GOOD NEWS

Skin route

According to two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a fraction of the standard dose of flu vaccine is enough to immunise people from influenza, if injected into the skin rather than into the muscle of the upper arm, the usual target. Muscle injections are standard because it requires lesser skill to inject. However, injecting the vaccine in the skin is more effective because it is full of immune cells, whereas the muscle is almost devoid of them.

Heart jacket

American scientists are using a new concept involving wrapping the heart in a mesh-like net to prevent further enlargement in patients with heart failure (a condition in which the heart can?t circulate enough blood to meet the needs of the body and continues to get larger and weaker). The jacket for the heart, developed by scientists from the Saint Louis University and other institutions across the US, will help patients feel better and reduce the chances of their needing a heart transplant. These findings were presented at the American Heart Association Meeting recently.

BAD NEWS

Hands-free hassle

Talking on the cellphone while driving is a serious health hazard even if you are using a hands-free set, reports Human Factors. A group of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign tested the hands-free approach and found that drivers struggled to see dangerous scenarios appearing in front of them while using the cellphone. They conducted the research in a virtual reality suite and concluded that the requirement to comprehend and generate speech during a conversation results in interference with the scanning of the driving options, leading to accidents.

Eat-out legacy

If you frequent restaurants regularly, chances are that you skip the minimum daily intake of fruits and vegetables required to guard for immunity against heart problems and cancer. Five or more fruits and vegetables daily is the amount recommended to keept diseases such as heart disease and cancer at bay. According to a group of researchers from the Saint Louis University, families who eat out are more likely to skip fruits and vegetables because they do not like their tastes.