ScienceDaily: Top Health News

Gastrointestinal issues linked with anxiety, social withdrawal for kids with autism

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:37 PM PDT

A new study found a 'bi-directional' relationship between gastrointestinal issues and internalized symptoms in children and adolescents with autism -- meaning the symptoms seem to be impacting each other simultaneously. The findings could influence future precision medicine research aimed at developing personalized treatments to ease pain for individuals with autism experiencing gastrointestinal issues.

Meat substitutes: Environment does not motivate consumption

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:37 PM PDT

People who have a critical attitude toward factory farming or who pay attention to their health in everyday life are more likely to turn to meat substitutes. Concern for the environment, on the other hand, appears to play no role in this decision.

AI may detect earliest signs of pancreatic cancer

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:37 PM PDT

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool can accurately predicted who would develop pancreatic cancer based on what their CT scan images looked like years prior to being diagnosed with the disease. The findings may help prevent death through early detection of one of the most challenging cancers to treat.

Genomic study reveals complex origins of people living in Tibetan-Yi corridor

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:37 PM PDT

China's mountainous southwestern area is home to one of the country's most ethnically diverse populations. In the most comprehensive genetic analysis of the native people there to date, researchers reveal that the ethnic groups' peopling and migration history is more complex than previously concluded.

COVID-19 lockdown measures affect air pollution from cities differently

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:37 PM PDT

Seizing on a natural experiment created by restricted travel, researchers combine a network model with air pollution data before and during outbreaks.

Cellular regeneration therapy restores damaged liver tissue faster than ever

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:36 PM PDT

Mammals can't typically regenerate organs as efficiently as other vertebrates, such as fish and lizards. Now, scientists have found a way to partially reset liver cells to more youthful states -- allowing them to heal damaged tissue at a faster rate than previously observed. The results reveal that the use of reprogramming molecules can improve cell growth, leading to better liver tissue regeneration in mice.

Crossing barriers: How the rabbit virus myxoma leapt into a new species

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:36 PM PDT

New research explores the spillover of myxoma virus from European rabbits to Iberian hares. In addition to shedding new light on species-jumping viruses, the study shows that the protein permitting the species jump from rabbits to hares may help improve myxoma as a cancer-fighting agent.

Molecular tests for TB

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:36 PM PDT

A potential game-changer in the tuberculosis epidemic was how the tuberculosis community viewed rapid molecular tests for tuberculosis and tuberculosis drug resistance. This was 12 years ago, with the launch of Xpert MTB/RIF, which gives results in less than two hours, simultaneously diagnosing tuberculosis and testing if the bacteria have rifampicin resistance, a type of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is caused by resistance to at least both rifampicin and isoniazid, the two most effective first-line drugs used to treat tuberculosis.

Best version of exosuit to take strain off the back

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:36 PM PDT

A research team studies exosuits, a wearable mobile machine that allows for limb movement with increased strength and endurance.

Poor diet associated with increased diabetes risk across all gradients of genetic risk

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:36 PM PDT

Genetic risk factors and diet quality are independently associated with type 2 diabetes; a healthy diet is linked to lower diabetes risk across all levels of genetic risk. That's the conclusion of a study of more than 35,000 U.S. adults.

Living near fast food restaurants in South Asia may increase risk of Type 2 diabetes

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:36 PM PDT

Globally, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing. A new study suggests that living near fast food restaurants increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Parental type 1 diabetes can affect children's cognitive development

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:36 PM PDT

Cognitive development in children could be affected regardless of which biological parent has type 1 diabetes, according to a new study. The research shows for the first time that having a parent with a chronic disease like type 1 diabetes may be associated with lower school performance rather than maternal high blood sugar during fetal development.

'Shielding' strategies instead of lockdowns would have led to tens of thousands more deaths, new modelling shows

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:36 PM PDT

Shielding vulnerable people while allowing Covid-19 to run through the rest of the population had been proposed as an alternative strategy to lockdowns. Modelling by University of Bath scientists shows it would ultimately have failed as infections 'leak through' to the most vulnerable. Even in the most optimistic shielding scenario, critical care capacity in hospitals would have been massively exceeded with tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths.

Scientists identify genetic variants linked to mobility changes in aging

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:17 AM PDT

Genetic variants in an enzyme that is important to mitochondrial function may contribute to whether individuals maintain or lose strength and mobility as they age.

New evidence of how exercise can counter diabetes damage

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:17 AM PDT

One way exercise can counter the damage of diabetes is by enabling activation of a natural system we have to grow new blood vessels when existing ones are ravaged by this disease.

Immersive VR: Empowering kids to survive in fire, flood, and war

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:17 AM PDT

When you live in the driest State in the driest country in the world, bushfires are an unfortunate, and all-too-regular part of life. Learning how to survive such emergencies is important for all people, but especially for our youngest citizens.

Better assess the needs of people with multiple disabilities

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:17 AM PDT

How do we assess the needs of people with severe multiple disabilities? Unable to communicate verbally and physically, this population has nearly no possibility of expressing itself. Thanks to eye-tracking technology, a team has succeeded in identifying and evaluating certain perceptive and social-emotional abilities in nine children and adolescents with multiple disabilities, opening the way to personalized care.

Lipidomics provides new biomarkers for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:17 AM PDT

Using lipidomics, a modern analytical method, researchers identified those lipids that are statistically associated with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In addition, the scientists found that a diet with an increased proportion of unsaturated fatty acids leads to a reduction in risk-associated lipids and an increase in low-risk lipids.

Scientists identify chemical markers that may unlock future therapeutic uses of mRNA

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:17 AM PDT

Researchers set out to find new ways to artificially induce mRNA to respond in ways that could eventually lead to therapeutic outcomes, expanding on the success of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and opening up new possibilities across a host of possible genetic therapies.

Learning chemical networks give life a chiral twist

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:17 AM PDT

A study shows that the preference of biological molecules for left or right-handedness -- a hallmark of living matter -- could emerge spontaneously as prebiotic chemical networks adapt to optimize energy harvesting. The proposed mechanism of symmetry breaking is general and can apply to other transitions in living matter that lead to increased complexity.

Study suggests early self-awareness of autism leads to better quality of life

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:16 AM PDT

People who learn they are autistic when they are younger may have a heightened quality of life and sense of well-being in adulthood, according to a new study.

Micronutrients (vitamins + minerals) show benefit for children with ADHD and emotional dysregulation

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:16 AM PDT

A study reports that children with ADHD and emotional dysregulation randomized to take a micronutrient formula were three times more likely to show symptomatic improvement on blinded clinician ratings, compared to those in the placebo group (54% versus 18%). The micronutrient formula, consisting of all known vitamins and essential minerals, was administered for eight weeks.

A new treatment reduces inflammation in multiple sclerosis mice models

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:16 AM PDT

Researchers managed to reduce chronic inflammation associated with multiple sclerosis in mice thanks to the administration of a type of lipid that mediates inflammation.

Boys are more demanding than girls before they are born, according to scientists

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:16 AM PDT

Finding out the sex of a baby during pregnancy could lead to better life chances, a new study has discovered. Male baby pregnancies are more likely to result in complications, possibly because they grow faster in the womb and require more nutrients and oxygen than supplied by the mother through the placenta -- the temporary organ that attaches to the wall of the uterus during pregnancy to help the fetus grow and develop.

When it comes to preventing Alzheimer's, women respond better than men

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:16 AM PDT

A study is the first to examine if sex significantly affects cognitive outcomes in people who follow individually-tailored, multi-domain clinical interventions. The study also determined whether change in risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), along with blood markers of AD risk, also were affected by sex. Results showed that while care in an Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic setting is equally effective at improving cognitive function in both women and men, the personally-tailored interventions used by the researchers led to greater improvements in women compared to men across AD and CVD disease risk scales, as well blood biomarkers of risk such as blood sugar, LDL cholesterol, and the diabetes test HbA1C. Findings are important because women are disproportionately affected by AD and population-attributable risk models suggest that managing risk factors can prevent up to one-third of dementia cases.

New graphite based rapid sensor chip for real-time theophylline monitoring

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 07:16 AM PDT

Although theophylline (THO) is effective in treating respiratory problems and inflammation, the drug can be toxic if taken above certain limits. This demands accurate and rapid sensing devices that can closely monitor THO levels in patients. Therefore, scientists have now designed a paper-based THO sensor with a response time of 3 seconds. This new sensor is highly selective and sensitive. It has also been successfully tested using whole bovine blood.

Could blocking or deleting a protein help prevent common oral cancers?

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 06:21 PM PDT

Around one-third of people with oral squamous cell carcinoma don't survive it, but dental researchers have found deleting or inhibiting a protein in the tongue might stall tumor growth.

The impact of COVID-19 on drug use -- and how it contributes to overdose risk

Posted: 25 Apr 2022 06:20 PM PDT

In rural communities, structural and community factors during the pandemic have increased anxiety, depression, and loneliness and altered drug use behaviors, according to a new study.