Washington, Apr 3 : Supervised exercise through pulmonary rehabilitation can help improve the condition of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study.

Richard Casaburi, at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed), has found that supervised exercise can reduce the feelings of breathlessness, increase the tolerance for exercise, and improve quality of life in COPD patients.

Washington, Apr 3 : Hypodermic needles often lead to medical complications when the jab penetrates too far in the skin. However, now MIT researchers have developed a novel needle that aims to reduce the risk.

Based on the drilling technique from the oil industry, scientists have developed a mechanical device that automatically stops once the needle tip enters a cavity or lower-density tissue.

Washington, Apr 3 : Want to shed those extra pounds? Well, then focus more on what you drink than what you eat, suggest Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers.

The researchers studied the relationship between beverage consumption among adults and weight change and found that weight loss was positively linked to a reduction in liquid calorie consumption and liquid calorie intake had a stronger impact on weight than solid calorie intake.

Washington, Apr 3 : A diet rich in whipping cream, butter and vegetable oils can help control epileptic seizures in children, suggests a new study.

In the study, children on highly regimented ketogenic diet, a high-fat nutritional therapy, were found to have 90pct reduction in seizure frequency.

Washington, Apr 3 : A 30-minute video posted this week on a jihadist Web site may be used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to solve a terror-related case involving Somali-Americans.

According to Fox News, the FBI has been investigating at least 20 Somali-American men from the Minneapolis area and elsewhere in the United States who traveled to war-torn Somalia to join an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group known as al-Shabaab.

Washington, Apr 3 : High levels of lead concentrations in blood might put women at increased risk of death from coronary heart diseases (CHD), according to a new study.

The research led by University of Pittsburgh and the University of Maryland scientists found that those with blood lead concentrations above 8µg/dL were three times more likely to die of CHD.

During the study, the team followed a group of 65-87 year old women and recorded their cause of death.

"Lead is a toxic metal, and our results add to the existing evidence of adverse affects of lead on health as seen in an older cohort who experienced greater historic environmental lead exposure," said lead researcher Naila Khalil.