The cup that helps millions of people get started in the morning, and several more cups throughtout the day may reduce the risk of diabetes, Dutch researchers claim.

Scientists at Vrije University in Amsterdam said components in coffee seem to help the body metabolise sugar, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes which affects 130 million people world-wide.

"This is the first study that comes up with the idea that coffee could actually be beneficial for type 2 diabetes," said Rob Van Dam of the university's Department of Nutrition and Health.

Whether it's filter, cappuccino, latte or espresso, coffee contains minerals such as magnesium, potassium and other micronutrients that have health benefits. Van Dam and his team do not know which of the compounds in coffee are involved or how they work against diabetes, but when they compared coffee consumption with the risk of type 2, or adult onset diabetes, they found the more people drank, the lower their risk. Individuals who drank seven or more cups of coffee a day, were 50 percent less likely to develop the disease. Fewer cups a day had less of an impact.

"For most people it is not bad to drink moderate amounts of coffee," Van Dam said. But he said the findings, which are reported in The Lancet medical journal and need to be confirmed in other studies, do not mean people should drink large amounts of coffee every day.

Studies have shown drinking too much coffee can raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of osteoporosis, or brittle bone disease, in some people, according to Van Dam.

A new diagnostic device allowing to detect the AIDS virus in as little as 20 minutes has received government approval in the US in what officials described as a major step towards curbing the deadly epidemic.

"It's going to be a wonderful tool for our counsellors and people to help us in our fight against HIV/AIDS in the country and in
the world," said Health and
Human Services Secretary, Tommy Thompson.

The kit uses less than a drop of blood from a finger. After collection, the blood is transferred to a vial where it is mixed with a solution. The test device is then inserted into the vial where, if HIV-1 antibodies are present, it displays two reddish-purple lines in a small window.

Ann Hsing of the National Cancer Institute in Washington and colleagues interviewed 238 men with prostate cancer and 471 men without prostate cancer about what they ate. Men who ate more than a third of an ounce a day of onions, garlic, chives or scallions were much less likely to be in the cancer group, Hsing reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

This adds to research showing the right diet can reduce the risk of cancer, the American Institute for Cancer Research, which investigates the links between cancer and diet, said.

Researchers have come up with a new study which shows that even a little alcohol during pregnancy may affect a baby's brain.

A group of adult rats failed a navigation test after their mothers had, during pregnancy, consumed quantities of alcohol that were equivalent to one drink a day for a human during the first six months, the study published in Nature said. The rodent research, carried out by Daniel Savage and colleagues from the University of New Mexico Medical School, suggested that there may be more subtle effects of low-level alcohol intake that become obvious only later in life, as more complex tasks are taken on.

Britain's Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists advise pregnant women to limit their daily alcohol intake to one small glass of wine or beer or a measure of spirits. This is to reduce the risk of foctal alcohol syndrome— the learning and behavioural difficulties seen in children whose mothers drank heavily throughout pregnancy.

Savage said they were not sure how much alcohol was safe. "We really don't know the magic number. In the absence of definitive information, it is better to abstain. Why take a chance?" he added.

Neurologist Michael Charness at Harvard Medical School agreed. "For every kid with foetal alcohol syndrome, there are another ten who have been exposed to alcohol have no obvious physical defects but do have connective problems."