Health

UK scientists have discovered how some children develop natural immunity to Strep A, a common bacterial infection -- a vital breakthrough which could help develop vaccines to save up to half a million lives globally each year. While Strep A often causes a mild sore throat or skin infections, it sometimes be life-threatening. In low and middle-income countries hundreds of thousands of people die each year after contracting the infection. This increased risk is often linked to heart damage resulting from repeated infections. Researchers from the University of Sheffield were able to identify the specific antibodies that are linked to protection from the potentially fatal infection. "Our findings represent a significant step towards a safe and effective vaccine that could save around half ...

Increasing weight loss experienced by cancer patients that often leads to deaths may be caused by communication between the brain and liver, according to a study. Nearly a third of cancer-related deaths are caused by cachexia -- a currently incurable metabolic syndrome that involves substantial weight loss, including depletion of muscle mass and body fat. It also contributes to therapy resistance and increases mortality among affected patients. Researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, US, have discovered that one of the reasons for this loss is disrupted communication between the brain and the liver. When the activity of the vagus nerve -- a major axis of brain-liver communication -- is dysregulated by cancer-tr...

About a fifth of those aged 45 and above were living with diabetes in 2019, with two in every five possibly unaware of their condition, according to data from a study among India`s ageing adults. Findings published in The Lancet Global Health also suggest that as the country`s population rapidly ages, diabetes cases among the middle-aged and older adults will increase, even if increase in prevalence of the condition in age-specific groups can be arrested, authors said. Researchers, including those from the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, and US, also found that 46 per cent of those aware of their diabetes regained a control over blood sugar levels, while around 60 per cent were able to control their blood pressure the same year. Six per cent were taking a lipid-...

The relationship with our brothers and sisters is one of love and hate, but the former always ends up growing more than the other, and that happens once we grow older but till then mischief thoroughly defines the bond.Siblings often hold a mirror to our truest selves, offering fierce honesty blanketed with unexpected tenderness, giving one a sense of companionship that stays with you no matter where life takes you.  From rivalry and resentment to relentless loyalty to quiet understanding, they shape who we are and how we love.  Be it Kabir and Ayesha from Dil Dhadakne Do, a sibling duo with starkly different personalities, yet they come together when the chips are down or Bonnie, Avery and Lucky in Blue Sisters who navigate loss and unresolved tensions while drawing strength from their s...

Love to eat potatoes? Consume the starchy vegetable baked or boiled, but not as French fries, according to a study which showed that eating the popular snack item thrice a week may increase the risk of diabetes by 20 per cent. The study, which tracked the diets of more than 205,000 adults over decades, however, showed that other forms of potatoes -- including baked, boiled, and mashed -- do not increase the risk of diabetes. The study, published in the BMJ, also found that swapping any form of potato for whole grains may lower the risk of diabetes. "The public health message here is simple and powerful: small changes in our daily diet can have an important impact on the risk of type 2 diabetes," said corresponding author Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard...

Are you someone who reaches for a cup of coffee every night? According to a new study, nighttime caffeine consumption can increase impulsive behaviour, potentially leading to reckless actions, especially among women. The findings could have negative implications for shift workers, health care, and military personnel who consume coffee at night, particularly females, said a team of biologists from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). The study, published in the journal iScience, examined how nighttime caffeine intake affects inhibition and impulsivity in fruit flies. Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly species used in the study, is a powerful model to study complex behaviours due to its genetic and neural parallels with humans. The team designed a series of experiments introduc...

In one of the many medical miracles of this week, a hospital in Mumbai has performed cochlear implant surgery on a patient while she was awake. It not only gave her hope of getting her ability to hear back again but also ended her challenge, which she had to deal with for the last three years.  The surgery conducted at Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre in Peddar Road, was done on a 19-year-old girl from Worli, who lost her hearing due to anti-TB treatment. She underwent the innovative procedure under local anesthesia.  It was conducted by a team of ENT surgeons led by Dr Brajendra Baser who was assisted by Dr Umendra Agihari and Dr Divya Prabhat along with anesthesiologist Dr Rajani. The patient was brought to tears as she heard sounds for the first time in three years on the operat...

Diabetes continually weakens the immune system, leading to poor health and a high risk of death among patients with tuberculosis (TB), said experts on Tuesday. The link between TB and diabetes -- two critical challenges to global health -- has long been established. TB and diabetes, both separately and combined, significantly affect individuals, communities, and healthcare systems worldwide. India`s TB burden remains a major public health challenge, with 28 lakh TB cases -- accounting for 26 per cent, the highest globally in 2024. The country also reported an estimated 3.15 lakh TB-related deaths, accounting for 29 per cent of the deaths globally. The burden of diabetes is also consistently increasing in the country, with over 100 million people currently living with the disease. “Diab...

A new study explains a possible reason why sometimes taking a nap break helps people perform better when they resume a task -- during sleep, short-term information related to the task at hand is converted into long-term, stronger memory, researchers found. The team, led by researchers from Harvard Medical School, US, monitored brain activity of 25 participants as they were learning a typing sequence, followed by taking a nap. During sleep, areas in the cortex -- brain`s outermost layer that helps with higher-level functions such as memory -- that were active while the participants worked showed more rhythmic, repetitive patterns, indicating that information related to the task is being processed, the team found. The results, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, also show that an in...

The brain might become the target of new type 1 diabetes treatments and pave a better way for insulin management, according to a study.  Researchers had, over a decade ago, found that an acute complication of type 1 diabetes -- diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) -- can be resolved with the hormone leptin, even in the absence of insulin. In the analysis, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the team explained how leptin affects the brain and how it might be used in future therapeutics. DKA happens when the body is unable to make insulin and begins to break down fat for fuel. This can lead to a life-threatening buildup of sugar (glucose) and ketoacids in the blood. Doctors have typically administered insulin to address the complication. But evidence now shows that, when insulin i...