ScienceDaily: Health - November 09, 2023
Top health research news
How the antioxidant glutathione keeps mitochondria healthy
Scientists have discovered how mitochondria sense and control their glutathione levels, an antioxidant produced throughout the body. The first nutrient-sensing mechanism identified for an organelle, the finding has great translational potential.
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Measuring skin water loss predicts anaphylaxis during food allergy tests
Measuring skin water loss during food allergy tests may help predict anaphylaxis and keep patients safe. The method aims to detect the life threatening reaction before epinephrine injections are necessary.
Connectivity scans could serve as brain 'blueprints' for adolescents, researchers find
Two new studies highlight how brain imaging can be used to predict and identify cognitive outcomes and psychiatric risk in young people.
Infection with common cat-borne parasite associated with frailty in older adults
A new study of 601 older adults found that those with higher serointensity -- or a higher concentration of antibiodies -- to the cat-borne parasite Toxoplasma gondii are more likely to show signs of frailty, including exhaustion, loss of muscle mass and other indications of declining health. T. Gondii has previously been associated with risk-taking behavior and mental illness.
Why we don't all develop posttraumatic stress disorder after trauma
Researchers show why only a subset of individuals exposed to trauma develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The research, centered on the body's stress hormone response, could pave the way for more targeted treatments for PTSD.
Previous genetic association studies involving people with European ancestry may be inaccurate
Researchers have found that previous studies analyzing the genomes of people with European ancestry may have reported inaccurate results by not fully accounting for population structure. By considering mixed genetic lineages, researchers have demonstrated that previously inferred links between a genomic variant that helps digest lactose and traits such as a person's height and cholesterol level may not be valid.
When dads are feeling a bit depressed or anxious, how do kids fare?
A team of researchers has found that slightly higher, but mild anxious or depressive symptoms in fathers were associated with fewer behavioral difficulties in the first years of elementary school and better scores on a standardized IQ test in their children.
Artificial intelligence may help predict -- possibly prevent -- sudden cardiac death
Predicting sudden cardiac death may be possible using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze medical information in electronic health records, according to preliminary research. Researchers analyzed electronic health records from 25,000 people who had died suddenly and 70,000 people hospitalized for cardiac arrest who did not die in Paris, France and Seattle, Washington and used AI to build personalized health equations that identified each person's risk of dying from sudden cardiac arrest.
Brain implant may enable communication from thoughts alone
A speech prosthetic developed by a collaborative team of neuroscientists, neurosurgeons and engineers can translate a person's brain signals into what they're trying to say. The new technology might one day help people unable to talk due to neurological disorders regain the ability to communicate through a brain-computer interface.
Location of strong sense of discomfort in brain found
Researchers have identified a new neural circuit in the brain which produces a strong sense of discomfort when activated. The discovery also allows them to show for the first time that the subthalamic nucleus, a structure in the brain that controls voluntary movements, may also play a role in the development of depression. The results could lead to better treatments for Parkinson's disease.
European wildcats avoided introduced domestic cats for 2,000 years
Domestic cats introduced from the Near East, and wildcats native to Europe did not mix until the 1960s, despite being exposed to each other for 2,000 years, according to two recent articles.
A blood test shows MS worsening 1 to 2 years before it happens
Multiple sclerosis patients whose blood tests reveal elevated NfL, a biomarker of nerve damage, could see worsening disability one to two years later, according to a new study.
Epigenetic changes are paramount in cancer progression
The path a cell takes from healthy to metastatic cancer is mostly driven by epigenetic changes, according to a new computational study.
A step closer to injection-free diabetes care: Innovation in insulin-producing cells
A team has developed a new step to improve the process for creating insulin-producing pancreatic cells from a patient's own stem cells, bringing the prospect of injection-free treatment closer for people with diabetes.
Some benefits of exercise stem from the immune system
Research in mice shows that the anti-inflammatory properties of exercise may arise from immune cells mobilized to counter exercise-induced inflammation. Immune cells prevent muscle damage by lowering levels of interferon, a key driver of chronic inflammation, inflammatory diseases, and aging.
Seeing the unseen: How butterflies can help scientists detect cancer
There are many creatures on our planet with more advanced senses than humans. Turtles can sense Earth's magnetic field. Mantis shrimp can detect polarized light. Elephants can hear much lower frequencies than humans can. Butterflies can perceive a broader range of colors, including ultraviolet (UV) light.
New antibiotic approach proves promising against lyme bacterium
Using a technique that has shown promise in targeting cancer tumors, a team has found a way to deploy a molecular warhead that can annihilate the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.
Rats have an imagination, new research suggests
Researchers have developed a novel system to probe a rat's thoughts, finding that animals can control their brain activity to imagine remote locations.
Good news, bad news on dental pain care seen in new study
Americans who have a tooth pulled or another painful dental procedure in the United States today are far less likely to get opioid painkillers than they were just a few years ago, a new study shows. But the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have thrown a wrench into the effort to reduce opioid use in dental care.
A known environmental hazard can change the epigenetics of cells
An international team of researchers has discovered that formaldehyde, a widely spread pollutant and common metabolite in our body, interferes in the epigenetic programming of the cell. This finding expands the knowledge of formaldehyde, previously considered only as a DNA mutagen, and helps establishing a further link with cancer.
At least 14 percent of Americans have had long COVID, study finds
One in seven people in the US reported having had long Covid by the end of 2022, suggests a large-scale investigation of long Covid and symptom prevalence by academics at UCL and Dartmouth.
Researchers found that the hormone oxytocin, known to be involved in regulating feeding and social behavior and until now to be produced mostly in the brain, is also produced in the human intestine. Furthermore, gut resident bacteria L. reuteri can affect the production of gut-made oxytocin, providing the first insights into a mechanism by which these bacteria can influence human health.
New branch of oncology, cancer neuroscience, offers hope for hard-to-treat brain tumors
To drive their growth, many tumors hijack nervous system signals, including those needed for brain plasticity.
Brain health in over 50s deteriorated more rapidly during the pandemic, study finds
Brain health in over 50s deteriorated more rapidly during the pandemic, even if they didn't have COVID-19, according to major new research linking the pandemic to sustained cognitive decline.
Less physical activity in adolescence likely rooted in biology
The slowdown of physical activity during adolescence is not likely caused by lifestyle and environment but by energy demands placed on the body as it grows and sexually matures, according to a new study.
Immunology: Dysfunction of mitochondria drives the exhaustion of T cells
In the immune system's fight against cancer and infections, the T cells often lose their power. Now immunologists may have found a possible explanation for this phenomenon.
Compact genetic testing device could be used to detect a range of pathogens, or conditions including cancer.
Neutralizing antibodies that target resistant bacteria
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a major challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. Due to numerous resistance mechanisms, infections with the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa are particularly feared. Researchers have now discovered antibodies that could lead to a highly potent treatment option of acute and chronic infections with P. aeruginosa.
'Super melanin' heals skin injuries from sunburn, chemical burns
In a new study, scientists show that their synthetic melanin, mimicking the natural melanin in human skin, can be applied topically to injured skin, where it accelerates wound healing. These effects occur both in the skin itself and systemically in the body.
New antibodies neutralize resistant bacteria
Broadly neutralizing antibodies are already being used to fight viruses. This approach could also help to treat infections with multi-resistant bacteria in the future.
Atherosclerosis: RNA fragment creates prospect for new therapies
Researchers have demonstrated the specific role microRNA plays in atherosclerosis -- and how it manages to intervene in this signaling pathway.
Immune system: Mechanisms of alarmin release discovered
Medical scientists have demonstrated that important pro-inflammatory mediators are released into the bloodstream through tiny pores in the cell membrane at a very early stage of the immune response.
Bowel cancer: Aspirin activates protective genes
Researchers have identified a signaling pathway by which aspirin can inhibit colorectal cancer.
Metabolite tells cells whether to repair DNA
Ner findings show how a specific nucleotide metabolite called GTP controls responses to radiation and chemotherapy in an unexpected way.
One sleepless night can rapidly reverse depression for several days
Most people who have pulled an all-nighter are all too familiar with that 'tired and wired' feeling. Although the body is physically exhausted, the brain feels slap-happy, loopy and almost giddy. Now, neurobiologists have uncovered what produces this punch-drunk effect. In a new study, researchers induced mild, acute sleep deprivation in mice and then examined their behaviors and brain activity. Not only did dopamine release increase during the acute sleep loss period, synaptic plasticity also was enhanced -- literally rewiring the brain to maintain the bubbly mood for the next few days.
Higher risk of breast cancer in women with false positive mammography result
Women who receive a false positive mammography result are more likely to develop breast cancer over the subsequent 20 years, report researchers. The risk is highest for women aged between 60 and 75 and who have low breast density.
Practicing mindfulness can help people make heart-healthy eating choices
A study found that participants in a mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program improved health behaviors that lower blood pressure. When people who had elevated blood pressure participated in an eight-week mindfulness-based blood pressure reduction program, they significantly improved their scores on measures of self-awareness and adherence to a heart-healthy diet compared to a control group.
How 'blue' and 'green' appeared in a language that didn't have words for them
A new study suggests the way a language divides up color space can be influenced by contact with other languages. Tsimane' people who learned Spanish as a second language began to classify blue and green into using separate words, which their native tongue does not do.
New clues to the mechanism behind treatment-resistant depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a widespread mental health condition that for many is disabling. It has long been appreciated that MDD has genetic as well as environmental influences. In a new study researchers identify a gene that interacted with stress to mediate aspects of treatment-resistant MDD in an animal model.
