Medicine News | Sci.News

Kawano et al. show that intestinal microbiota protects against development of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and pre-diabetic phenotypes by inducing commensal-specific Th17 cells. Image credit: Kawano et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.08.005.

Dietary Sugar Disrupts Gut Microbiome, Says New Study

Aug 31, 2022 by News Staff

Dietary sugar alters the gut microbiome, setting off a chain of events that leads to metabolic disease, pre-diabetes, and weight gain, according to a new...

Drinking tea may be associated with a moderately lower mortality risk. Image credit: Sci.News.

Tea, Even at Higher Levels of Intake, Can Be Part of Healthy Diet, New Study Suggests

Aug 30, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

In a new prospective cohort study, higher tea intake was associated with lower mortality risk among those drinking two or more cups per day, regardless...

Characterization of human accumbens electrophysiological signal provoked by exposure to preferred food stimuli: (a) schematic of the multi-stage, staggered enrollment, early feasibility study design; the current stage of each participant within the trial is highlighted (blue - subject 1; green - subject 2); (b) two quadripolar depth electrodes placed bilaterally in the nucleus accumbens; (c) the multi-item buffet of preferred foods allowing us to examine nucleus accumbens electrophysiology during LOC eating as well as the preceding in-lab standardized meals. Image credit: Shivacharan et al., doi: 10.1038/s41591-022-01941-w.

Deep Brain Stimulation May Help Treat Binge-Eating Disorder

Aug 30, 2022 by News Staff

In a pilot study led by Pennsylvania Hospital and the Stanford University School of Medicine, deep brain stimulation — guided by patterns of neural...

7-methylxanthine may slow the progression of myopia in children. Image credit: National Eye Institute.

Caffeine Metabolite Slows Myopia Progression in Children, New Study Suggests

Aug 24, 2022 by News Staff

Myopia (short-sightedness) is associated with an increased risk of permanent vision loss. A metabolite of caffeine called 7-methylxanthine, licensed in...

Consumption of non-nutritive sweeteners may induce person-specific, microbiome-dependent glycemic alterations, necessitating future assessment of clinical implications. Image credit: Suez et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.07.016.

Some Artificial Sweeteners Can Alter Gut Microbiome, New Study Says

Aug 22, 2022 by News Staff

Non-nutritive sweeteners are commonly integrated into human diet and presumed to be inert. However, previous studies suggest that they may impact the microbiome...

Jafari et al. found that in a mouse model of human type 2 diabetes, Rhodiola rosea lowered fasting blood sugar levels, improved response to insulin injections, modulated the composition of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract and decreased several biomarkers of inflammation. Image credit: Jerzy Opiola / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Extract from Rhodiola rosea Roots Might Be Effective for Helping Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Aug 17, 2022 by News Staff

In a study published recently in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the University of California, Irvine and elsewhere investigated the effects...

Ultrasound exposure improved depressive-like behavior in olfactory bulbectomized rats and reduced their plasma corticosterone levels. Image credit: Mary Theresa McLean.

Ultrasound Exposure Improves Depressive-Like Behavior in Rats, New Study Shows

Aug 16, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists from the Tokyo University of Science and FUJIMIC, Inc. have investigated the effects of ultrasound exposure in olfactory bulbectomized rats...

Grape consumption reduces fatty liver, extends lifespan, alters gene expression in the brain, changes metabolism, and has positive effects on behavior and cognition. Image credit: Nicky Pe.

Addition of Grapes to Diet Improves Health and Lifespan, New Studies Suggest

Aug 11, 2022 by News Staff

Grapes contain polyphenols and flavonoids that are known for their antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. Grape consumption reduces fatty liver,...

Intake of 35 g of peanuts prior to two main meals per day resulted in weight loss comparable to a traditional low-fat weight loss diet without preloads; greater systolic blood pressure reductions were observed with peanut intake, which may lower cardiovascular disease risk. Image credit: Three-shots.

Peanut-Enriched Diet Promotes Weight Loss, Reduces Blood Pressure

Aug 1, 2022 by Natali Anderson

In a two-arm, parallel randomized controlled trial, scientists from the University of South Australia and Texas Tech University examined the effect of...

Song et al. show that damaging effects of blue light at the organismal level are strongly age dependent and are associated with reduced activity of specific components of energy-producing pathways in mitochondria. Image credit: Pexels.

Damaging Effects of Blue Light Exposure Worsen with Age, New Research Suggests

Jul 28, 2022 by News Staff

Blue light is a predominant component of light emitting devices, which are increasingly present in our environment. There is already accumulating evidence...

Bapir et al. confirm that cocoa can decrease blood pressure and arterial stiffness in everyday life when elevated within the normal range. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Study: Cocoa Only Decreases Blood Pressure When Elevated

Jul 27, 2022 by News Staff

New research led by Professor Christian Heiss from the University of Surrey and NHS Healthcare Trust reduces concerns that cocoa as a treatment for raised...

Hodges et al. found that consuming green tea extract for four weeks can reduce blood sugar levels and improve gut health by lowering inflammation and decreasing gut permeability. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Green Tea Extract Consumption May Help Reduce Blood Sugar Levels, Improve Gut Health

Jul 26, 2022 by News Staff

Dietary interventions with catechin-rich green tea extract confections in healthy adults and persons with with metabolic syndrome decreased fasting glucose...

Boolani et al. suggest that energy and fatigue are unique traits that could be defined by distinct bacterial communities not driven by diet. Image credit: Darryl Leja, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health.

New Study Finds Genetic Link between Alzheimer’s Disease and Gastrointestinal Tract Disorders

Jul 18, 2022 by News Staff

Consistent with the concept of the gut-brain phenomenon, observational studies suggest a relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and gastrointestinal...

Smith et al. investigated the contribution of polyphenol and carbohydrate components of dried plums on a bone model of postmenopausal osteoporosis to explore their prebiotic activity. Image credit: Smith et al., doi: 10.3390/nu14091685.

Study: Bioactive Compounds in Dried Plums Have Prebiotic Activity, Help Restore Bone Health

Jul 14, 2022 by News Staff

New research in mice shows that both polyphenol and carbohydrate components of dried plums (Prunus domestica) have prebiotic activity characterized by...

Zhou et al. discovered sound reduces pain in mice by lowering the activity of neurons in the brain’s auditory cortex (green and magenta) that project to the thalamus. Image credit: Wenjie Zhou.

Scientists Identify Neural Mechanisms Through Which Sound Induces Analgesia in Mice

Jul 8, 2022 by News Staff

Sound, including music and noise, can relieve pain in humans, but the underlying neural mechanisms are unknown. In new research, scientists from the United...

Bukhbinder et al. found that in adults aged 65 and older without dementia, mild cognitive impairment, or encephalopathy, patients who received at least one influenza vaccine were 40% less likely than their non-vaccinated peers to develop incident Alzheimer’s disease during the four-year follow-up period. Image credit: MasterTux.

Flu Vaccination Lowers Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, Study Suggests

Jul 5, 2022 by News Staff

In a new retrospective cohort study, scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston found that, through an uncertain mechanism,...

Gabel et al. examined bone strength, density, and microarchitecture in seventeen astronauts using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Image credit: NASA.

Microgravity Induces Irreversible Damage to Bone Strength and Density, Says New Study

Jul 4, 2022 by News Staff

Scientists from the University of Calgary and elsewhere have followed 17 International Space Station astronauts before and after spaceflight over the last...

Liu et al. show that in normal mouse skin, Scube3 is expressed only in dermal papillae of growing, but not in resting follicles. SCUBE3 protein microinjection is sufficient to induce new hair growth, and pharmacological TGF-β inhibition rescues mutant hair hyper-activation phenotype. Moreover, dermal-papilla-enriched expression of SCUBE3 and its growth-activating effect are partially conserved in human scalp hair follicles. Image credit: Liu et al., doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2022.06.005.

Newly-Discovered Signaling Molecule Stimulates Hair Multiplication and Growth

Jul 1, 2022 by News Staff

SCUBE3 potently stimulates hair growth and may offer a therapeutic treatment for androgenetic alopecia. Liu et al. show that in normal mouse skin, Scube3...

Zhang et al. observed that Aedes mosquitoes preferred to seek and feed on mice infected by dengue and Zika viruses. Image credit: Zhang et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.05.016.

Flaviviruses Make Their Hosts Smell Tastier to Mosquitoes: Study

Jul 1, 2022 by News Staff

New research demonstrates that mosquito-transmitted flaviviruses such as Zika and dengue can manipulate skin microbiota of their hosts to produce a scent...