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Australian researchers have found a way of reducing the risks of older people falling.

Experts say that as people age, they are more likely to lose balance and muscle strength, which makes them more likely to fall over and weak leg muscles are a contributing factor in falls in older people.

Researcher Sven Rees, a PhD student at the University of Technology, Sydney says less than ten minutes standing on a vibrating platform several times a week could help reduce older people's risk of falls.

Rees and colleagues were examining interventions to improve physical function in old age and they say previous research has suggested that the vibration of muscles can cause reflex contractions, which in turn strengthens the muscles.

The team were interested in testing this theory so they recruited a group of 23 healthy men and 20 healthy women in their 70s into their study.

The group were randomly assigned to either a vibration group, an exercise without vibration group or a control group.

The vibration and exercise groups undertook static and dynamic bodyweight exercises three times per week for eight weeks and static balance was assessed using a one-legged postural steadiness test.

This test was performed prior to and immediately after the training period and determined how steadily participants were able to stand on one leg.

The vibration group were asked to do light resistance training on a vibrating platform which included standing still with bent knees on a platform, and squatting up and down on their toes.

The exercise group were asked to do the same exercises without the vibrating platform - these exercise sessions lasted for less than 10 minutes and were carried out three times a week for eight weeks.

At the end of the eight weeks the researchers tested the participants' leg strength and found those who had been trained on the vibration platform had a significantly improved ability to stand on one leg.

Rees says the worse someone was at standing on one leg before training, the better their improvement was after training and he suggests the platform could be one tool for older people who cannot access a gym.

Rees has since tested the vibration platform on a group aged in their 90s who found it far more difficult to do the exercises properly because they were not confident. But he believes given time this group of people would also gain confidence and also benefit from such a platform.

Rees says the evidence on vibration training to date is insufficient to determine the effect of the treatment on balance and which particular muscles are strengthened but says future studies will test larger groups of people over a longer term in order to determine how best to optimise the amplitude and frequency of the platform to strengthen leg muscles.

Rees says while some participants found the vibrations unpleasant, others enjoyed it so much that they bought a platform.

But the researchers warn that the vibration equipment used in the study was designed to strengthen muscles without causing other damage and had a particular amplitude and frequency of vibration.

They say vibration can cause negative impacts on the body.

The research is published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.

The Australian government has earmarked almost $300 million to free up public hospital beds and plans to achieve this by making it possible for frail, elderly people to move back into their homes.

The government says many sick elderly people are forced to remain in hospital or enter nursing homes prematurely and the move will free up beds for people with acute illnesses.

Justine Elliot the Minister for Ageing says the government is honouring its election pledge to provide transitional care for older people to help them go home from hospital rather than to a nursing home and promises that places will be available across Australia and in rural and regional areas.

The minister says more than 1,700 older Australians are expected to benefit from the program every year and it will shorten hospital waiting lists.

The funding will make available 228 new transitional care places and ensure help will be provided for elderly people in areas such as showering, transport, and medical appointments.

Ms Elliot said the new package would allow the elderly to recover their independence after a hospital stay and combat the widespread practice of leaving frail, elderly people taking up acute-care beds because they are unable to find nursing home accommodation or care for themselves properly at home.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is hoping to establish offices in Asia and Latin America.

The move is part of an effort to tighten safety standards and stop tainted food products being imported into the U.S.

According to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt by the autumn agreements will hopefully be in place for the opening of three FDA offices in China, two in Latin America and one in India.

It is expected that officials will carry out inspections and exchange information on threats with local agencies in order that rapid-reaction teams can be set up to manage food scares with the aim of limiting the damage done to public health and trade. Leavitt says in such situations speed is important in dealing with a food incident.

Leavitt says the existing system is at risk of being overwhelmed as U.S. food import volumes grow and more adequate measures are needed for the future to ensure imports are safe and meet U.S. standards.

The proposal comes as health authorities continue to investigate the latest outbreak of salmonella with teams of experts being sent to Mexico and Florida to inspect farms where tomatoes may have become contaminated.

To date more than 800 people across the United States have been sickened by a salmonella outbreak from contaminated tomatoes from Mexico and Florida.

This latest food scare is just the latest in a series which has seen contaminated toothpaste, pet food, meat, spinach and a range of other food stuff hit the shelves.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says since April, 810 cases of salmonella have been reported in 36 states all caused by the same strain and raw tomatoes has been identified as the likely source of the illnesses.

The FDA said it is inspecting and investigating farms and other critical points on the supply chain where the tomatoes may have become contaminated.

According to new research from the Australian Institute of Family Studies, children today are less anxious, more sociable and are happier than children were 20 years ago.

The report says rising rates of obesity, depression and substance abuse has given arise to concern that Australian children today are unhappier than those of twenty years ago.

However an investigation into the results from two landmark longitudinal studies allowed a rare comparison of children born twenty years apart in differing eras, to be made.

Institute director Professor Alan Hayes, says children growing up in the new millennium are doing comparatively better in some areas than those children growing up in the 1980s.

The research examined how 10,000 families with two- to three-year-olds and six- to seven-year-olds reported their child's progress and compared it to an almost identical study conducted of Australian children in the mid-1980s, known as the Australian Temperament Project.

It revealed that toddlers today are more sociable and have fewer difficulties sleeping and six and seven-year-olds are now better behaved.

Children that age were more than twice as likely to hurt others then as now, it found, and while 9per cent of toddlers were reported as destructive 20 years ago, only 5 per cent were deemed so today.

Two to 3 year-olds 20 years ago were less likely to stick at tasks and more frustrated than children of the same age today and 20 years ago 8 per cent of these toddlers had difficulty falling asleep, compared with just 2 per cent today.

The comparison of six- to seven-year-olds found that children 20 years ago were significantly more often perceived to have conduct problems and anxiety than today's study children.

Ms Smart says the six and seven-year-olds surveyed are now much less likely to worry, less likely to lose their temper and are a little more obedient than they were 20 years ago as well.

However according to the paper's lead researcher, Diana Smart, an interesting divide was revealed between what parents think of their children and what teachers think.

While most of today's parents think their children are progressing well, teachers, on the other hand, tended to report more instances of hyperactivity and conduct problems among their charges.

Ms Smart suggests that today's parents are perhaps more tolerant and understanding of, or less affected by challenging child behaviour and therefore less likely to report it as problematic, while today's teachers may be more aware of conduct issues than they were in the past and more willing to report their presence.

According to Cancer Council Victoria, since bars and clubs in Victoria were made smoke free a large number of people have quit or reduced smoking.

The smoking ban came into force in bars and restaurants in Victoria a year ago and a Cancer Council survey of 1,250 people revealed that four out of ten recent quitters admitted that smoke free venues had helped them make the decision to quit.

Another third said they had reduced the amount they smoked following the introduction of the legislation and 'Quit Victoria' says the results are a sound endorsement of smoke free environments.

'Quit Victoria' says the survey data shows the positive consequences of smoking bans which include not only a reduction in exposure to second-hand smoke for hospitality workers and patrons, but also the potential to reduce smoking rates and consumption - with no negative impact on patronage to hospitality venues.

The research also found more 18-29 year olds are smoking less following the bans than they used to compared with 30 to 49 year olds and those 50 years and older (45% compared with 32% and 24% respectively) and of those who had quit in the past 12 months, 40% report smoking bans had helped them quit and 33% of current smokers reported a decrease in consumption following the ban.

Victoria is currently developing a new 5-year strategy to further reduce smoking rates by banning tobacco displays in shops and extending smoke free areas to include cars when children are present, smoking on primary and secondary school grounds and smoking on hospital grounds and healthcare facilities.