A new U.S. study has revealed that just 25 percent of 14-year-olds said they used sunscreen regularly despite the fact that sunburn in childhood greatly raises a person’s lifelong risk for skin cancer.

Researchers led by Dr. Stephen Dusza of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City, examined data on 360 fifth graders in Massachusetts who were surveyed in 2004 and again three years later in 2007.

The years of “periadolescence” covered by the study (ages 11 to 14) appear to be “a crucial period” when young people often either “increase or decrease their use of sun protection, obtain sunburns, or change their tan-promoting attitudes,” the authors wrote.

“Adolescence and teenage years are tremendously difficult because it is a period of flexing independence, coupled with feelings of invincibility,” they added.

The study was published in the February issue of Pediatrics.

The Obama administration recently said $1 billion of federal funds allocated in last year’s health reform law would be going toward innovation programs designed to boost jobs and improve patient care.

The announcement is the latest attempt of the administration to show that it is working outside of a deeply-divided Congress to create jobs.

From Reuters.com:

The administration will award grants in March to people who come up with the best ideas to lift care and save money for those enrolled in the federal healthcare programs Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

However, the administration did not say how many jobs the measure would create.

Don Berwick, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said a good example includes the Baylor Heart Hospital in Dallas which has worked to lower readmission rates for congestive heart failure.

“We are concerned that at a time of significant uncertainty for the fiscal health of the U.S. government, funds are being expended by the Innovation Center with little to no actual value provided,” three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee wrote to Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Dietary and lifestyle differences could possibly explain why South Asians and Europeans require different doses of drugs to treat similar conditions, according to Vidya Perera, final year pharmacy doctoral student at the University of Sydney.

Perera found that people from South Asia could manage with lower drug doses because of lower levels of CYP1A2, which is an enzyme that metabolizes drugs.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

Vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli are known to increase levels of CYP1A2,’ according to a Sydney statement.

‘The lower levels of CYP1A2 in South Asians, however, appears to be due to the common practice of cooking these vegetables, using ingredients such as cumin and turmeric, ingredients known to inhibit the enzyme,’ explained Perera.

‘This is the first study to look at CYP1A2 activity in South Asians. Understanding the correct dose of a medicine is crucial to achieving beneficial results and avoiding adverse drug reactions,’ she said.

The research was presented by Perera at the AusBiotech 2011 in Australia.

A spray that has an anaesthetizing effect on the penis has gone on sale for men suffering from premature ejaculation.

The last long spray contains 9.6 per cent lidocaine, a local anesthetic which reduces skin sensitivity.

From Dailymail.co.uk:

The manufacturer claims that three to eight sprays applied to the penis five to 15 minutes before intercourse can help prolong the time taken to reach climax.

‘This is definitely one of the better options for premature ejaculation,’ says Wendy Hurn, urology nurse consultant at Bristol Royal Infirmary.

‘I imagine the spray’s effects will last between five and 20 minutes. You do need quite a lot — nearer the eight than three sprays, in my opinion, to achieve the level of numbness required.

‘And as with anything applied to skin, you need to be aware of allergic reactions.

‘Not everyone has had a form of anaesthetic before and you never know how you’re going to react. Spray a small amount on your arm the day before to be on the safe side. If you have been using condoms to try to delay ejaculation then this could be an alternative, but always practise safe sex.’

The Boots Pharmaceuticals Premjact Desensitizing Spray for Men is available at £9.99 for 12g.

Actor John Abraham stretches his body even if it means disrupting his sleep when it comes to be healthy and fit.

The actor is currently in London for I, Me Aur Mein and has taken to biking and jogging on the streets.

From Dnaindia.com:

However, being the fitness freak that he is; the actor doesn’t compromise on his fitness regime and makes sure to hit the gym even if it is at three in the morning.

The actor is simultaneously working on three films that require him to have a fit physique and hence the intense workouts. Even working for long and hectic schedules is not an excuse for him to skip the workouts.

The actor has in the past admitted that he treats his body like a temple. “Working out is like worship for me,” he’d said earlier.

John has little time to do anything else besides shoot after working for more than 20 hours a day.

In a study of crickets, researchers found that antioxidants, vitamin E, and beta carotene are helpful in maintaining male fertility and offering the best protection against sperm damage.

A combination of these antioxidants provided to be the best weapon to boost the health of the sperm, as per the researchers.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

Study author Maria Almbro, from the University of Western Australia (UWA), said sperms were known to be vulnerable to attack from highly reactive molecules known as free radicals. They damage sperm cells, unless neutralised by antioxidants.

Almbro’s colleague Leigh Simmons said for most animals, it was typical for females to have the sperm of several males inside them at any given time, competing for the fertilisation of eggs, reports the journal Ecology Letters.

‘It is fair to say that the sperm are at war within the female, and we can expect that the most competitive sperm will win the race to the egg,’ Simmons was quoted as saying by a UWA statement.

‘Our study showed that the sperm of males who were fed antioxidants were easily able to outclass the sperm of rival males who were deprived of antioxidants,’ he added.

Study co-author Damian Dowling from Monash said, ‘What we have done is provide a definitive experimental confirmation of this, not in a test tube, but in a real living animal, showing that antioxidants are profoundly important in deciding the outcomes of reproduction in males.’

If there is no better reason in your life than to stay ahead of the rest, these motivational quotations will help you realize all dreams and goals in quick time.

Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God and value it next to conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of, a blessing money can’t buy. – Izaak Walton (1593 – 1683)

Health consists of having the same diseases as one’s neighbors. – Quentin Crisp

It is amazing how much crisper the general experience of life becomes when your body is given a chance to develop a little strength. – Frank Duff, A Coder in Courierland, 03-20-05

What some call health, if purchased by perpetual anxiety about diet, isn’t much better than tedious disease. – George Dennison Prentice

Health is not simply the absence of sickness. – Hannah Green

A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses. – Hippocrates (460 BC – 377 BC), Regimen in Health

Getting my lifelong weight struggle under control has come from a process of treating myself as well as I treat others in every way. – Oprah Winfrey (1954 – ), O Magazine, August 2004

A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. – Paul Dudley White

Pain (any pain–emotional, physical, mental) has a message. The information it has about our life can be remarkably specific, but it usually falls into one of two categories: “We would be more alive if we did more of this,” and, “Life would be more lovely if we did less of that.” Once we get the pain’s message, and follow its advice, the pain goes away. – Peter McWilliams, Life 101

The more severe the pain or illness, the more severe will be the necessary changes. These may involve breaking bad habits, or acquiring some new and better ones. – Peter McWilliams, Life 101

The glow and radiance of beauty always lies in complexion of the skin. While some of us are born with fair skin, some of us are not that fortunate. Even if you have been born with fair skin, you may experience quality of skin color reducing with passing age. In this piece of information, we will talk about how to get fair skin.

1. Apply a mixture of lemon juice and honey for a period of fifteen minutes on a daily basis and see the difference in skin tone by yourself.
2. In order to get fair and glowing skin, cut slices of cucumber rub them on the skin. Thereafter, apply cucumber juice on the skin and leave it overnight & then wash your face with a natural shampoo in the morning.
3. Applying reddish juice on the skin is considered beneficial to improve complexion of the skin.
4. To get a glowing complexion, make a mixture of oat meal, tomato juice, and yogurt and apply and leave on the facial skin for 15-25 minutes.
5. If you want to change skin tone effectively, you can try out a mixture of two table spoons of gram flour and fresh homogenized milk for washing the face instead of using soaps.
6. You can even try out soaking some almonds (5-8) in water overnight. In the morning, peel and grind them and add some milk and lemon juice to this grinded paste and rub it on the face to get a glowing complexion.

Try out these home remedies for getting fair skin and feel the difference in your skin and personality.

If your child has been into drug abuse, it is high time that you take him or her to a teen drug rehab. This is because only a timely intervention can help all of you to lead a peaceful life, which is free from any chemical dependency.

Before we read any further, it is important for us to note that there are no quick fixes for drug abuse and recovery may become an ongoing process. Moreover, the family needs to understand the plight and emotions of the child and make necessary steps so that the rehabilitation treatment is integrated into everyday life without constantly reminding the child that he has committed a mistake.

A teen drug rehab center can help your teenage child receive quality and continuing care from experts so that the recovery process can be supported and monitored at all times. A drug rehabilitation treatment center provides treatment programs such as inpatient, residential, outpatient, and short-stay options that meet individual needs and can be more than just useful for bringing back your teen child into the right mood. The drug rehab will help your teen child defeat the urge to consume drugs and recover completely – mentally, physically, and emotionally. Furthermore, the individual-specific rehab programs at these centers will help in nurturing, supporting, and encouraging the teenager to overcome addiction and look at the brighter side of life.

As the parent(s) of the child, even you can seek advice on how to deal with your child’s drug abuse from a drug rehab counselor. It will also help you get out of the catastrophic revelation that your son or daughter has been struggling with drug abuse and erode thoughts of guilt, disappointment, failure, and embarrassment from your mind so that you can give your best to overcome teen drug abuse in the present and future.

Scientists have suggested that babies who are breastfed grow up to be more intelligent.

Research has revealed that just four weeks on their mothers’ milk could have a significant effect on a child’s development in primary and secondary school.

From Dailymail.co.uk:

Those who have been breastfed do better at reading, writing and maths at the ages of five, seven, 11 and 14.

While breast milk has long been known to boost babies’ immunity, helping them fight ear infections, stomach bugs and even asthma, little was known about its effects on intelligence until now.

Maria Iacovou, one of the authors of the study, said: ‘The issue was that while it looked as though breastfeeding did have an impact on cognitive development, no one knew if that was just because the type of mother more likely to breastfeed in the first place was more likely to nurture brighter children, or whether there was a true causal link.

The study was conducted by researchers from Oxford University and the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex.