Toxic mushrooms may hold secrets to tackling deadly diseases as researchers have discovered that the fungi could help in the production of medicines capable of curing disease without the patient suffering any side effects.

The researchers discovered in mushrooms an enzyme called POPB that create the mushroom's molecules that harbour missile-like proficiency in attacking and annihilating a single vulnerable target in the human liver.

These findings could lead to single-minded medicines with zero side effects, said co-lead author Jonathan Walton, professor of plant biology at the Michigan State University in the US.

The team revealed how the enzyme contributes to the manufacture of chemical compounds known as cyclic peptides, a favourite molecule that pharmaceutical companies use to create new drugs.

"Mushrooms are prolific chemical factories, yet only a few of their peptides are poisonous," he added.

"These toxins survive the high temperatures of cooking and the acids of digestion, and yet they are readily absorbed by the bloodstream and go directly to their intended target. These are the exact qualities needed for an effective medicine," Walton said.

The enzyme POPB convert the toxins from their initial linear shape into cyclic peptides, fortress-like molecular circles comprising eight amino acids.

Harnessing the distinct properties of POPB will allow scientist to create billions of variant molecules, which can be tested against many different medical targets such as pathogenic bacteria and cancer, the researchers said.

For the study, the scientists worked with the mushroom species Amanita.

The study appeared in the journal Chemistry and Biology.

Consuming a Mediterranean diet can lead to a longer, healthier life, says a new study.

According to the scientists, the combination of fruit and vegetables, nuts, legumes, olive oil and a glass of wine can help reverse the ageing process by slowing down the damage to chromosomes linked to ageing, and offer a health advantage, staving off killer diseases, the Daily Express reported.

The study analysed data on 4,676 healthy middle-aged women, and found that Mediterranean diet had anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, that stops the shortening of telomeres, which is associated with lower life expectancy and a greater risk of age-related diseases.

However, none of the individual dietary components was associated with telomere length.

The diet has a host of health benefits, including slashing the risk of death and chronic diseases from heart conditions and Alzheimer's to cancer and diabetes, and Gaynor Bussell, a dietitian and public health nutritionist, said the research showed that there were no "superfoods" and maybe not even foods that were good or bad.

The findings are published in the British Medical Journal.

Linolenic acid, a component of vegetable oils, is key to destroying the bacteria strongly associated with gastric ulcers and cancer, a new study says.

The findings could lead to new treatment for gastric diseases.

"Current Helicobacter pylori bacterium treatments are facing a major challenge - antibiotic resistance," said Liangfang Zhang, professor at the University of California` San Diego School of Medicine.

"Our goal was to develop a nanotherapeutic that can tolerate the harsh gastric environment, kill H. pylori and avoid resistance," Zhang added.

To combat the infection caused by Helicobacter pylori the researchers developed LipoLLA, a therapeutic nanoparticle that contains the vegetable oil component linolenic acid.

In mice, LipoLLA was safe and more effective against the infection than standard antibiotic treatments.

What is more, LipoLLA was not toxic to the mice and the bacteria did not develop resistance to the therapy.

"This is the first step to verify that we can make this therapeutic nanoparticle and demonstrate that it works to reduce H. pylori colonisation. We are now working to further enhance the particle, making it more stable and more effective," Zhang said.

The findings appeared in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

An estimated 1.1 million human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among children under the age of 15 have been prevented between 2005 and 2013.

According to data released by the UN Children`s Fund (UNICEF) Friday ahead of World AIDS Day, new HIV infections among children has declined by about 40 percent between 2009 and 2013, Xinhua reported.

However, the global goal of reducing the figure by 90 percent is still out of reach, the data said.

The progress has been made through providing more pregnant women living with HIV with services for the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), such as lifelong HIV treatment which can reduce the transmission of virus to babies and keep their mothers alive.

The sharpest declines took place in eight African countries, including Malawi, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, among others.

However, only 67 percent of pregnant women living with HIV in all low- and middle-income countries received the most effective treatment for PMTCT in 2013.

An estimated 190,000 children under the age of 15 died of AIDS-related causes in 2013 due to lack of treatment.

"If we can avert 1.1 million new HIV infections in children, we can protect every child from HIV but only if we reach every child," UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said.

"We must close the gap, and invest more in reaching every mother, every newborn, every child and every adolescent with HIV prevention and treatment programmes that can save and improve their lives," Lake added.

In a new study, scientists have discovered that obesity leads to around 481 000 new cancer cases every year in adults, or 3.6 percent of cancers worldwide.

The burden is far higher in more developed countries, with almost two-thirds (64 percent) of these obesity-related cancers occurring in North America and Europe.

Based on the results, the researchers led by Dr Melina Arnold from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), estimate that a quarter of all obesity-related cancers in 2012 (118 000 cases) were attributable to the rising average body mass index (BMI) in the population since 1982, and were therefore "realistically avoidable".

Using data from a number of sources including the GLOBOCAN database of cancer incidence and mortality for 184 countries, Arnold and colleagues created a model to estimate the fraction of cancers associated with excess bodyweight in countries and regions worldwide in 2012, and the proportion that could be attributed to increasing BMI since 1982.

The findings reveal that obesity-related cancer creates greater problem for women than men, largely due to endometrial (womb/uterus) and post-menopausal breast cancers. In men, excess weight was responsible for 1.9 percent or 136 000 new cancers in 2012, and in women it was 5.4 percent or 345 000 new cases.

Post-menopausal breast, endometrial, and colon cancers were responsible for almost three-quarters of the obesity-related cancer burden in women (almost 250 000 cases), while in men colon and kidney cancers accounted for over two-thirds of all obesity-related cancers (nearly 90 000 cases).

In developed countries, around 8 percent of cancers in women and 3 percent in men were associated with excess bodyweight, compared with just 1.5 percent of cancers in women and about 0.3 percent of cancers in men in developing countries (low HDI).

Dr Arnold said that their findings add support for a global effort to address the rising trends in obesity. The global prevalence of obesity in adults has doubled since 1980. If the trend continued, it would boost the future burden of cancer, particularly in South America and North Africa.

The findings are published in The Lancet Oncology.