Tea flavonoids act as potent antioxidants and have been shown to induce cancer cell death and growth while bolstering the body's immune system defenses against the disease.

According to a study published in the latest issue of Archives of Internal Medicine*, black tea consumption is inversely associated with the risk of ovarian cancer. This population-based study followed over 61,000 Swedish women aged 40-76 over a 15-year period, and noted a dose-response relationship between tea consumption and incidence of ovarian cancer. Compared to women who reported not drinking tea, those who drank two or more cups per day had a 46 percent lower risk of developing ovarian cancer.

The Iowa Women's Cohort study, conducted in the U.S., also suggests that weekly consumption of tea is associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer.

"The size of this study helps build a case that tea flavonoids have the ability to help protect against cancer in a varieties of ways," said Douglas Balentine, Ph.D., Director Nutrition Sciences Unilever North America. "Tea flavonoids act as potent antioxidants and have been shown to induce cancer cell death and growth while bolstering the body's immune system defenses against the disease."

Cancer is a multifactorial disease, but it is clear that diet can play a role in helping to reduce the risk of many types of cancer.

* Larsson SC, Wolk A. Tea Consumption and Ovarian Cancer Risk in a Population-Based Cohort.
Arch Intern Med. Dec 12/26 2005;165.

 October 8, 2012

Dr. Shinya Yamanaka - Photo by Chris Goodfellow Gladstone Institutes SF

 The world of medicine has taken a huge leap forward with the startling discoveries by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, 50, and British researcher Sir John Gurdon, 79.

Yamanaka and Gurdon are winners of the Nobel Prize for medicine announced today for their joint discoveries in stem cells.

As a post-doctorate scientist at Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, Yamanaka began what would become his life's work to unlock the code to creating stem cells.

By 2006, he succeeded in unlocking the code, furthering the research published in 1962 by Sir John Gurdon, who now works for the University of Cambridge.

The groundbreaking discoveries prove that it is possible to take genetic material from any cell in the body, such as skin cells, and tranplant and reprogram them into a stem cell to become any other cells in the body. 

Dr. Yamanaka, currently a professor at Kyoto University in Kyoto, Japan still works and commutes monthly to San Francisco for Gladstone, which is affiliated with the health-sciences institution University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). 

Related stories:

Nobelprize.org

Nobel medicine prize goes to SF scientist by Erin Allday, San Francisco Chronicle

British, Japanese scientists share Nobel Prize for stem cell work by Eryn Brown and Jon Bardin, Los Angeles Times

Preventive measures to avoid frostbite as the mercury dips below freezing.

Ice skating, skiing, sledding and snowball fights are all fun winter activities. It only takes minutes for exposed skin to become frostbitten in temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and winds of 20 miles per hour or more. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) have a few suggestions for the proper precautions to fight frostbite.

Your body's first priority is to maintain its core temperature when you are out in the cold. To do that, it shifts blood away from the extremities and toward the central organs of the heart and lungs. This increases the risk of cold weather-related injuries, such as superficial or deep frostbite to the arms, hands, legs and feet. With superficial frostbite, only the skin surface is affected, whereas deep frostbite also affects underlying tissues. Body tissue can freeze when it is frostbitten. Ice crystals form in the tissue cells, which can cause physical damage and permanent change in cell chemistry. When the ice eventually thaws from the body tissue, additional changes in the cell may occur, resulting in infection or cell death (gangrene).

"Since it's easier to prevent frostbite than treat it, it is critical to dress properly for the weather and go inside if you are wet or in the cold too long," said Richard F. Kyle, MD, first vice president of AAOS. "If you believe you or someone you are with has frostbite, it is crucial to seek proper medical attention...

Muktamar, the largest Indonesian - Malaysian Islamic Seminar in North America is being held in Las Vegas this year from December 23 - 27. 

The 2011 Muktamar seminar theme is "Leveraging Our Ability to Best Serve Humanity." Click here to view a preview video of Muktamar 2011 shot and edited by Pungkas "Pongky" Nataatmaja and Leon Taufani of VegasProStudios.com and produced by the Indonesian Islamic Community of Las Vegas, Nevada. 

A special thank you to Pungkas "Pongky" Nataatmaja for permission to offer this informative and beautifully shot and edited video to AsianConnections' viewers.   Pongky is a senior web designer and developer, and multimedia engineer. Since 1999, he has designed and built database-driven websites, e-commerce websites, and led overall project management including technology, branding and strategies from start to finish for numerous clients. Among projects, Pongky was senior web developer for the movie review site RottenTomatoes.com, and worked at DesignReactor, Inc. as an interactive game programmer and front end designer. 

Free Hepatitis B Screenings by Asian Liver Center at Stanford University during the Asian Heritage Street Celebration on May 19th, 2007

San Francisco, CA (May 17, 2007)- Yul Kwon, winner of CBS's Survivor: Cook Islands (and new CNN correspondent) along with the Cho Brothers of CBS's Amazing Race 10 will be screened for hepatitis B during the Asian Heritage Street Celebration (AHSC) in San Francisco's SOMA district at 1025 Howard Street on Saturday, May 19th, 2007. The Asian Liver Center at Stanford University will provide free hepatitis B screenings and vaccinations will be available at $20 per shot while supplies last.

These screenings and vaccinations are a major step for San Francisco Hep B Free, a two-year-long campaign for the city to become the first in the nation to screen, vaccinate, and treat all Asian Pacific American (APA) residents for Hepatitis B (HBV).

San Francisco's APA residents comprise of 34% of the city's population and bear a disproportionate burden of many undetected HBV infections and the highest liver cancer rate in the nation. While about 1 in 1,000 of the general US population has chronic HBV infection, 1 in 10 people in the API community are potentially living with an undiagnosed infection. APIs are 100 times more likely to suffer from chronic HBV infection and four times more likely to die from liver cancer compared with the general population.

"There are an estimated 25,000 APAs living in the city of San Francisco with chronic hepatitis B, and...