VIENNA - THE UN atomic watchdog called on Tuesday for renewed interest and increased investment in a technique that uses radiation to improve crop yields and resistance against a backdrop of the global food and energy crises.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is hoping that, given the current food crisis, countries will revive their interest in mutation induction - a technique that has been in use since the 1920s - to produce improved high-yielding plants that adapt to harsh climate conditions such as drought or flood, or that are resistant to certain diseases and insect pests.

ONE in four elderly Singaporeans who suffered a stroke could have prevented the attack if their underlying heart problems had been treated with a device like a pacemaker.

WASHINGTON - AN INSOMNIA drug that helps the body produce more of the sleep hormone melatonin may improve sleep for jet-lagged travellers and shift workers, researchers reported on Monday.

Maryland-based Vanda Pharmaceuticals reported on two studies of its drug tasimelteon, also known as VEC-162, that showed it helped patients sleep longer and more deeply than a placebo.