Category: 4. Health

  • Cuts to science research funding cut American lives short − federal support is essential for medical breakthroughs

    Cuts to science research funding cut American lives short − federal support is essential for medical breakthroughs

    Nearly every modern medical treatment can be traced to research funded by the National Institutes of Health: from over-the-counter and prescription medications that treat high cholesterol and pain to protection from infectious diseases such as polio and smallpox.

    The remarkable successes of the decades-old partnership between biomedical research institutions and the federal government are so intertwined with daily life that it’s easy to take them for granted.

    However, the…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: theconversation.com

  • Dark Chocolate And Placebos Are Also Good For Your Health

    Dark Chocolate And Placebos Are Also Good For Your Health

    Two months ago, I wrote about recent research indicating that drinking coffee could be good for one’s health—resulting in a statistically significant decrease in mortality. (Caveat: The health benefits occur if one drinks coffee in the mornings, as opposed to spreading it throughout the day.)

    I am now pleased to report that two more items—dark chocolate and placebos—can also be good for one’s health.

    An international group of…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.forbes.com

  • A genetic tree as a movie: Moving beyond the still portrait of ancestry

    A genetic tree as a movie: Moving beyond the still portrait of ancestry

    University of Michigan researchers have developed a statistical method that can be used for such wide-ranging applications as tracing your ancestry, modeling disease spread and studying how animals spread through geographic regions.

    One of the method’s applications is to give a more complete sense of human ancestry, says Gideon Bradburd, U-M professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. For example, when you send your DNA off for a personalized ancestry report, the report you get back is…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Compelling data point to a single, unknown respiratory virus as cause of Kawasaki disease

    Compelling data point to a single, unknown respiratory virus as cause of Kawasaki disease

    Research from Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago strongly suggests that Kawasaki disease is caused by a single respiratory virus that is yet to be identified. Findings contradict the theory that many different pathogens or toxins could cause this disease that can lead to serious cardiac complications in young children.

    “The cause of Kawasaki disease has been a mystery for over 50 years,” said Anne Rowley, MD, pediatric…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Nutrition Funding Cuts Could Claim 369K Young Lives This Year

    Nutrition Funding Cuts Could Claim 369K Young Lives This Year

    A harrowing new study published in Nature warns that sweeping cuts to global nutrition funding could result in 369,000 additional child deaths every year. The analysis, conducted by the Standing Together for Nutrition Consortium (ST4N), a global network of…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.forbes.com

  • The hidden spring in your step

    The hidden spring in your step

    Researchers at the University of Tokyo reveal the way our legs adapt to fast movements. When people hop at high speeds, key muscle fibers in the calf shorten rather than lengthen as forces increase, which they call “negative stiffness.” This counterintuitive process helps the leg become stiffer, allowing for faster motion. The findings could improve training, rehabilitation, and even the design of prosthetic limbs or robotic exoskeletons.

    When you hop, run or jump, your legs behave like…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Hypertension causes kidney changes at an early stage

    Hypertension causes kidney changes at an early stage

    A research team from the Medical University of Vienna has investigated structural changes in kidneys of patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes. The results show that high blood pressure can lead to abnormalities in the podocytes, specialised cells in the renal filter, even without other pre-existing conditions such as diabetes. The results, published in the journal “Hypertension,” underline the importance of early detection and consistent treatment of high blood pressure in order to…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Long COVID patients feel pressure to prove their illness is real, study finds

    Long COVID patients feel pressure to prove their illness is real, study finds

    People living with Long Covid often feel dismissed, disbelieved and unsupported by their healthcare providers, according to a new study from the University of Surrey.

    The study, which was published in the Journal of Health Psychology, looked at how patients with Long Covid experience their illness. The study found that many patients feel they have to prove their illness is physical to be taken seriously and, as a result, often reject psychological support, fearing it implies their symptoms…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Human urine, a valuable resource as fertilizer for sustainable urban agriculture, study concludes

    Human urine, a valuable resource as fertilizer for sustainable urban agriculture, study concludes

    The reuse of human urine would allow for the production of sustainable fertilizers for urban agriculture, with significant environmental benefits. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), which evaluates the environmental impact of nitrogen recovery from the yellow waters of buildings. In addition to promoting sustainable agriculture, it would reduce CO2 emissions and water…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Research highlights urgent need for national strategy to combat rising eating disorders

    Research highlights urgent need for national strategy to combat rising eating disorders

    A paper led by academics at Northumbria University, published in the Journal of Eating Disorders today (27 March), points to figures outlining the scale of the challenges and increasing numbers of people impacted:

    • Approximately 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder
    • 12.5% of 17 to 19-year-olds in England reported having an eating disorder in 2023, compared with 0.8% in 2017
    • The financial cost of eating disorders to the English economy was estimated as £8 billion in…

    Continue Reading


    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com