Washington, Nov 7: Scientists have found evidence that Beta-alanine (BA), a dietary supplement widely used by athletes and body builders, can boost fitness levels in older adults.

BA is an amino acid that, together with histidine, forms the dipeptide carnosine.

Carnosine is found in muscle tissue and makes an important contribution to the maintenance of intracellular pH, which is vital for normal muscle function during intense exercise. An increased intake of BA significantly raises muscle carnosine levels.

Washington, Nov 7: Staying active, acting early and learning the warning signs of lymphedema – an adverse effect of breast cancer treatment caused by damage to the lymph system – can help women fighting the deadly disease avoid developing chronic lymphedema.

That’s what the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has suggested that women can learn more about how to protect themselves from this common and distressing adverse effect of treatment.

Melbourne, Nov 7 : Exercising pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) can enhance arousal and sensation during sex, according to an expert.

The pelvic floor is a layer of muscles spanning the bottom of the pelvis that gives control over the bladder and bowel.

"Voluntary contraction of these muscles helps with sensation and arousal during sexual intercourse (and) involuntary contractions of the muscles occur during orgasm,'''' the Daily Telegraph quoted Royal Brisbane Women''s Hospital physiotherapist Rowan Hill, as saying.

Washington, Nov 7 : Children born to mothers with pregnancy-related diabetes are twice as likely to have language development problems, says a new study.

The research team from Universite Laval''s School of Psychology suggests that gestational diabetes can adversely affect brain development of babies leading to language delay in children.

Washington, November 7 (ANI): A new study has revealed that the anti-herpes drug acyclovir can slow down HIV infection, but with the risk that treated cells may promote the emergence of multi-drug resistant HIV variants.

Moira McMahon and colleagues at Johns Hopkins used a sensitive infection assay of white blood cells, and observed that acyclovir could directly inhibit HIV replication.

The researchers said that the drug particularly targeted the reverse transcriptase (RT) enzyme, which converts HIV’s RNA into DNA to enable it to replicate.

However, as early as five days after initial infection, a mutant version of HIV (V75I) appeared in the cells, and spread to comprise over 90 per cent of the viral population within 94 days.

Washington, Nov 7 : Researchers from UC Davis Cancer Centre have identified a metabolic deficiency in pancreatic cancer cells that can be used to slow the progression of one of the most fatal cancers.

They have found that pancreatic cancer cells cannot produce the amino acid arginine, which plays an essential role in cell division, wound healing, immune function and hormone regulation.

By depleting arginine levels in cell cultures and animal models, the team was able to significantly reduce pancreatic cancer-cell proliferation.