Diagnostics in Singapore, this test could play a critical role in helping clinicians to optimize HIV treatment regimens, while also helping public health initiatives to minimize the development of global resistance to antiretroviral drugs. Testing for…

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