Knowledge Update

​New York, April 1 (IANS) Drinking black, decaf or even instant coffee daily can lower the risk of developing colorectal cancer, finds a study.

Moderate coffee consumption, between one to two servings a day, was associated with a 26 percent reduction in the odds of developing colorectal cancer after adjusting for known risk factors.

Moreover, the risk of developing colorectal cancer continued to decrease to up to 50 percent when participants drank more than 2.5 servings of coffee each day. 

"We found that drinking coffee is associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer and the more coffee consumed, the lower the risk," said lead researcher Stephen Gruber from University Of Southern California.

The study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, examined over 5,100 participants who had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer within the past six months, along with an additional 4,000 participants with no history of colorectal cancer to serve as a control group. 

A questionnaire also gathered information about many other factors that influence the risk of colorectal cancer, including family history of cancer, diet, physical activity and smoking.

The indication of decreased risk was seen across all types of coffee, both caffeinated and decaffeinated.

Caffeine and polyphenol compounds present in coffee can act as antioxidants, limiting the growth of potential colon cancer cells. 

"The good news is that our data presents a decreased risk of colorectal cancer regardless of what flavor or form of coffee you prefer," said study co-author Stephanie Schmit. 

"While the evidence certainly suggests this to be the case, we need additional research before advocating for coffee consumption as a preventive measure," said Gad Rennert from Clalit National Israeli Cancer Control Center in Haifa, Isreal.​

​Beijing, March 31 (IANS) The Chinese central bank on Thursday injected liquidity of $15.4 billion into its financial system to boost lending.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) carried out the operation through seven-day reverse repurchase agreements, or repos, at an interest rate of 2.25 percent, Xinhua news

​New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) The global real estate market is pegged to cross $1 trillion in 2016 - 6 percent higher than in 2015 - and India's property sector is likely to benefit out of it too, a survey said on Tuesday.

​Hyderabad, March 29 (IANS) German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz on Tuesday launched the S400, a new variant of its flagship luxury model, the S-Class.

It also plans to launch nine more models in India during the current year.

​Moscow, April 29 (IANS) Russia has become the world leader in wheat export, surpassing the US and Canada.

"Russia supplies about 25 million tons of wheat on the external market by the end of the agricultural 2016 year. We became the world's leading wheat exporter, surpassing the

​New York, March 29 (IANS) Patients with skin infections are less likely to take all their prescribed antibiotic doses after leaving the hospital, resulting in new infection or needing additional treatment for the existing skin infection, says a study.

The researchers found that patients with S. aureus skin and soft tissue infections took, on average, just 57 percent of their prescribed antibiotic doses after leaving the hospital.

"These findings suggest that we need better methods to have patients receive antibiotics for skin infections, such as counselling them on the importance of adhering to the medication dosing or by using newer antibiotics that require only once-weekly dosing," said lead researcher Loren Miller from Harbor-UCLA Medical Centre in California, US.

The study, published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, followed 188 patients who had been hospitalised and suffered S. aureus associated skin and soft tissue infections. 

The researchers measured antibiotic dosing by using medication containers fitted with electronic caps that reported when the patient opened the antibiotic container. 

By using this measurement system, the researchers found a large discrepancy in patient reports and the electronic measurement. 

Patients reported taking, on average, 96 percent of their medication, or nearly twice the 57 percent reported by the electronic caps.

The researchers were able to obtain complete records on 87 out of the 188 patients. Of the 87 patients, 40 needed additional treatment within 30 days of leaving the hospital. They had a new skin infection, required incision and drainage of their infections or new antibiotics.​

New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) India on Tuesday permitted conditional foreign equity in the retail e-commerce segment when the products sold are also manufactured in the country, as also for single-brand foreign entities with physical retail chains that want to go for online merchandise.

​Hyderabad, March 29 (IANS) Hyderabad based start-up Bulbulapps announced on Tuesday that its first crowd funded learning app "TUK-TUK goes to Hyderabad" has gone live.

The app is now available for download in Apple, Google and Windows app stores. The $2,000 app project was backed by over 60 backers.

Mumbai, March 30 (IANS) Having suffered nearly $3 billion in losses on its UK operations, Tata Steel is exploring to put its entire portfolio there up for sale, some 10 years after it forayed into Europe by acquiring Anglo-Dutch Corus for over $8.1 billion).

​Chennai, March 30 (IANS) In a $293 million cash deal India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has agreed to buy 14 established prescription brands from Novartis AG and Novartis Pharma AG in Japan, the Indian company said.