Washington, April 29 : An anti-cancer compound studied for treating blood cancers may also help in treating cancers of the head and neck, say researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

The study involved a new class of chemotherapy agents known as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, which affect the availability of genes that are transcribed and translated into proteins.

Washington, April 29 : A research team, including an Indian-origin boffin, has developed a painless new method for detecting diabetes, utilizing saliva.

While searching for biomarkers that may indicate diabetes, doctors examined the saliva of 40 different patients.

Through salivary analysis, they managed to devise a new `non-invasive' method for detecting diabetes that foregoes the uncomfortable prick of a needle- patients need only to spit into a cup.

The spit test could be performed for little cost in a doctor's office or at a patient's home.

Kabul - The deputy of the Afghan Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Omar announced Wednesday that the militants would launch a new "strong and robust" operation in Afghanistan to counter more than 25,000 additional US and NATO forces due to arrive in the country this year. "As the US and NATO wants to send more troops to Afghanistan, the Afghans too sense the need for a strong and robust operation to counter the new forces," Mullah Brodar Akhund, the Taliban movement's number two leader, said in a statement posted on their website.

Washington, Apr 29 : US researchers claim that a brain protein involved in fear behavior and anxiety may represent a new target for depression therapies.

The study, by researchers at the University of Iowa and the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, has appeared in the April 29 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

Depression can be severely disabling. However, the causes of depression are not well understood.

Washington, April 29 : NASA has developed a flash on-line game about telescopes, featuring its next-generation spacecraft, the James Webb Space Telescope.

The game, called "Scope it Out!" includes an introduction to telescopes and four matching games where you can compare simple telescopes to both Webb and the Hubble Space Telescope.

It was created at NASA Goddard by Maggie Masetti, with Dr. Anita Krishnamurthi providing oversight on the project.

Washington, Apr. 29 : Pennsylvania's Republican Senator Arlen Specter has decided to quit the GOP to join the Democrats.

The five-term senator''s stunning defection puts the Democratic Party one vote from being able to crush any stalling tactics in the Senate, giving the White House a virtual E-ZPass through Capitol Hill.