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Life Expectancy: World Health Statistics 2007

A boy born in San Marino, a tiny republic surrounded by Italy, will likely live to age 80, the world's longest male life expectancy, but newborn girls in Japan and 30 other countries have even better prospects. Females in Japan, who traditionally lead the world tables, have a life expectancy of 86 years, the same as last year's statistics. San Marino men, who tied with Japanese men last year at 79, added a year to get ahead.

Following San Marino on the male side were Australia, Iceland, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland at 79 years and then Canada, Israel, Italy, Monaco and Singapore at 78. France was tied for 12th place at 77 years with a group of countries including New Zealand and Britain. Germany was at 76 years. United States was among the countries that tied the U.S. for 33rd place at 75 years.

Countries with long-living women include Monaco, 85 years, and Andorra, Australia, France, Italy, San Marino, Spain and Switzerland at 84. Canada tied Iceland and Sweden at 83 years for women, and Germany was in a group at 82 years. Britain came in at 81 years. Costa Rica and Denmark tied the United States for 32nd place at 80 years.

» Database / Downloads [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

[ PDF ] View the ten global health highlights
[ PDF ] Review the indicator definitions and metadata

UMICH: High-testosterone people reinforced by others' anger

Most people don't appreciate an angry look, but a new University of Michigan psychology study found that some people find angry expressions so rewarding that they will readily learn ways to encourage them. "It's kind of striking that an angry facial expression is consciously valued as a very negative signal by almost everyone, yet at a non-conscious level can be like a tasty morsel that some people will vigorously work for," said Oliver Schultheiss, co-author of the study and a U-M associate professor of psychology.

The findings may explain why some people like to tease each other so much, he added. "Perhaps teasers are reinforced by that fleeting 'annoyed look' on someone else's face and therefore will continue to heckle that person to get that look again and again," he said. "As long as it does not stay there for long, it's not perceived as a threat, but as a reward."

[ mp3 ] listen or download » umich.edu [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

Team unearths genetic risk factors for diabetes

Scientists have discovered three unsuspected regions of human DNA that contain clear genetic risk factors for type 2 diabetes, and another that is associated with elevated blood triglycerides.

Using this approach, the DGI team and their collaborators identified and confirmed three novel regions of the genome that influence the risk of type 2 diabetes, as well as a genomic region that is linked with blood triglyceride levels. Perhaps the most intriguing result involves a DNA region that lies far from any known annotated genes. Such genomic "outsiders" would have been incredibly difficult to find by traditional hypothesis-driven approaches.

» mit.edu / DGI [ Contribute: submit link / submit article / submit company ]

US Senate votes to strengthen FDA

The US Senate's approval this week of legislation to strengthen the Food and Drug Administration could spark reform in an agency often accused by consumer groups of lacking effectiveness. The text, adopted by a vote of 93-1, aims to boost certain FDA regulatory powers and help restore the public's shaken confidence following a series of scandals in recent years.

Oxford: An aspirin a day keeps colon cancer away

An Oxford University study shows that taking a 300mg tablet of aspirin a day for five years can reduce the risk of colon cancer by 74 per cent in the subsequent 10-15 years, or by 37 per cent overall.
The study published in The Lancet was conducted by a team led by Professor Peter Rothwell, from the Department of Clinical Neurology, in collaboration with the original investigators.

In an accompanying review of observational studies, the researchers also showed that taking medium to high doses of aspirin for 10 years or more reduced the risk of colon cancer by between 50 and 70 per cent. This effect was seen regardless of age, sex, race or country of origin. The benefit was also seen in individuals with a high risk of cancer. A family history of colon cancer normally increases that individual’s chance of acquiring the disease by two to four times.

» University of Oxford

iPods can cause cardiac pacemakers to fail

iPods can cause cardiac implantable pacemakers to malfunction by interfering with the electromagnetic equipment monitoring the heart, according to a study presented by a 17-year-old high school student to a meeting of heart specialists on Thursday.

The study tested the effect of the portable music devices on 100 patients, whose mean age was 77, outfitted with pacemakers. Electrical interference was detected half of the time when the iPod was held just 2 inches from the patient's chest for 5 to 10 seconds.

The reason why it this hasn't been caught before?
"Most pacemaker patients are not iPod users," Jongnarangsin said.

» reuters.co.uk 

Tags: pacemakers, cardiovascular, hearth+health

Gene mutation found only in humans

Scientists in China have announced finding the gene that makes us human. The article explains that prior work has shown that humans, as compared with the great apes from which we diverged over 5 million years ago, have a longer form of a protein (type II neuropsin) located in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. From the article: 'Gene sequencing revealed a mutation specific to humans that triggers a change in the splicing pattern of the neuropsin gene, creating a new splicing site and a longer protein. Introducing this mutation into chimpanzee DNA resulted in the creation of type II neuropsin. "Hence, the human-specific mutation is not only necessary but also sufficient in creating the novel splice form," the authors state.' The team is urging further analysis of the extra 45 amino acids in type II neuropsin since they believe that chain may cause protein structural and functional changes. The research didn't link anything with this protein, simply identifying it as a very distinct difference between us and our closest cousins.

» interscience.wiley.com

Embryonic stem cells can repair eyes, company says

Stem cells made from human embryos can home in on damaged eyes, hearts and arteries of mice and rats, and appear to start repairs, a U.S. company said on Monday.

Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology said it had devised a straightforward way to make blood vessel precursor cells out of the stem cells and plans to test them in humans.

"We figured out how to produce literally billions of so-called 'hemangioblasts' -- the mythical cell in the embryo that gives rise to our entire blood and immune system as well as to the blood vessels in our body," Dr. Robert Lanza, vice president of research and scientific development at ACT, said in an e-mail.

» reuters.com

Tags: human+embryos, stem+cells, Advanced+Cell+Technology

Technology Review: Genomes for the Masses

Whereas the DNA sequence produced by the Human Genome Project in 2003 was a mosaic drawn from a number of different human genomes, the efforts by 454 Life Sciences and Illumina, which could be completed in the next few months, will be the first sequences of individual genomes. As such, they herald the era of "personalized genomics." An individual genome sequence shows the particular combination of genetic variants in an individual's DNA, allowing scientists to explore the relationship between a person's genotype and his or her biological traits. This has been done at the level of single genes for decades, but never before on the genome-wide scale.

» technologyreview.com

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007

The Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 (GINA) has been passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 420-3. The act will protect individuals against discrimination based on their genetic information when it comes to health insurance and employment. These protections are intended to encourage Americans to take advantage of genetic testing as part of their medical care.

President George W. Bush urged Congress to pass legislation to protect Americans from having their genetic information about cancer and other diseases used against them in health insurance or employment. After that, genetic non-discrimination bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

» genome.gov