Today's Globe: faster flu test, HRT and heart attacks, colon cancer gene, FDA upgrade, Shukri Khuri

The government approved a new genetic test for the flu virus yesterday that will allow labs across the country to identify flu strains within four hours instead of four days.

Women who take hormone replacement therapy to treat menopause symptoms do not have a higher than usual risk of heart attack, especially if they use a cream or skin patch or take cyclic hormone combinations, Danish researchers reported yesterday.

A gene related to a hormone secreted by the body's fat cells may lower the risk of colon cancer, a discovery that could reassure people with a family history of the disease, researchers said yesterday (second item).

The Food and Drug Administration said it will spend up to $2.5 billion to upgrade the technology it uses to track the safety of food, drugs, and other products (fifth item).

Dr. Shukri F. Khuri of the Veterans Administration, whose work helped lead to a dramatic drop in mortality rates and fewer complications, died from a brain tumor Friday at his Westwood home.