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Twin sisters, believed to be the oldest in Britain, are celebrating their 101st birthdays.
Betty Richards and Jenny Pelmore, who live a mile apart in Truro, Cornwall, were delivered by a doctor who arrived on horseback on New Year's Day, 1908.
The twins, who have lived in Cornwall for more than 50 years, said good health and keeping active was their secret to long life.
Mrs Pelmore has recently bought herself a new car.
"I'm still driving and my new car is a Mitsubishi," she told BBC News.
"It's got lovely high seats, does nearly 85 miles to the gallon and is very comfortable - I'm very proud of it."
In recent years the sisters have also learned Spanish and taken up painting.
A family party is planned for later this month, but the twins will still be celebrating their special day with neighbours, family and friends.
"A lot of the family are living abroad, but you don't live somewhere for nearly 60 years without making a lot of friends," Mrs Pelmore said.
Both sisters were married but are now widows. Mrs Richards, who trained as a teacher and later became a beekeeper, has two children, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Mrs Pelmore said she and her sister were looking forward to a lovely summer, with better weather than last year.
"If the weather's good, we shall be relaxing and enjoy watching people do funny things," she said.
"I'm booked to do a painting course, which shall be such fun and Betty will be coming along for the ride.
"It's so good to have hobbies and do interesting things."
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Scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), building upon earlier research, found in both mice and human breast tumor samples that a certain gene signature predicted the chance of metastasis. Many experts have believed that metastasis is primarily the result of non-inherited mutations in cancerous tissue.
"Our earlier studies clearly established that inherited factors also play an important role in metastatic progression and can help distinguish which tumors have a propensity to metastasize," study author Kent W. Hunter, head of the NCI's Metastasis Susceptibility Section in the Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, said in an NCI release. "Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to determine which women are more likely to have a tumor that would metastasize, and we could then tailor therapy specifically for them, avoiding the use of harsh treatments for those with a low probability of metastasis."
The researchers first discovered a gene signature in mice that raised the risk of breast cancer metastasis in mice by 20-fold. They then found the corresponding human gene signature, and it predicted relapse or recurrence in four of five breast cancer patients.
"Our study provides additional evidence of the role of inherited genes in human breast cancer progression," Hunter said.
The study was published in the Jan. 1 issue of Cancer Research
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To get the new year off to a safe and healthy start, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) suggests cleaning out and then restocking your medicine cabinet.
"You should do this once a year, at least," said Dr. Nick Jouriles, president of the ACEP. "A year's worth of showers and baths create heat and humidity that can cause some drugs to lose potency. It's good to get rid of them and replace them if they need to be replaced."
If a pill loses potency, you may not be getting the necessary dosage of medication. Holding on to several old prescriptions can also increase the risk of taking the wrong pill, Jouriles said in a news release.
Actually, a bathroom medicine cabinet isn't always the best place to keep medications, whether prescription or over-the-counter. Instead, keep them in a linen closet or a dark area, especially away from children, the release said.
According to ACEP, here are some essentials for your medicine cabinet:
Up-to-date prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
Adhesive bandages of assorted sizes for minor cuts and scrapes .
Gauze pads for larger cuts and scrapes. And adhesive tape to keep gauze in place.
Alcohol wipes and hydrogen peroxide to disinfect wounds. Antibiotic ointment to disinfect and protect wounds from infection.
A thermometer -- but not a mercury-based thermometer.
Antihistamine -- for allergic reactions.
Hydrocortisone cream to relieve irritation from rashes.
Acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin, but aspirin should not be taken by children or teens under age 19.
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The University of San Francisco Medical Center study, published in the second January issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, points out a definite rift in this area. Past research has shown that doctors hesitate to talk about uncertain prognoses with patients' families.
Interviews with 179 "surrogate decision-makers" for patients in intensive care units revealed that 87% wanted to know all prognostic estimates, even if the estimates were tentative. Most viewed a physician being candid about uncertain outcomes as honest rather than a source of confusion or anxiety.
"We learned that family members wanted prognostic information in order to know whether they needed to begin to prepare for the chance that their loved one might die, and so begin the bereavement process," lead author Dr. Douglas White, an assistant professor in UCSF's division of pulmonary and critical care medicine, said in an American Thoracic Society news release. "I think one of the strongest messages that comes from this study is that family members want to have this discussion with the physician, and want to have the opportunity to take care of unfinished personal and familial business before their loved one dies. They need that chance to say their goodbyes, in case the patient does die."
But he also cautioned against a "one-size-fits-all" approach, since 12% of those interviewed said they did not want to discuss uncertain prognoses.
"Our findings suggest that physicians need to develop the skills to understand the unique needs of surrogates, and then tailor their approach to discussing prognosis to meet those needs," he said. "This is an area in need of well-designed quantitative and qualitative studies."
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The study included 241 students, mainly freshmen, at a commuter college in the Midwest. About 100 adults age 30 and older in the same area, but not affiliated with the college, also took part.
Participants completed a survey which included questions about pets. The group included 98 dog owners, 42 cat owners, 97 people with both cats and dogs, and 74 people with other pets.
When asked why they had pets, companionship was the most common reason for people of all ages; those people said they would be lonely without their pet.
The second most common reason was that their pet helps keep them active. And the third most common reason was that their pet helps them "get through hard times."
College students were more likely than the older participants to say their pet helps them get through hard times. That may be because college freshmen are in a transition period and haven't yet built their social network and resources for coping, note the researchers, who included Sara Staats, PhD, professor emeritus of psychology at Ohio State University.
"College is a very stressful environment for them and sometimes they can feel isolated or overwhelmed with the change," Staats states in a news release. "Many feel their pets will help them get through these difficult and stressful situations, and many more say that without their pet, they would feel lonely."
Writing in a recent edition of Society and Animals, Staats and colleagues conclude that, although the students in their study may not represent all college students, "pets provide important benefits to young persons as well as the better-known benefits provided to the lonely, elderly, or ill."
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The pharmaceutical industry has agreed to a voluntary moratorium on giving doctors branded items that advertise some of the country's most prescribed drugs, The New York Times reported.
Starting Jan. 1, doctors will see supplies of trinkets such as Viagra pens, Zoloft soap dispensers and Lipitor mugs cut off in a move that proponents of the moratorium say is a step toward eliminating influencing doctors' prescribing habits. But skeptics say the move is only a superficial measure, doing little to curb the far larger amounts of money that big drug companies spend to try to influence physicians.
About 40 drug makers, including Eli Lilly and Company, Johnson and Johnson, and Pfizer have signed on to the code, the Times reported.
Drawn up by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the new code bars companies from giving doctors branded pens, staplers, flash drives, paperweights, calculators and the like, the Times said. The new guidelines reiterate the group's 2002 code, which prohibited firms from giving physicians expensive gifts such as tickets to sporting events or resort stays, and asked drug companies that finance medical courses, conferences or scholarships to let independent experts choose study materials and scholarship recipients.
In a statement, Diane Bieri, executive vice president of the manufacturers' group, said the updated guidelines were not an admission that gifts could influence doctors, but were meant to emphasize the educational nature of the industry-doctor relationship, the newspaper said.
According to the Times, big firms last year gave away almost $16 billion in free drug samples to doctors and spent an estimated $6 billion more on sales visits and other promotions.
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A comprehensive municipal smoking ban in effect in Pueblo, Colo., cut that city's heart attack hospital admissions rate by 41 percent over a three-year period, according to a study released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Before the ordinance took effect July 1, 2003, the study said, there were 399 hospital admissions for heart attacks in Pueblo in the 18 months before the law, compared to 237 heart attack hospitalizations from 18 months to three years after implementation, the CDC reported in its publication Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
"These findings provide support for considering smoke-free policies an important component of interventions to prevent heart disease morbidity and mortality," the report said.
The study also said evidence indicates that secondhand smoke exposure produces rapid adverse effects on heart function, blood, and vascular systems that boost the risk of a cardiac event. Eliminating smoking in indoor spaces is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke exposure, the study concluded.
The findings echo previous analyses that found "secondhand smoke exposure decreases substantially among nonsmoking employees of restaurants and bars and among nonsmoking adults in the general public after implementation of smoke-free laws," the study said.
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