THE LEFT LANE
Again, but with sizzle

The temperature isn't the only thing rising these days. Angela Bassett has cranked up her style to sizzling with a hot, sexy look for red-carpet events. She wowed in a low-cut, floral-on-white silk Roberto Cavalli frock at the Essence Awards. She dazzled in a revealing (both cleavage and thigh) gown by CD Greene, a young African American designer, at the Council of Fashion Designers Association Awards. She roared in a low-cut tiger-print Escada jumpsuit at the premiere of "Sunshine State."

Bassett, known previously for tailored, elegant clothes, describes her new look as "modern and fresh, and perhaps a little bit more feminine." Not to mention attention-grabbing. Will the new look help Bassett, 43, land roles? "This is a business of image — young, pretty," says Bassett, now working on the Bob Dylan musical drama "Masked & Anonymous" with Penelope Cruz, Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges. "So it could have some input, but I wouldn't put major emphasis on it."

Predicting a killer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania may be on the way to developing a urine test that predicts who will get Alzheimer's disease. Their study — relatively small and still in the early stages — found a correlation between high levels of isoprostane fatty acids and the development of Alzheimer's in people at high risk for the disease.

In earlier work, the researchers also found elevated levels of the fatty acid in people who had died of Alzheimer's and those in advanced stages of the disease, said Domenico Pratico, assistant professor in Penn's Department of Pharmacology. Isoprostanes are markers for damage by free radicals — unstable molecules that healthy bodies are able to destroy. Free-radical damage also is associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Eating for efficiency

Three diet secrets from women who eat for a living:

• Fill up on healthy foods first. Shelley Young, chef and owner of The Chopping Block in Chicago, packs in the requisite 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, so there's little room for high-fat fare. And she doesn't use a grocery list. "I grab something I haven't eaten in a while, so I'm constantly creating variety in my meals."

• Know your weaknesses. "I avoid foods that I have to eat in excess to be satisfied by — like bread," Shelley says.

• Quit cleaning your plate. Dani Massa, an associate at a restaurant marketing firm in New York, says she shuns the bread basket and prioritizes her plate by filling up on the vegetables first. When she's sampling a chef's creations, she leaves a little bit of food on every plate.

When Shelley is out having fun, she often orders a second appetizer instead of an entree and splits desserts with friends.

— Staff and news services