Heena Sharma Blog

Searching for ways to avoid getting sick this winter? Regular exercises and meditation may help ward off cold and flu, a study says. The study published in the journal PLoS One included 390 adults who were divided into three groups. The first group undertook meditation classes for eight weeks, while the second took exercise classes for eight weeks. The third group took neither of the classes. However, all the groups had to receive flu shots . According to Madison.com, the maximum numbers of cold and flu incidents were recorded in the third group, where the members had to miss 105 working days due to 134 respiratory infection episodes. Meanwhile, the meditation group had 112 respiratory infection episodes, for which they missed 73 days of work and the exercise group had 120 episodes and missed 82 days of work. However, exercises and meditation enabled the meditation group to cope up with the cold and flu situation by 17 per cent, while the exercise-only group could

Scientists have developed a unique anti-viral composition that can effectively provide protection against several influenza A viruses such as H1N1 , H3N2 , H5N1 and H7N9 . Influenza, a contagious respiratory illness that infects the nose, throat and lungs, is among the leading causes of death, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The new anti-viral composition is made up of three siRNAs (small interfering ribonucleic acids) targeted at three genes and encapsulated in hybrid polyelectrolyte microcapsules, the Sputnik reported. The results will be used to develop a drug to prevent and treat the viral infection, according to Alexander Timin from the Tomsk Polytechnic University in Russia. The team developed 11 new siRNAs with anti-viral activity in vitro that can suppress conserved and consensus sequences in the genome of the influenza A virus on the NS, PA and NP genes. Anti-viral properties were screened and three siRNAs -- PA-1630, NP