Category: 4. Health

  • Mitochondrial DNA mutation accumulation may not be a determining factor in aging

    Mitochondrial DNA mutation accumulation may not be a determining factor in aging

    Mutations accumulated in mitochondrial DNA associated with aging were earlier believed to cause aging by decreasing the energy-producing function (mitochondrial respiratory function). In this study, researchers at University of Tsukuba demonstrated that mitochondrial respiratory function is not reduced even when wild-type mice accumulated the same level of mutations as premature aging model mice, indicating the need to reinvestigate the conventional theory.

    The human genome is broadly…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Study quantifies the sleep loss and disruption experienced by new mothers

    Study quantifies the sleep loss and disruption experienced by new mothers

    A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2025 annual meeting quantifies the amount of sleep loss experienced by first-time mothers in the weeks after giving birth and is the first to identify the unique type of sleep disruption that persists throughout the first months of motherhood.

    Results show that the average daily sleep duration of new mothers was 4.4 hours during the first week after giving birth compared with a pre-pregnancy sleep duration of 7.8 hours. Their longest stretch of…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Location matters: Belly fat compared to overall body fat more strongly linked to psoriasis risk

    Location matters: Belly fat compared to overall body fat more strongly linked to psoriasis risk

    Researchers have found that central body fat, especially around the abdomen, is more strongly linked to psoriasis risk than total body fat, particularly in women. This link between central fat and psoriasis remained consistent regardless of genetic predisposition, indicating that abdominal fat is an independent risk factor.The study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, published by Elsevier, provides insights that could help improve early risk prediction and guide personalized…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Wilms tumors: How genes and imprinting pave the way for cancer

    Wilms tumors: How genes and imprinting pave the way for cancer

    A research team at the Biocenter of Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), together with cooperation partners at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge (UK), has taken a significant step towards understanding Wilms’ tumors, malignant kidney tumors in young children. Using samples from the Wilms tumor biobank, the team was able to systematically decipher the hereditary predisposition for Wilms tumors in a large cohort. The results have now been published in the journal Genome…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Boys who are overweight in their early teens risk passing on harmful epigenetic traits to future children

    Boys who are overweight in their early teens risk passing on harmful epigenetic traits to future children

    A new study suggests that boys who become overweight in their early teens risk damaging the genes of their future children, increasing their chances of developing asthma, obesity and low lung function.

    Research published in Communications Biology is the first human study to reveal the biological mechanism behind the impact of fathers’ early teenage obesity on their children.

    Researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Bergen in Norway investigated the epigenetic…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • New pace of aging measurement reveals trajectories of healthspan and lifespan in older people

    New pace of aging measurement reveals trajectories of healthspan and lifespan in older people

    A newly refined method for measuring the Pace of Aging in population-based studies provides a powerful tool for predicting risks associated with aging, including chronic illness, cognitive impairment, disability, and mortality. Developed by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the method offers researchers and policy makers a novel approach to quantify how quickly individuals and populations experience age-related health decline.

    Until now the metrics used in…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • A chip with natural blood vessels

    A chip with natural blood vessels

    How can we investigate the effects of a new drug? How can we better understand the interaction between different organs to grasp the systemic response? In biomedical research, so-called organs-on-a-chip, also referred to as microphysiological systems, are becoming increasingly important: by cultivating tissue structures in precisely controlled microfluidic chips, it is possible to conduct research much more accurately than in experiments involving living humans or animals.

    However, there has…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Chronic renal failure: Discovery of a crucial biomarker

    Chronic renal failure: Discovery of a crucial biomarker

    In a world first, Canadian scientists at the CRCHUM, the hospital research centre affiliated with Université de Montréal, have identified microRNA able to protect small blood vessels and support kidney function after severe injury.

    For the four million people diagnosed with chronic renal failure in Canada — and millions more abroad — this scientific advancement could have a major impact on early diagnosis and prevention of the disease.

    Previously, there was no known reliable biomarker…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Different versions of APOE protein have varying effect on microglia in Alzheimer’s disease

    Different versions of APOE protein have varying effect on microglia in Alzheimer’s disease

    A new study, published today in Nature Communications, offers clues into how APOE isoforms differentially affect human microglia function in Alzheimer’s disease. The study, led by Dr Sarah Marzi and Dr Kitty Murphy at the UK Dementia Research Institute at King’s College London and the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, underscores the need for new targeted interventions based on APOE genotypes.

    Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in the UK, affecting 1 in 14…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • How brain stimulation alleviates symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

    How brain stimulation alleviates symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

    Researchers are investigating the mechanisms and identifying new areas of the brain that can benefit patients when stimulated.

    Persons with Parkinson’s disease increasingly lose their mobility over time and are eventually unable to walk. Hope for these patients rests on deep brain stimulation, also known as a brain pacemaker. In a current study, researchers at Ruhr University Bochum and Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany, investigated whether and how stimulation of a certain region of…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com