Sydney - Five Australians recently returned from either North America or Mexico and who developed flu-like symptoms are being tested for swine flu, authorities said Monday. New South Wales chief health officer Kerry Chant said the symptoms in the three adults and two children were mild.

"There have been some tests performed, but no cases meet the probable case definition, and there have been no confirmed cases," she said.

London, Apr 27 : Two studies at Stanford University have revealed that brain cells need to follow specific rhythms for proper brain functioning.

Such rhythms are apparently not working in tandem in diseases like schizophrenia and autism.

But, the new studies have shown that precisely tuning the oscillation frequencies of certain neurons can affect how the brain processes information and implements feelings of reward.

Washington, Apr 27 : Pomegranate juice could help prevent prostate cancer recurrence, finds a new study.

During the study, the researchers followed a total of 48 participants over six years. These patients were asked to drinking eight ounces of pomegranate juice daily.

The participants had a rising PSA after surgery or radiotherapy, a PSA greater than 0.2 ng/ml and less than five ng/ml and a Gleason score of seven or less.

Manila - The Philippines has stepped up screening of travellers from Mexico and other countries affected by an outbreak of a deadly swine flu virus, health authorities said Monday. Health Secretary Francisco Duque stressed that there was still no case of swine flu among humans in the Philippines.

"There is no report of swine flu among humans in the Philippines," he told a press conference.

But Duque urged the public to practice good hygiene to avoid getting sick amid growing concern over the outbreak of the swine flu virus in Mexico, the United States and Canada.

London, April 27 : Do you have a neurotic personality? Well then it's time to relax or else you could end up developing asthma, says a new study.

Researchers at Heidelberg University in Mannheim, Germany, conducted a study and found that neurotic personality could triple the chances of developing asthma.

Adrian Loerbroks and colleagues used a questionnaire to evaluate tendencies to hysteria, anxiety and depression in 4010 adults without asthma, reports New Scientist.

Washington, April 27 : Adult circumcision lowers the risk of contracting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the risk of coital injury without reducing pleasure or causing sexual dysfunction, two new studies have shown.

The first study, conducted by Australian researchers, has shown that the inner foreskin has the largest concentration of Langerhans'' cells, which are the initial cellular targets in the sexual transmission of HIV.