Glutathione :Boosting levels of known antioxidant may help resist age-related decline.

Glutathione :Boosting levels of known antioxidant may help resist age-related decline.A specific detoxification compound, glutathione, helps resist the toxic stresses of everyday life – but its levels decline with age and this sets the stage for a wide range of age-related health problems, scientists have discovered. What is this glutathione and how does it boosts health? A new study, published in the journal Redox Biology, also highlighted a compound -- N-acetyl-cysteine, or NAC -- that is already used in high doses in medical detoxification emergencies. But the researchers said that at much lower levels NAC might help maintain glutathione levels and prevent the routine metabolic declines associated with aging. What is glutathione,and how does it ensure healthy living?

Bacteria as pacemaker for the intestine

Bacteria as pacemaker for the intestine.For the first time, scientists have been able to prove that the bacterial colonization of the intestine plays an important role in controlling peristaltic functions. Spontaneous contractions of the digestive tract play an important role in almost all animals, and ensure healthy bowel functions. Now, for the first time, a research team from the Cell and Developmental Biology (Bosch AG) working group at the Zoological Institute at Kiel University (CAU) has been able to prove that the bacterial colonization of the intestine plays an important role in controlling peristaltic functions. The scientists published their results derived from the example of freshwater polyps Hydra -- in the latest issue of Scientific Reports.

SCIENTISTS CREATE INFERTILE FEMALE MOSQUITO TO WIPE OUT MALARIA.

UK scientists say they have reached a milestone in the fight against malaria by creating a genetically modified mosquito that is infertile.The plan is to wipe out the insects that spread malaria to people via bites, Nature Biotechnology reports. Two copies of the mutant gene render the malaria-carrying female insect completely barren. But one copy is enough for a mosquito mum or dad to pass it on to offspring. This should perpetually spread the infertility gene throughout the population so the species dwindles or dies out. However, the Imperial College London team say more safety tests are needed, meaning it will be a decade before the mutant mosquitoes can be released into the wild. Cheating nature; The mutant mosquito can still carry and transmit malaria to people via bites. But their genetic make-up means they should breed with and replace other malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Any offspring with one copy of the gene would carry on passing the trait to future generations, while any female offspring that inherits both copies would be unable to reproduce. In this way, the host of the malaria parasite should eventually become extinct. In the Imperial team's experiments with Anopheles gambiae - a breed of mosquito that is rife in sub-Saharan Africa where the bulk of human malaria deaths currently occur - the mutant mosquitoes were kept with wild-type ones so they could mate. The gene for infertility was transmitted to more than 90% of both male and female mosquitoes' offspring across five generations, thanks to technology called gene drive, say the researchers Dr Tony Nolan and Prof Andrea Crisanti. read more ;http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35024794