MIRACLE MEDICINE

PRAYER HEALS, WHEN IT'S CLOSE &PERSONAL: STUDY Washington : Prayer heals when it's close- up and personal, and there's a study to prove it.            It's not just any kind of prayer, but "proximal intercessory prayer", or PIP - when one or more people pray for someone in that person's presence and often with physical contact - that was found by a team of doctors, scientists and religious experts to have remarkable results in healing some patients.        A team of medical doctors and scientists led by indiana University professor of religion candy gunther Brown found in the study, conducted in rural Mozambique, that prayer brought "highly significant" improvements to hearing impaired participants and significant changes to the visually impaired.          Fourteen hard - of - hearing and 11 visually impaired study participants were recruited at meetings of Pentecostal Christian groups in Mozambican villages and  towns. They were tested with a handheld audiometer or vision charts, depending on their impairment, before and after they took part in a prayer session.           "There was a highly significant improvement in hearing across 18 ears of 11 subjects" and "significant visual improvements". says the study, which will be published next month in the peer - reviewed Southern Medical Journal.            Two of the hard - of hearing study participants were able to hear sounds 50 decibels lower after the prayer session and three of the visually impaired subjects saw their vision improve from 20/400 or worse to 20/80 or better.             The study focused on the clinical effects of prayer and did not attempt to explain how or why some participants saw such remarkable improvements. "This study shows that in some instances there are measurable effects that can be demonstrated using clinical studies " to assess whether PIP may be a useful adjunct to standard medical care for certain patients," especially in countries with limited care options.

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IN LOVE? Kate Winslet

NEW MAN IN KATE'S LIFE    Kate Winslet, who only a few months back split from her husband, Sam Mendes, is nowadays seen in the company of a young, hot British model, Louis Dowler.         The two, according to sources, are inseparable and have gone out on numerous dates together. The 34-year-old Oscar winner was introduced to Dowler - who is ten years younger than her estranged husband - by mutual freinds at a party. A source told an international daily."They get on really well. It's early days for them, but they enjoy each other's company. Louis has a good sense of humour and is a lovely guy. He loves to surf, is quite engaging and very down-to-earth. He's a good looking guy and gets lots of attention when he's out. He's not your typical model. Not at all big-headed."         Kate split from fiolm director Mendes in March and immediately after announcing their separation, fled t Mexico with their six-year-old son Joe, and her nine-year-old daughter Mia, from her previous marriage to producer Jim Threapleton.

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BRIDE TO BE: Slenna Miller

Miller a country bride?  enter      Sienna Miller reportedly wants to marry Jude Law in the English countryside Sienna and Jude - who have been together for around nine months after rekindling their romance - are trying to decide where to tie the knot. Although Jude is keen to marry abroad, Sienna seemingly has her heart set on a big ceremony in England. A source said, "They are very happy and want to get married.          But they are still undecided about where to tie the knot. She loves the idea fof an English country wedding. but Jude wants as much privacy as possible and thinks a small sedding sbroad would be better." Sienna was recently seen walking around in the Loire Valley, where Jude's parents live, holding a 'wedding file', leading to speculation that the Valley would be the location for the big day.

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FRIEND IN NEED: Neetu Chandra and Mika Singh

MIKA'S GIFT FOR NEETU     Neetu Chandra and Mika Singh's is an unlikely friendship that started during the film Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!        Recently, the Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai actress flew down with her team to Delhi, specially to record a song for an upcoming film that she is believed to be producing.         Mika has sung the superhit title track of the film Oye Lucky... and since Neetu is producing the above said film, she made sure she took her friend Mika to sing for it. Unfortunately, Mika was not available in Mumbai and hence, Neetu decided to get her entire team to fly down to his persoanl studio in Delhi. Mika, on his part, did the gentlemanly thing and refused to accept any money from her. Here's hoping Neetu's production venture is better than her acting ventures!

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MUSIC MAESTRO: A R Rahman

Breaking barriers      For those in doubt of Oscar winner A R Rahman's knoledge of Telugu, here's a resounding reply from the man himself?           The composer's latest tweet reads, "Nenu A R Rahman Matladtunnanu", perhaps keeping in mind the target audience for his latest Telugu album Puli Despite going global in every sense of the word, the humble man has managed to stick to his roots, which was clearly evident when he used the now-famous Ellapughazhum Iraivanukke....line when he received the Oscar awards, The ace composer has sung a number Maaralante... in Puli. "It's my favourite song in the alnum, "says the composer in an interview on the music company's official web poage, "It's about Gandhiji's philosophy that if you do good to one person, your're doing good to the whole world. It has verses from various ancient texts too."

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WHAT'S THE BUZZ? Sonam Kapoor and Punit Malhotra

Punit has to wait      Newbie directyor Punit Malhotra doesn't hate love stories. However, rumours say that his own story moves in fits and starts. Punit is good friends with his I Hate luv Storys heroine Sonam Kapoor, in the past, the two were often seen sharing popcorn and enjoying a film outing. However, since Sonam is now poised for big things, it is alleged that her well-wishers want her to concetrate on her career and give all her other friendships (that with Punit included) a back seat.

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FAMILY MATTERS: Saif Ali Khan

Saif bonds with the Kapoors       Saif Ali Khan is making the most of his trip to London, The actor, who had some free time in between his Agent Vinod schedule, decided to spend quality time with his kid, Sarah and Ibrahim, there. But he's not the only one who is on a family vacation in London.         The Kapoor khandaan  Randhir Kapoor, Babita and karisma and her kids - too is holidaying there. Saif decided to join his future inlaws, It was a perfect reunion as the nawab bonded with the Kapoors while girlfriend Kareena was busy shooting with SRK for RA. One.

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ACTION: Cameron Diaz

Suri takes the cake!     Having co-star Tom Cruise's four-year-old daugher Suri during shoots for her latest film was fun, says Cameron Diaz.        "She had her own little bakery and she would tell you what's going on today. It was like, "These are what muffins we have today,' and she played out all these scenes, it was so fun... Suri was going around serving all of us," a website quoted diaz as saying.        Added Tom, "It was great because my family was on set every day and Cameron's family were on set and it was like we were in this imaginary bakery and Katie stood there ordering in between takes."         The 48-year-old actor admits he is incredibly proud of his daughter and thinks she has an incredible imagination.         "Suri is very special. She is incrediably loving and she is very creative, she draws, she acts, she writes. In between takes, she would have her own little scenes going on," he added.

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'TRAIN'ING GROUND: Kangna ranaut and Priyamani

KANGNA PIPS PRIYAMANI! The Fashion actress has replaced Priyamani as director Priyadarshan's next heroine       Here's the latest on Priyadarshan's new film titled The Bullet Train' work for which has started in London. When Vidya Balan dropped out at the last minute as she could not adjust her dates, her cousin Priyamani who debuted in Bollywood with Raavan was the director's choice as replacement. However, in a last minute surprise turn of events, Priyamani has lost out to Kangna Ranaut. The grapevine has in that Priyamani lost out because the producer put his foot down and is believed to have been particular about a Bollywood heroine doing the role.         The director had come in for criticism in Mumbai for promoting south Indian girls in Bollywood. In fact. Priyadarshan was criticised by the media and the trade last week for giving Trisha a chance in Hindi opposite Akshay Kumar in his latest film.         Priyadarshan was unavailable for comment on the issue. Sources close to Priyamani, who is shooting with Mammootty in Thrissur for the Malayalam film Pranchiyettan and the Saint, state that she was never offered the film! Earlier, there were rumours that she was going to be Salman Khan's heroine in Wnated 2 but after recent debacles, it looks like the south Indian heroines are no longer hot in Bollywood.          The Bullet Train, which is being produced by Ratan Jain of e Dana Dan fame, has several popular actors like Anil Kapoor, Ajay devgn, Suniel Shetty, Presh Rawal and sameera reddy in vital roles.          The film is said to be inspired by the 1975 Japanese movie titled Shinkansen Daibakuha, about how criminals plant a bomb on a high-speed train. The film was dubbed into English as The Bullet Train and was a big hit in India.

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HEALTH ISSUE: SHORT CUTS

SHORT CUTS: A Euro 7,500 porn room tohelp patients take sperm tests      British health chiefs have installed hi-tech gadgets worth Euro 7,500 on a room that has been assigned specially for patients towatch porn. The suite, which was built by the Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust to helpmen produce sperm samples, boasts of computer equipment worth Euto 4,625, flat scren TVs costing Euro 2,225, plus Euro 500 of blue movies. Other fertility centres provide a similar service by spending less than Duro100 a year on magazines to stimulate patients. Women more fertile in 40s, says study:        The study from the University of sheffield shows that previously women would marry early and if widowed was too old to remarry thus favouring early childbirth in women, The Daily Telegraph reported. But today's reluctance to settle down and reproduce untiol lager in life could lead to fertility beginning to favour older women, those that wed wealthy husbands were married at a meaning family sizes were bigger but with an increased risk of widowhood.

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Health Issue: Citamic C

Vitamin C can curb cancer growth, say researchers Wellington: Vitamin C can help curb the growth of cancer cells, according to New Zealand scientists who claim breakthrough research to provide the first real evidence of a connection between the vitamin and the development of tumours.         "Our results offer a promising and simple intervention to help in our fight against cancer at the level of both prevention and cure," Associate Professor Margreet Vissers, of the University of Otago's Free Radical Research Group, said.           She said the role of vitamin C in cancer treatment had been the subject of debate for years, with many anecdotal accounts of the vitamin's beneficial role. While her previous research had demonstrated the vitamin's importance in maintaning cell health and hinted at its potential for limiting diseases such as cancer, the latest sutdy looked at whether witamin C levels were lowered in patients with endometrial tumours.          She said the study found that tumours were less able to accumulate  vitamin C compared to normal tissue and this related to the ability of the tumour to survive and grow. "Tumours with low vitamin C levels had more of a prtein called HIF-1 which allows them to thrive in conditions of stress," she said, "The findings show a direct relationship between HIF-1 and vitamin C levels in tumours and suggest it would be beneficial for people with cancer cells to have more vitamin C."

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Health Issue: Running might not be the ideal form of exercise

Jogging may not always be the right exercise to shed weight London: Running might not be the ideal form of exercise, especially if you want to lose weight. Says Greg Brookes, a London-based personal trainer. "Lots of people start running to lose weight and it doesn't always work - and this is why."Fat is one of our body's favourite sources of energy," says Brookes. "The more you run, the more your body prepares itself for your next run. You will actually start to holod on to more fat," the Daily Mail auoted him as saying.        Brookes, with a clientele that includies celebrities, high fliers and housewives, suggests why you won't get leaner is that the body is an amazing machine and will adapt to anything.        "The more time you spend running, the better you become at running and the more efficient you get, the less energy you use and the fewer calories you use and the fewer calories you burn," says Brookes, Running is also bad for joints, he says, "When you run, tow-and-ahalf times your body weight is transmitted through your joints," "If that is repeated over and over, evernthually your weakest joint will give out. Usually the ankles  or the knees are the first to go."

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