May 19,2013

Why women live longer___Women live longer than men partly because their immune systems age more slowly, a study suggests. As the body's defences weaken over time, men's increased susceptibility to disease shortens their lifespans, say Japanese scientists. Tests of immune function could give an indication of true biological age, they report in Immunity & Ageing journal. The immune system protects the body from infection and cancer, but causes disease when not properly regulated. The Japanese study set out to investigate the controversial question of whether age-related changes in the immune system could be responsible for the difference in average life expectancy between men and women. Prof Katsuiku Hirokawa of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University and colleagues analysed blood samples from 356 healthy men and women aged between 20 and 90. They measured levels of white blood cells and molecules called cytokines which interact with cells of the immune system to regulate the body's response to disease. In both sexes, the number of white blood cells per person declined with age as expected from previous studies. However, closer examination revealed differences between men and women in two key components of the immune system - T-cells, which protect the body from infection, and B-cells, which secrete antibodies.

View Archived
In the News

[Go Back]

Punjab Govt. refix term of State Planning Board for five years

Chandigarh, November 20 (babushahi.com bureau): Punjab Government has decided to refix the term of the already constituted Punjab State Planning Board for a period of five years i.e. from 12-04-2012 to 11-04-2017. Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Punjab Government said here today that the Punjab Chief Minister would be Chairman of the Board whereas Finance Minister, Punjab and Rajinder Gupta would be Ex-Officio-Vice Chairman and Vice-Chairman (Term 20-3-2011 to 27-3-2016) of the board respectively. The spokesman said that All Ministers, all MPs, Chairmen of Advisory Committees to Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary Finance, and Principal Secretary to Chief Minister would be Official members whereas Principal Secretary/Secretary Planning would be Member Secretary of the board. He further said that the non-offical members of the board were Dr. G.S.Kalkat, EX. V.C. PAU Ludhiana, Dr. Baldev Singh Dhillon, V.C, PAU Ludhiana and Dr. Ajaib Singh Brar, V.C, GNDU, Amritsar and term of Non-official members was however fixed for a period of two years i.e from 21-12-2011 to 20-12-2013.A notification has already been issued in this regard, added the spokesman.

(JL/JR)