Washington, Mar 30 : Scientists have found that several categories of patients with heart disease, including African-Americans and lower-income families, have a lower quality of life.

Although paediatric surgeons can effectively repair complex heart defects in kids, some of the children may have great quality of life, while others with the same condition may not.

The new study was conducted at seven paediatric medical centres throughout the United States.

Washington, Mar 30 : A gene linked to the autoimmune disease lupus, and its location on the X chromosome can explain why females are 10 times more susceptible to the disease than males, according to a new study.

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center identified the gene called IRAK1 as part of an international human genetic study.

Systemic lupus erythematosus, or lupus for short, causes a wide range of symptoms such as rashes, fever or fatigue that make it difficult to diagnose.

Washington, Mar 30 : Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling has waged war on a website to remove her wizard novels, which were put online without her consent.

Rowling's legal team has asked California site Scribd. com, which claims to be the most popular literary site worldwide, to take down the digital versions of the renowned authors' beloved books.

Her lawyer, Neil Blair, told Britain's The Times newspaper that the website did not have permission to publish the novels online.

Washington, Mar 30 : Rapid changes in weight during infancy increase children's risk of later obesity, says a new study.

According to a new study led by researchers in the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention at Harvard Medical School and Harvard
Pilgrim Health Care, as well as Children's Hospital Boston, rapid weight gain during the first six months of life may place a child at risk for obesity by age 3.

Washington, March 30: A team of researchers from Sheffield Hallam University, UK, has developed a new, environmentally friendly coating with the help of bacteria, which protects metals against corrosion in seawater.

Researcher Jeanette Gittens and colleagues have described how they had encapsulated spores s from a bacterium into a sol-gel coating, which then protected an aluminium alloy from microbial corrosion.

Washington, Mar 30: Mothers of multiples are at an increased risk of having moderate to severe depressive symptoms nine months after giving birth compared to mums of single-born children, says a new study.