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Okinawan Plant Holds Promise of Elixir of Youth

Sweet tropical smells drift through Shinkichi Tawada's laboratory as he stirs an amber liquid that he believes could be the secret behind the historic longevity of people in southern Japan.

The elixir is an extract from a plant known locally as "getto", and he says experiments show it can prolong life by as much as a fifth.

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NYC Expands Smoking Ban to Include E-Cigarettes

New Yorkers who turned to electronic cigarettes to keep smoking in restaurants, offices or even libraries are down to their last few puffs in such places.

The City Council's voted 43-8 Thursday to include e-cigarettes in the ban on smoking in public indoor places. Outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to sign the measure. The ban would then take effect in four months.

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Spain Pushes Tighter Abortion Law, Sparking Protests

Spain's government agreed Friday to ban women from opting freely for abortions, outraging pro-choice campaigners who say the move will take the country back to the 1980s.

Launched by Spain's conservative government after pressure from the Catholic Church, the draft bill rolls back a 2010 law which brought Spain into line with much of Europe by letting women opt freely for abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy.

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Ariad to Relaunch Leukemia Drug with New Warnings

Ariad Pharmaceuticals has received approval to relaunch its leukemia drug Iclusig after addressing safety concerns raised by U.S. regulators in October.

Company shares jumped more than 20 percent.

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Saudi Anounces 56th MERS Death

The Saudi health ministry announced Saturday a new MERS death, raising to 56 the number of people killed by the coronavirus in the country with the most fatalities.

The victim was a 73-year-old Saudi man, who suffered from chronic illnesses, the ministry said on its website.

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French Firm Starts Human Trials of Artificial Heart

French biomedical firm Carmat said on Friday it had begun the first human trial of its prototype artificial heart, which aims at overcoming shortages of organs available for transplant.

The implant operation, which took place on Wednesday at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris, "went satisfactorily," it said in a statement.

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Spain Government Approves Tightening of Abortion Law

Spain's government on Friday approved a tightening of the abortion law that would end women's right to opt for the procedure freely up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, outraging pro-choice campaigners.

Ministers at a cabinet meeting adopted a draft bill for a law which would allow abortion only in cases of rape or a threat to the mother's health, Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon told a news conference.

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2,000 Extra Steps a Day Cuts Cardiovascular Risk by 8 Percent

People with a glucose-tolerance problem -- a driver of diabetes and cardiovascular disease -- can cut the risk of heart attack or stroke by simply walking an additional 2,000 steps per day, a study said on Friday.

The experiment gathered more than 9,300 adults in 40 countries with so-called impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) who had also been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or were considered at risk from it.

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Report Finds Contamination in Most Chicken Sold in U.S.

Almost all of the raw chicken sold in the U.S. contains potentially harmful bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli, according to an analysis by Consumer Reports published Thursday.

The magazine tested 316 raw chicken breasts in 26 states and "found potentially harmful bacteria lurking in almost all of the chicken, including organic brands," it said.

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Science Journal: Cancer Therapy is 2013 Breakthrough

A way of fighting cancer that turns the body's immune cells into targeted tumor killers was named the breakthrough of the year by the U.S. journal Science on Thursday.

Immunotherapy has only worked for a small number of patients, and only in certain cancers, including melanoma and leukemia, but experts believe its promise is huge.

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