Category: 4. Health

  • Potential to prevent and treat a common type of inflammatory arthritis advanced by the identification of new genetic links

    Potential to prevent and treat a common type of inflammatory arthritis advanced by the identification of new genetic links

    In a first-of-its-kind genome-wide association study (GWAS) researchers have discovered two genes, RNF144B and ENPP1, that cause calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease in Americans of European and African descent. This crystalline arthritis is caused by calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystal deposition in joints. The findings of this novel study in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, published by Elsevier, open up promising new avenues for targeted prevention and treatment of CPPD…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Bed bugs are most likely the first human pest, new research shows

    Bed bugs are most likely the first human pest, new research shows

    Ever since a few enterprising bed bugs hopped off a bat and attached themselves to a Neanderthal walking out of a cave 60,000 years ago, bed bugs have enjoyed a thriving relationship with their human hosts.

    Not so for the unadventurous bed bugs that stayed with the bats — their populations have continued to decline since the Last Glacial Maximum, also known as the ice age, which was about 20,000 years ago.

    A team led by two Virginia Tech researchers recently compared the whole genome…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Newly identified group of nerve cells in the brain regulates bodyweight

    Newly identified group of nerve cells in the brain regulates bodyweight

    Obesity is a global health problem that affects many people. In recent years, very promising anti-obesity drugs have been developed. Despite these successes, there are patients who do not respond to these drugs or suffer from side effects. Therefore, there is still an unmet need for therapies. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research have now discovered a small group of nerve cells in the hypothalamus of mice brain that influence eating behavior and weight gain. This…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Nearly five million seized seahorses just ‘tip of the iceberg’ in global wildlife smuggling

    Nearly five million seized seahorses just ‘tip of the iceberg’ in global wildlife smuggling

    Close to five million smuggled seahorses worth an estimated CAD$29 million were seized by authorities over a 10-year span, according to a new study that warns the scale of the trade is far larger than current data suggest.

    Published today in Conservation Biology, the study analyzed online seizure records from 2010 to 2021 and found smuggling incidents in 62 countries, with dried seahorses, widely used in traditional medicine, most commonly intercepted at airports in passenger baggage or…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Understanding cultural differences in salt usage may help lower consumption

    Understanding cultural differences in salt usage may help lower consumption

    Almost all adults in the U.S. consume more sodium (salt) than recommended, yet the sources and use of sodium vary among people of different races and ethnicities, indicating the need for culturally customized advice about sodium intake, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

    Consuming too much sodium can increase the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Combination therapy with Rapamycin and Trametinib prolongs the life of mice

    Combination therapy with Rapamycin and Trametinib prolongs the life of mice

    Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing have discovered that the combination of the two cancer drugs Rapamycin and Trametinib significantly extends the lifespan of mice. This therapy shows greater effects than the individual drugs and offers not only a longer lifespan, but also health benefits in old age. The results suggest that this drug combination could be a promising strategy for combating age-related diseases and promoting longevity.

    • The combination of…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Genetic deep dive dispels fear of hybrid worm threat

    Genetic deep dive dispels fear of hybrid worm threat

    Parasitic worms that infect humans are not interbreeding with those that infect cattle as previously thought. This is good news for when it comes to controlling schistosomiasis, a disease caused by these worms that affects more than 200 million people globally.

    For more than a decade, evidence suggested that worm species that infect humans and cattle, Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma bovis, were trading genes frequently — a process called hybridization. This caused concern among…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Yeast can now produce human DNase1

    Yeast can now produce human DNase1

    The human protein, which is used against cystic fibrosis among other things, is currently produced only in mammalian cells with considerable effort and money.

    The protein DNase1 is one of the oldest biological agents in history: It has been on the market since 1958 and is now used, among other things, to treat cystic fibrosis. However, it takes considerable effort to produce it in immortalized hamster cells. This process is also costly. It would be far more cost-effective to produce it with…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Midlife weight loss linked to longer, healthier lives

    Midlife weight loss linked to longer, healthier lives

    A University of Helsinki study tracked 23,000 individuals from Finland and the UK, aged 30 to 50 at the outset, over a period of 12 to 35 years. Health benefits were found in overweight men and women who lost an average of 6.5% of their body weight in early middle age and maintained it throughout the 12-35-year follow-up period. Weight maintenance is crucial.

    “The benefits of lifestyle-based weight management are widely discussed even though studies have found it surprisingly difficult to…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Gut bacteria may hold key to unlocking better cancer treatment

    Gut bacteria may hold key to unlocking better cancer treatment

    Scientists have discovered a range of ‘biomarkers’ that could help to improve detection and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases (GIDs) such as gastric cancer (GC), colorectal cancer (CRC), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

    Researchers found that certain gut bacteria and metabolites are linked to each disease — suggesting that these biomarkers could help in early, less invasive diagnosis of GIDs, with some markers indicating risk across multiple diseases.

    They used advanced machine…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com