Category: 4. Health

  • New study reveals our skin’s own bacteria can help protect us from the bad effects of sunlight

    New study reveals our skin’s own bacteria can help protect us from the bad effects of sunlight

    The skin microbiome plays an important role in health and disease. Researchers have now substantiated that certain skin bacteria can protect us from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation specifically by metabolizing cis-urocanic acid using an enzyme called urocanase. This enables the skin’s ability to fine-tune how it responds to UV radiation The findings of the study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, published by Elsevier, provide a striking case study that demonstrates the…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Drinking water, select foods linked to PFAS in California adults

    Drinking water, select foods linked to PFAS in California adults

    While concentrations of older “forever” chemicals appear to have decreased in many foods over the last two decades, a new study found that drinking water, along with seafood, eggs, and brown rice, still contribute to PFAS exposure in adults. More attention is needed to newer, replacement PFAS.

    Food has long been considered a major source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a large class of long-lasting chemicals used in industry, consumer products, and found in the environment…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Exercise the key to maintaining Vitamin D levels in winter

    Exercise the key to maintaining Vitamin D levels in winter

    The sun may be shining now, and our vitamin D levels are getting a natural boost but it wasn’t long ago we were in the depths of winter, when sunlight was scarce and vitamin D was in short supply.

    Now, new research from the University of Bath, University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge and others, published in Advanced Science has revealed that regular, moderate-intensity exercise helps maintain crucial vitamin D levels during the darker months — even without weight loss or…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Yellow fever vaccination: How strong immune responses are triggered

    Yellow fever vaccination: How strong immune responses are triggered

    Researchers show how specific immune cells are activated by the vaccine — an important starting point for the development of new vaccines.

    The yellow fever vaccination using the live-attenuated YF17D vaccine is one of the most effective immunizations available. A single dose provides long-lasting protection against the disease. Due to the strength and long-lasting nature of the immune response it triggers, this vaccine serves as an excellent model for studying effective immune defense…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Too much sleep can hurt cognitive performance, especially for those with depression

    Too much sleep can hurt cognitive performance, especially for those with depression

    There might be such a thing as getting too much of a good night’s sleep.

    Sleeping nine hours or more per night is associated with worse cognitive performance, which is even more the case for those with depression, a study led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center (UT Health San Antonio) shows.

    They derived the results from an examination of sleep duration and cognition in 1,853 dementia-and-stroke-free participants in the Framingham Heart Study, which is an ongoing…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • New study raises concerns about the safety of long-term ADHD medication treatment in children

    New study raises concerns about the safety of long-term ADHD medication treatment in children

    A recent study by the University of Turku and the University of Helsinki in Finland and the Finnish Social Insurance Institution Kela reveals that the average duration of ADHD medication for children and adolescents is more than three years. However, reliable, controlled data on the safety of marketed ADHD medicines in children are available for only one year of follow-up.

    The use of ADHD medication has increased notably in recent years, but its long-term effects in children have not been…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • People with lupus who have certain antibodies are more likely to experience blood clots, researchers find

    People with lupus who have certain antibodies are more likely to experience blood clots, researchers find

    Some patients with lupus who possess specific antibodies are at a higher risk of thrombotic events such as a blood clot, stroke or heart attack, a new study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers shows. The finding might help clinicians determine which patients may need early treatment and clinical monitoring for thrombotic events.

    Normally, antibodies help protect the body by fighting infections and tumors, but in autoimmune conditions such as lupus, antibodies may go after healthy…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • New insights into the energy balance of brain neurons

    New insights into the energy balance of brain neurons

    A research team at the Carl Ludwig Institute for Physiology at Leipzig University has, for the first time, demonstrated how the energy levels of individual neurons in the brain change during so-called spreading depolarizations — waves of activity that occur in various brain disorders. The findings provide important foundations for understanding energy metabolism in cases of acute cerebral ischaemia, such as that which occurs during a stroke.

    Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is an essential…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Rediscovering the first known cellular receptor

    Rediscovering the first known cellular receptor

    After earning notoriety as the first cellular receptor isolated and mammalian lectin identified, the Ashwell-Morell receptor’s functions in our bodies eluded scientists for more than 30 years.

    In 2008, scientists in San Diego shed new light on this landmark liver cell receptor by identifying its roles in sepsis. Those experiments revealed that the Ashwell-Morell receptor’s binding partners — known as ligands — modulated blood clotting in determining host survival of sepsis.

    “It’s an…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Epic Faces Mounting Antitrust Allegations Even As It Grows

    Epic Faces Mounting Antitrust Allegations Even As It Grows

    Epic Systems is perhaps the most successful health technology company in the world. Its electronic health record (EHR) platform is now used by the majority of large health systems in the U.S. Its customers are vocal in their support and are often passionate defenders of the platform’s reliability, configurability, and comprehensiveness….

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    News Source: www.forbes.com