Health

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have discovered that a fungus deadly to people with weakened immune systems can disable a critical defence used by neutrophils, the body's front-line infection-fighting white blood cells. An estimated 40 to 60 per cent of healthy people carry Candida albicans harmlessly as part of the body's normal microbial community. But in people with weakened immune systems, it can enter the bloodstream and trigger invasive candidiasis, a condition with mortality rates approaching 50 per cent. The research conducted using zebrafish models and human immune cells showed that restoring this suppressed immune response dramatically improved survival from infection, particularly when combined with existing antifungal drugs. The findings, from scientists at Sheff...

For years, the debate around AI has swung between excitement and anxiety, but researchers are now putting this technology to work on humanity's toughest challenge the mysteries of cancer. At the centre of one such effort is Debarka Sengupta, associate dean of Innovation, Research and Development, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi), who is using AI and genomics to detect cancer earlier, understand how tumours behave and help doctors choose treatments tailored to individual patients. Rather than viewing cancer as a single disease or a mutation in one gene, Sengupta's laboratory studies it as a complex biological system by combining molecular biology, genomics, single-cell analysis, microfluidics and AI. "The aim is to detect weak cancer signals that are of...

Mumbai doctors have successfully treated a 70-year-old woman suffering from a rare and life-threatening rupture of the food pipe caused by forceful vomiting.  The 70-year-old patient arrived at the hospital with severe chest pain, difficulty swallowing, and breathing problems. Detailed evaluation revealed a big hole in her lower esophagus (food pipe), allowing food and infected material to leak into the chest cavity. Considering the complexity of the condition and the associated infection, the medical team opted for an advanced non-surgical approach involving endoscopic vacuum therapy followed by autologous fat grafting. After multiple treatment sessions and weeks of dedicated care, the defect closed successfully, allowing the patient to recover without undergoing major surgery. Manjula ...

In a significant step towards advancing early cancer detection in India, Strand Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, has been granted an Indian patent for an integrated platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis to detect cancer from a simple blood sample. The patented technology combines high-quality genome sequencing, stringent quality control, methylation and fragmentomic analysis, and machine learning algorithms to identify early cancer-related changes in DNA circulating in the bloodstream. It can also predict the tissue of origin of the cancer, enabling doctors to investigate the affected organ at an earlier stage. A Blood Test That Could Change Cancer Screening One of the key innovations covered by the patent is its ab...

Small-bodied primate babies can have heads nearly twice as large as their mothers' pelvic space, suggesting that the tight fit of a baby's head through the birth canal is not unique to humans, as previously thought, a new study has found. Findings published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution challenge the theory of an exclusively human ''obstetrical dilemma'the idea that our large heads and narrow pelvises (adapted for upright walking), have made childbirth uniquely difficult for our species, researchers said. Co-corresponding author Nicole Torres Tamayo from the University College London's department of anthropology said, "Much of the data that informed earlier studies was flawed. It had been collected in a human-centric way that failed to consider the anatomy of other species....

There has been a noticeable rise in the number of people being diagnosed with gallstones, with many patients seeking medical help only after developing severe abdominal pain or other complications. Unhealthy eating habits, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, rapid weight loss, diabetes, and increasing age are among the factors contributing to the growing burden of gallstone disease. Experts advise people not to ignore recurring stomach pain, bloating, or indigestion, as early diagnosis can prevent serious health problems and avoid emergency surgery. Gallstones are hard deposits that form inside the gallbladder, a small organ located below the liver that stores bile, a digestive fluid. While many gallstones remain silent and do not cause symptoms, they can become dangerous if they block the bi...

Ice. Urgently and in large quantities. At a Paris-region hospital, emergency medics needed it to plunge patients into cold-water baths to speedily bring down their temperatures so they wouldn't join the growing tally of dead from a record-smashing heatwave. But lacking an ice-making machine, where to get it?  A fast-food restaurant helped out last week, saying the hospital could take its ice. Staff also bought ice from the supermarket. The Paris-Saclay Hospital has now ordered its own ice machine, eagerly awaited in the emergency department for a future attack of sizzling heat. Whether that hits next week, as France's weather service says it might, or in summer months ahead, medics and hospital administrators are acutely aware that the battle they've just endured will, because of climate...

Few foods enjoy the emotional status that chocolate does. It appears during celebrations, marks special occasions, offers comfort after difficult days, and has become almost universally associated with pleasure. But behind chocolate’s feel-good reputation lies a more intriguing scientific question: why does eating chocolate seem to make people feel better? For years, researchers have explored whether the ‘chocolate happiness effect’ is purely emotional or whether something measurable happens inside the brain. Today, emerging evidence suggests that dark chocolate occupies an unusual space where biology and psychology overlap. It does not simply satisfy a craving, but engages taste, memory, reward pathways, circulation, and chemical messengers that together shape how people experience pleas...

Nine more people tested positive for cerebral malaria in Potka block of Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district, taking the total count of such cases in the area to 150 in the last one week, an official said on Thursday. The district administration has intensified screening for such a vector-borne disease, he said. "A total of 3,000 samples have been tested in the Potka block since June 24. Around 150 people, including nine found positive on Wednesday, have been detected with cerebral malaria," the official said. Cerebral malaria is a life-threatening neurological complication of Plasmodium Falciparum infection, resulting in coma and severe brain damage. The majority of cases have been reported from villages such as Kandar and Hithbasa, where medical teams are continuously monitoring the s...

Europe is still taking stock of a powerful heatwave in late June but experts are already confident it ranks among the worst ever recorded even rivalling a freak 2003 episode. Temperature records were rewritten across Europe as hundreds of millions of people withered under extreme heat that closed schools, shut down transport and cost untold lives. A heat dome trapped hot air from North Africa over the Iberian Peninsula in late June before spreading as far as the United Kingdom, eventually weakening over central and eastern parts of Europe in early July. As the mercury starts to rise again in Europe, here's what we know so far about the impact of the early summer heatwave:  Memories of 2003  As the June episode intensified, comparisons were quickly made to August 2003, when a heatwave ...