Embryonic stem cell therapy closer to human trials

Embryonic stem cell therapy got a step closer to the clinic Thursday after US researchers said they filed a request for government approval of human trials.

The trials would involve 12 patients losing their sight to a currently untreatable disease called Stargardt, which is one of the most common forms of juvenile blindness.

The treatment would consist of a single injection of retinal cells derived from embryonic stem cells.

Previous studies in rats and mice have found that the treatment prevented further vision loss without adverse side effects, said Robert Lanza, the chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology.

It works by replacing lost retinal cells -- called retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) -- which maintain the photoreceptors needed for vision.

"If you start to lose these RPE, the environment for the photoreceptors degenerates," Lanza said in a telephone interview.

"By putting these RPEs back in you can prevent the loss of these photoreceptors and prevent blindness."

The trials could begin as early as the beginning of next year if the Food and Drug Administration grants approval, Lanza said.

This is just the second proposal for a clinical trial of embryonic stem cell therapies that has been submitted for approval, he added.

The other project, which would address spinal cord injuries, has been placed on hold and is not expected to begin before the third quarter of 2010, according to a recent press release from California-based Geron.

"After years of research and political debate, we're finally on the verge of showing the potential clinical value of embryonic stem cells," Lanza said.

"The field desperately needs a big clinical success."

Embryonic stem cell research is controversial because human embryos are destroyed in order to obtain the primitive cells capable of developing into almost every tissue of the body.

But it also holds great promise for treating cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and other diseases and even growing transplantable organs and tissues.

Researchers have found a way to sidestep both the controversy and the difficulty of working with embryonic stem cells by reprogramming ordinary skin cells into stem cells.

But this method is still so new that it could take years to replicate the experiments already done with embryonic stem cells and build up similar banks of tested cell lines, Lanza said.

"That is not a substitute certainly in the next several years for embryonic stem cell therapy," he said.

The Massachusetts-based company will be seeking approval for a human trial using similar methods to treat age-related macular degeneration, Lanza added. (AFP)

US health care overhaul to face Saturday vote

US President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, remaking US health care, will face arguably its toughest test yet this weekend with a key vote in the US Senate, Democrats announced Thursday.

Under the arrangement, lawmakers were due to vote at 8 pm Saturday (0100 GMT Sunday) on whether to formally start debate on White House-backed legislation that could usher in the most sweeping overhaul of its kind in four decades.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled the 10-year, 848-billion-dollar plan, which would extend coverage to 31 million Americans who currently lack it, late Wednesday after weeks of wrangling.

It was not clear whether Reid had corralled the 60 votes needed to ensure a victory on the procedural vote, amid seemingly unified Republican opposition and intra-party Democratic feuds, and the timing of Saturday's vote could slip.

"We'll find out when the votes are taken," Reid, who has zero margin for error, told reporters earlier in the day.

Democrats need to keep their 58 senators together and hold on to two independents to be sure to carry the day -- 60 votes are needed to overcome any parliamentary delaying tactics by Obama's Republican opponents.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office unveiled an analysis of the bill that showed it could cut the US deficit by about 130 billion dollars over the next decade, likely boosting its appeal to wary centrist Democrats.

Much of the attention has focused on swing-vote Senators Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas -- all Democrats whom Reid courted on Wednesday.

The top senator's announced deal would launch debate Friday on what is called a motion to proceed, which is an agreement to start formal debate on the road to amending, then passing, the package.

The House of Representatives approved its own trillion-dollar version of the legislation on November 7, squeaking through on a 220-215 margin only after toughening restrictions on federal funds subsidising abortions.

The Senate version does not include that stricter language, and changes several other key provisions

If, as expected, the House and Senate approve different versions, they would need to work out their differences and approve the same legislation to send to Obama to sign into law. (AFP)

Cinema popcorn is nutritional horror show: US study

Forget Freddy Krueger or flesh-eating zombies: the real villain of a night at the movies could be lurking in a bag of popcorn or drinks carton, according to a new US study.

Nutritional analysis of popcorn servings at some of America's biggest cinema chains has found mind-boggling calorie counts that may surprise consumers who think of the snack as a relatively healthy treat.

However the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest compared some popcorn and drinks combos to consuming three McDonald's quarter-pounders topped with 12 pats of butter.

The CSPI said in a statement that a medium popcorn and soda combo at Regal, the United States' biggest movie theater chain, contained an eye-popping 1,610 calories and around 60 grams of saturated fat.

At AMC theaters, the second largest theater chain, a large popcorn contained 1,030 calories and 57 grams of saturated fat, equivalent at a pound of baby back spare ribs topped with a scoop of luxury ice cream, CSPI said.

The group said analysis of servings from Regal and AMC theaters showed calorie counts higher than the companies official estimates.

"Regal and AMC are our nominees for Best Supporting Actor in the Obesity Epidemic," CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley said in a statement.

"Who expects about 1,500 calories and three days? worth of heart-stopping fat in a popcorn and soda combo? That's the saturated fat of a stick of butter and the calories of two sticks of butter.

"You might think you?re getting Bambi, but you?re really getting Godzilla."

The study said the high calorie counts could be attributed to the fact that corn was popped in coconut oil.

Popcorn cooked in healthier canola oil showed lower levels of saturated fats but similar levels of calories and higher sodium, the study found. (AFP)

US company could make flu vaccine abroad after snub

A US company said it would consider making its innovative flu vaccine abroad after a panel of experts advising the US drug regulator voted not to recommend it for approval.

A panel of 11 experts who sit on the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee failed the seasonal flu vaccine that Protein Sciences produces using caterpillar cells, saying they wanted more evidence that the vaccine was safe and expressing concerns about its efficacy in the over-50 age group.

The panel said it was not slamming the door on the new vaccine for seasonal flu, which would be the first cell-based flu vaccine in the United States and could come to market much more quickly than vaccine made using the traditional egg-based method, but wanted to see more evidence it was safe.

But Protein Sciences' chief operating officer Manon Cox said the company might take its innovative technology for producing vaccine elsewhere.

"Other countries -- Australia, for example, and Europe -- have already said they feel that our vaccine meets the criteria (for safety), but we have always focused on the US," Cox told AFP.

"Now I'm wondering if that's the right strategy," she said.

The panel's comments will be passed on to the US Food and Drug Administration, which is not bound by the experts' opinions but usually follows them, an FDA official told AFP.

All the flu vaccines currently available in the United States, whether for swine flu or seasonal flu, are developed using chicken eggs.

But the egg-based technology is outdated, inefficient and vulnerable to a complete breakdown in the event that bird flu should sweep across the United States, just as swine flu has this year.

A massive campaign to vaccinate millions of Americans against swine flu has been hampered by a severe shortage of vaccine, and that has been blamed in part on the slow rate at which the (A)H1N1 virus grows in eggs.

Lawmakers have questioned whether vaccine production has also been held up by the fact that only one of the five companies producing flu vaccine does so in the United States.

Protein Sciences said its vaccine could be rolled out within 75 days after the start of development.

Theodore Eickhoff of the University of Colorado said at Thursday's meeting that the Protein Sciences vaccine had a huge advantage over chicken-egg-based vaccine because it can be produced quickly.

"This would have been a breakthrough for the United States and it would certainly have been helpful to have this available this fall," said Eickhoff, who was largely in favor of recommending that the FDA license the new-technology vaccine.

The panel did praise the nimbleness of Protein Sciences' vaccine production method, saying it would allow the United States to "move quickly when we need to."

But the vaccine stumbled and fell at the jump on safety concerns, and the panel asked Protein Sciences to come back at a later date with more data.

"Clinical trials of our swine flu vaccine went very well in Australia. What can I say? We will probably do licensure in Australia," said Cox. (AFP)

Sun shines on golf's growth in China's Hainan

It's chilly and wet back home in Sichuan province, but Chen Ming cheerfully tees off in shorts on a sunny palm-lined golf course on China's southern Hainan island.

"The weather here is very good for playing golf -- there's the sun, the sand and the beach. That's the greatest advantage," Chen said after a round of golf with friends in the southern resort city of Sanya.

His words could have come straight from the tourism development manual of this island province, which is playing up its tropical climate in a major plan to position itself as a "golf island", the capital of the sport in China.

Golf courses have sprouted like mushrooms across the country as the sport catches on, but no place has hitched its wagon to the sport's boom quite like Hainan, which resembles an oval golf green on a map of the South China Sea.

A decade ago, there were no golf courses here; today there are more than 20 and long-term goals include an eventual 100 courses, or about one-fifth of China's current total.

For some golf operators, expansion cannot come fast enough, especially in winter when icy weather across much of China sends golfers to Hainan in droves.

"Year after year we have found it really tough in winter to satisfy golfers' demands," said Deborah Jiang, deputy manager of the 18-hole Yalong Bay Golf Club, one of the island's first courses.

Jiang said the club hosted 40,000 rounds of golf last year -- double the number just a few years ago -- and will soon build another 18 holes to handle growth.

Sanya, the main resort area, saw six million visitors last year, up 30 percent from 2006, according to government data, with plenty of golf attire mixing with the head-to-toe matching floral print outfits of many Chinese tourists.

The economic crisis has stemmed the flow of South Korean and Japanese golfers who formerly made up 80 percent of the island's business in the sport, Jiang said.

But the growing number of mainland golfers has filled the gap.

"If I want to go golf in Thailand or Hong Kong, I can, but this is more convenient," said Chen, the Sichuan businessman.

"I can just catch a flight without needing a visa. It's an advantage to not have to go abroad to play golf."

From the first course built 25 years ago, China now has at least 500, the vast majority built in the past few years, according to the government, although state media reports say many more may exist.

In previous centuries, Hainan was a backwater where political troublemakers were exiled, and then became the site of a massive 1990s real estate boom and bust.

The boom is back, this time with golf at the core.

The potential for Hainan golf contracts was a factor in leading American golf course designer Schmidt-Curley's decision to open their head China office in Haikou, the island's capital.

"Hainan will be one of our stronger markets in China for some period of time," said company co-founder Brian Curley, who sees golf on the island driven largely by proliferating real estate developments centered on courses.

The pace of China's golf course development has spawned concerns about dwindling agricultural land.

Central government authorities ordered a nationwide moratorium on new courses in 2004, but development has continued as revenue-minded local officials have gone their own way, even offering tax breaks for operators of new courses in places like Hainan.

Hainan authorities declined AFP interview requests.

The central government recently ordered a fresh tally of golf courses nationwide to gauge the situation, but little is expected to stop the juggernaut, especially with last month's decision to add golf to the 2016 Olympic Games.

Expectations are high on Hainan that China will launch a new drive to develop golf in a bid to dominate yet another Olympic event.

"With golf coming back to the Olympics, we all hope that in the near future we can get more support from the central government to help golf clubs to grow, to give us big support," said Jiang, of Yalong Bay Golf Club. (AFP)

Bardot urges end to animal sacrifice in Nepal

The legendary French movie star turned animal rights campaigner Brigitte Bardot has written to Nepal's president urging him to stop a mass animal sacrifice from going ahead next week.

A temple in Nepal will host what is thought to be the world's biggest ritual slaughter in which hundreds of thousands of buffaloes, goats and birds will be sacrificed to the Hindu goddess of power, Gadhimai.

In a letter seen by AFP Friday, Bardot urged the president to outlaw the sacrifice of animals for religious purposes ahead of the festival, calling the practice "violent, cruel and inhumane."

"I personally find it hard to imagine that your heart can withstand such cruelty, knowing that you, being the head of the country, are ultimately responsible," said Bardot, 75, in her letter to President Ram Baran Yadav.

"I have dedicated my life to protect animals and the best gift I could receive for this life-long struggle would be the announcement of the stopping of ritual sacrifice of animals."

Nobody at the president's office could be reached for comment on the letter, but the government has already said it will not bow to activists' demands to stop the Gadhimai festival, held every five years in southern Nepal.

Authorities here say the mass sacrifice, which attracts Hindu devotees from across Nepal and from neighbouring India, is a centuries-old religious tradition that should be allowed to continue.

Bardot shot to international fame in 1956 with her controversial role as a demon-driven temptress in the movie "And God Created Woman," becoming an icon of the burgeoning sexual liberation era.

But stardom proved too much to handle and she abandoned her movie career in 1973, aged just 39, retiring to the French Riviera resort of Saint Tropez.

Since then she has swapped the role of sex symbol for that of campaigner, selling off everything she owned to fund her animal rights foundation. (AFP)

Ethiopian Jews in Israel still await Promised Land

The ancient hymns brought tears to the eyes of Solomon Ayeli, as well as memories of his native Ethiopia which he left two decades ago for Israel -- a country he loves but where he often feels rejected.

"There should be no differences between black Jews and white Jews," said Ayeli, 29, who was among 15,000 people who this week celebrated the Ethiopian-Jewish Sigd -- prostration -- festival in Jerusalem.

"We want to be fully fledged Israelis," he said, as priests intoned prayers in Ethiopia's ancient scriptural language Geez. "We want to fully belong to Israeli society which often rejects us."

In spite of everything, Ayeli, like many members of the Ethiopian Jewish community -- known as Beta Israel -- says his journey to the Holy Land was the fulfilment of a dream. "Living here is an exceptional opportunity."

But the cost was high.

"I lost 10 family members in the desert, on the way to Israel," says Ayeli who had to walk for days through Sudan on his way to Israel when he was 10-years-old.

Separated during centuries from other Jewish communities, the Beta Israel were only recognised as Jews by Israel's two chief rabbis in 1975.

The recognition was crucial, as Aliyah -- the Israeli law of return -- allows any Jew to settle in Israel and get citizenship.

Israel airlifted in 35,000 Ethiopian Jews under Operation Moses in 1984, at the height of a killer famine in the Horn of Africa, and during the 1991 Operation Solomon.

Today, there are more than 120,000 Ethiopian Jews in Israel, 80,000 of whom were born in Africa.

Many feel they are still treated like second-class citizens.

A recent study showed that 53 percent of employers preferred not to hire Ethiopians, who nevertheless still fared better than Arabs with an 83 percent rejection rate.

The study also found that 70 percent of employers tended not to promote Ethiopians.

Israel's Association for Civil Rights says employment rates within the Ethiopian community were 10 percent lower than for the rest of the population last year.

Official figures show that 2008 high school completion was only 36 percent among students of Ethiopian origin as compared with 55 percent for other Israelis.

In September, ultra-Orthodox schools in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, caused a public uproar when they initially refused to accept children of Ethiopian descent, although they eventually accepted some of the applicants.

But there are some success stories.

In 2008, the Israeli parliament passed legislation making it mandatory for schools to teach the traditions of Ethiopian Jews. And for the first time, the state this year financed the Jerusalem celebrations of Sigd.

"We are at the beginning of a path that will lead us towards full integration into Israeli society," said Shlomo Mola, a member of parliament of Ethiopian origin.

The Sigd celebration brought together a large sample of the Beta Israel community -- youths sporting scarves in the Ethiopian colours, women clad in traditional white outfits and Israeli soldiers chatting in Amharic, Ethiopia's main official language.

"We want to present a different image of our community, which has produced doctors, scientists and deputies," said Mola, one of only three Israelis of Ethiopian origin to have won election to parliament.

Nigist Mengesha, who heads the Ethiopian National Project community group, admits it is not easy to merge into Israeli society while keeping Ethiopian traditions.

"But after 25 years, it's time we should be integral part of the state of Israel." (AFP)

'Un-Indian' Bollywood promo sparks protests

Promotional posters for a new Bollywood thriller, showing leading actress Kareena Kapoor from behind and apparently naked from the waist up, have got some people's backs up in India.

"Kurbaan" (Sacrifice) hits screens in India and more than 25 countries around the world on Friday and has attracted intense interest because Kapoor and leading man Saif Ali Khan are a couple in real life.

But the Shiv Sena, a hardline Hindu nationalist group, have called the poster and the love scene from which it was taken an affront to Indian values.

Activists ripped down posters near the actress's home in north Mumbai and even painted a sari onto her image on one roadside ad, local newspaper reports said.

Last month, Shiv Sena offshoot the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) complained about references to Bombay in the comedy "Wake Up Sid", which was also produced by filmmaker Karan Johar.

The Shiv Sena, which like the MNS claims to champion the rights of local people and the Marathi language, changed the name of the city to Mumbai when they held power in the Maharashtra state government in the mid-1990s.

"Kurbaan", which Indian censors have given an adults only or "A" rating because of its partial nudity, is a romantic thriller set against the backdrop of global terror.

Kapoor plays a university teacher who moves to New York and meets a professor, played by Khan, 39, whose father, Mansoor Ali Khan, the Nawab (Muslim prince) of Pataudi captained India's cricketers in the 1960s.

In the wake of the protests, the original newspaper advertisements and billboards have been largely replaced with a less provocative image for conservative India.

A more demure Kapoor -- who has also raised eyebrows for living with Khan without being married -- is now seen wearing a headscarf. Khan remains bare-chested but in soft focus, with a bloody flesh wound on his torso.

Director Rensil D'Silva said: "The film talks about politics and the impact of Islam on Western countries. At the same time I would say it has romance and thrill elements too."

He also said he had no hesitation about picking Kapoor and Khan, who are considered among Bollywood's hottest couples and who have been dubbed "Saifeena" by India's entertainment press.

"I took them because they fitted the roles. You will see the film and believe it because they have incredible on screen chemistry," D'Silva added.

Kapoor, 29, told English-language daily The Hindustan Times last week that it was inevitable that the love scene would set tongues wagging.

"I think that has happened because it's Saif and me in the scene. Had it been anyone else, the scenes wouldn't have been talked about so much," she was quoted as saying.

"The film overall has a lot more to offer than just that one sequence. It?s a gritty and emotionally rich film. Three minutes into it, you won't feel that the people you see on screen are Saif and Kareena."

She added: "It definitely makes it easier to understand the scene and enact it. The chemistry is far better than it would be with another co-actor. Saif and I are seasoned artistes. We've done all kinds of films in our careers." (AFP)

Model Moss rapped for 'skinny feels good' motto

British supermodel Kate Moss was accused Thursday of giving the wrong message to anorexics and teenage girls when she gave her backing for a slogan encouraging them not to eat.

Interviewed by fashion industry website WWD about her favourite mottos, Moss said: "There's 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'. That's one of them."

Campaigners said Moss, 35, who has a seven-year-old daughter, risked creating eating disorders in girls and young women.

Beat, a British charity for people with eating disorders, said: "It's very unfortunate that someone who is a style icon would make such a comment. We can only think and hope that she wouldn't realise just how dangerous it could be.

"Young people struggling with an eating disorder are fighting a tough enough battle as it is, without thoughtless remarks such as this which can make it even harder."

Katie Green, a former underwear model who has launched a Say No To Size Zero campaign, blasted Moss's remarks as irresponsible.

"I think Kate Moss should really have thought before she spoke like most of us do before giving interviews," she said, quoted by the BBC, noting that the model has a seven-year-old daughter.

"Kate is a mother herself and how would parents with children suffering from eating disorders feel reading something like this?

"We are trying to get the government to put something in place to stamp out size zero models and comments like this aren't doing anything to help that."

The fashion industry has been criticised for using so-called "size zero" models -- those who fit a US size zero -- particularly after the deaths of two South American women who had suffered from eating disorders.

A British report on the health of models in 2007 resulted in a ban on girls under 16 taking part in London Fashion Week.

However, Britain stopped short of measures taken in Spain and Italy, where models with a body mass index (BMI) below a certain level are barred. (AFP)

Glam challenge: 96 competitors in Paris stiletto race

The only rule is to be perched on heels at least eight centimetres (three inches) high -- the prize is boxes and boxes of shoes.

A total 96 shoe addicts, a common condition with fashionistas, have signed up for Friday evening's National Stiletto Championship, taking place after office hours on an indoor track in the old stock exchange building in central Paris.

"The finalists are training very seriously," said Caroline Gentien, who works for the online shoe-sale site that came up with the idea, Sarenza.com. "Walking on heels is no piece of cake."

The finalists hail from all over France and made it into the glam challenge after a series of regional races.

"We came up with the idea just two years ago, and this year 400 candidates signed up for the regional races," Gentien added.

The prize is 3,000 euros worth of shoes.

The race, being run at around 9:30 pm (2030 GMT), is a three-part relay over 180 metres (yards) involving 32 teams of three with names such as "Yes We Can", "Sexpistols" or "Superwoman".

Volunteers from the Red Cross will be standing by in case of accident, but last year's competition wound up without a single twisted ankle.

Winners of the 2008 edition will be competing again this year, a TV journalist, a psychologist, and a lawyer competing under team name "Talk To My Foot (Parle A Mon Pied)".

"We all love shoes and we love having fun," said journalist Dorothee Kristy, 29. "The only training we do is running to catch a train or a bus every day."

Also taking part in the event is stilleto school "Talons Academy", a private business that doles out tips on how to walk in heels without hurting one's back or one's ankles.

"A lot of women love high heels but don't dare wear them," said school founder Marine Aubonnet. "Or else they cheat. They go to a rendez-vous in flat shoes and put their stilettos on at the last minute. It's true that it is harder to find your balance on heels."

The trick for Friday's contestants, she said, was "mastering the half-turn. Turning is a key, you have to get it right for each foot. Stilettos is all about technique." (AFP)

US backs new start date for cervical cancer tests

Women should not get their first cervical cancer screening before age 21, the leading US group of women's health care professionals said Friday, also recommending less frequent subsequent tests.

Pushing back the age of the first screening would help avoid giving teen girls unnecessary treatment, which can have "economic, emotional and future childbearing implications," according to the guidelines issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

ACOG previously recommended that cervical screening begin three years after first sexual intercourse or by age 21, whichever occurred first.

But the guidelines were revised because "screening for cervical cancer in adolescents only serves to increase their anxiety and has led to overuse of follow-up procedures for something that usually resolves on its own," said Alan Waxman, who led the ACOG team that drew up the recommendations.

The new guidelines also recommend that most women under 30 be screened every two years instead of annually, and that women older than 30 who have had three consecutive negative cervical cytology test results be screened once every three years instead of yearly.

Certain women, including those carrying the HIV virus, with suppressed immune systems or who have been treated for cervical cancer, may need to be screened more often, the guidelines said.

ACOG made its revisions after a data review showed that "screening at less frequent intervals prevents cervical cancer just as well, has decreased costs and avoids unnecessary interventions that could be harmful," Waxman said.

Cervical cancer rates have fallen by more than half in the past 30 years in the United States, thanks to the widespread use of the Pap smear test, ACOG said.

In 1975, nearly 15 women per 100,000 in the United States had the slow-growing cancer, which is caused by certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV).

Thirty-one years later, in 2006, the rate was 6.5 women per 100,000.

The new recommendations are to be published in the December issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology. (AFP)

US sees fall in swine flu rate

US officials Friday said infections from A(H1N1) virus had slowed in the United States this week, raising hopes the early roll-out of vaccines may be bringing the disease under control.

"We are beginning to see some decline in influenza activity around the country, but there is still a lot of influenza everywhere," said Anne Schuchat, from the US Centers for Disease Control.

"We are still seeing a lot of influenza around the country, but we are seeing increasing amount of vaccines.

"Forty-three states are reporting widespread activity that is down from 46 last week but it is still much greater that we have ever seen at this time of year."

But despite the figures, the death toll continued to mount.

"This past week 21 influenza associated pediatric deaths were reported to us, 15 of those were confirmed to be due to H1N1."

And with months to go in the normal flu season -- December to May -- experts are braced for more bad news.

"We may have weeks and months of a lot of disease ahead of us," said Schuchat, who is head of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

The authorities are still struggling to meet that challenge with an adequate supply of vaccine, she added.

"Supply of vaccines continues to increase, we are not where we want to be, but available vaccine is being quickly ordered and shipped and we are in better shape today than a couple weeks ago."

Schuchat's comments come as the World Health Organization reported that a mutation of the virus had been found in Norway.

The body stressed the mutation did not appear to cause a more contagious or more dangerous form of A(H1N1) influenza and that some similar cases observed elsewhere had been mild. (AFP)

Swine flu toll climbs by around 500: WHO

Around 6,750 people have died from the swine flu pandemic, World Health Organisation data showed Friday, about 500 more than a week ago.

Data posted a week ago showed that 6,250 people have died from the A(H1N1) virus since it was first uncovered in April.

The number of fatalities remains the highest in the Americas, where 4,806 deaths have been recorded.

The Asia-Pacific region posted 1,323 deaths, while in Europe, at least 350 people have succumbed to pandemic flu.

Since the previous update, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Slovenia have reported their first deaths from swine flu. (AFP)

Child abuse may shorten cell lifeline: study

Beaten or sexually abused children are more likely to show accelerated ageing of cells later in life, a condition linked to higher rates of cancer and heart disease, according to a study released Friday.

Investigators found that the natural process by which protective "caps" on the end of chromosomes, called telomeres, are worn away as humans age was accelerated among adults who had suffered such trauma in childhood.

Earlier studies had shown that psychological stress elevates risk for a wide range of diseases and mental conditions.

And separate research had shown that telomeres shorten at a higher rate when exposed to toxins such as radiation or cigarette smoke.

But whether childhood emotional trauma could affect the enzymes in adulthood remained unknown.

To find out, researchers Audrey Tyrka of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island measured DNA extracted from blood samples of 31 18-to-64 year old adults, including 22 women and nine men.

They found more rapid shortening of telomeres only in those who said they had suffered severe mistreatment as children.

The findings were not affected by the effects of age, smoking, body fat or other demographic factors, the paper said. "Both physical neglect and emotional neglected were significantly liked to telomere length," it concluded.

"This gives us a hint that early developmental experiences may have profound effects on biology that can influence cellular mechanisms at a very basic level," Tyrka said.

More research is needed to confirm the link, and to understand the causal pathways, she said in a press release.

Telomeres and telomerase, the enzyme that control them, are a key ingredient in ageing and longevity.

Every time a cell divides, the telomeres get worn down. The enzyme's job is to partially rebuild them. Eventually, when the telomeres are worn beyond a certain point, cell death is triggered.

Australian-American cell biologist Elizabeth Blackburn, who shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine last month for breakthrough research on telomeres, likened them to "tips of shoelaces" -- when you lose the little plastic end, the lace starts to fray.

The new findings are published online in the US-based journal Biological Psychiatry. (AFP)