Health

A team of US researchers has uncovered the cellular culprit behind age-related abdominal fat, providing new insights into why our midsections widen with middle age.  Published in the journal Science, the findings suggest a novel target for future therapies to prevent belly flab and extend our healthy lifespans. Preclinical research by City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organisations in the US, has done this research. “People often lose muscle and gain body fat as they age — even when their body weight remains the same,” said Qiong (Annabel) Wang, an associate professor of molecular and cellular endocrinology at City of Hope’s Arthur Riggs Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute.  “We discovered aging triggers the arrival of a new type of...

Screening for both active and dormant tuberculosis (TB) infection simultaneously can help improve detection, which is key for better outcomes, according to a study.  The new strategy, proposed by a team of researchers led by Queen Mary University of London, can curtail infection rates, potentially save lives. It provides a solution to problems with current TB screening, which does not always accurately detect disease. "Global TB control requires early identification and treatment of TB in risk groups. Our novel screening algorithms show that screening for active and dormant TB can be done simultaneously with high accuracy for migrants from countries where TB is common to improve individual and population benefits,” said Dr Dominik Zenner, Clinical Reader in Infectious Disease Epidemiolog...

Administering antibiotics within the first two years of life can raise children`s risk of developing higher body mass index (BMI), according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Oulu in Finland found that children exposed to antibiotics in the first two years of life had a 9 per cent greater risk of being overweight; and a 20 per cent greater risk of becoming obese than children who were not exposed to the drugs. However, the study found no correlation between BMI and antibiotic use before pregnancy, during pregnancy, or at birth. "Antibiotic exposure in the first two years of life has a stronger association with childhood weight gain than exposure during pregnancy stages or other early ages," said Sofia Ainonen, a medical doctor at the University of Oulu. "Providers need...

Just three minutes a day of moderate activity may be enough to boost better heart health in older adults, according to a study. Previous studies have shown that as people age, many do not engage in physical activity, increasing their chances of experiencing a cardiovascular event. In the new study, researchers from the UK and Australia noted that doing household chores or shopping for groceries -- referred to as incidental activities -- may also be enough to boost health. Incidental physical activity (IPA) encompasses activities of daily living outside the leisure-time domain and includes preparing meals, keeping the house clean, mowing the lawn, or gardening. “Any daily IPA amount of vigorous or moderate-intensity was associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk in a dose-response...

While eating chicken, known as lean meat, has long been considered healthier than red meat, a new study shows that regularly eating poultry may lead to early death due to gastrointestinal or digestive system cancers. The study, led by researchers at the National Institute of Gastroenterology, in Italy, is based on an analysis of health-related data for 4,869 adults living in Italy over 20-years. The findings showed that the risk of digestive system cancers including oesophageal, stomach, colon, pancreatic, and liver, is higher for men than for women. Poultry meat (mainly chicken) is currently among the most widely consumed meats worldwide. It is reasonably affordable and accessible, explaining the high global consumption rates. Prior research has suggested chicken as a protein source a...

A study has suggested that age 36 is when the ill-effects of having unhealthy habits as a young adult -- smoking, drinking and physical inactivity -- start becoming apparent. Researchers from the University of Jyvaskyla tracked about 370 residents of the Finnish city for over 30 years. Data was collected via surveys and medical tests at ages 27, 36, 42, 50 and 61. Three bad habits -- smoking, heavy drinking and a lack of exercise -- can lead to declines in health in people as young as 36, according to findings published in the journal Annals of Medicine. The team said that unhealthy behaviours in mid-life -- 40s and 50s -- are known to increase chances of developing health disorders in old age. However, their analysis showed that the ill-effects of unhealthy behaviours remained similar...

Imbalance in the digestive system may disrupt brain signals and influence behavioural symptoms in children with autism, according to a study on Monday.  Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) demonstrated that gut metabolites impact the brain, and the brain, in turn, affects behaviour. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, adds to a growing body of science implicating the “gut-brain” axis in autism. “The brain acts as the intermediary between gut health and autism-related behaviours,” said first author Lisa Aziz-Zadeh, professor at the Brain and Creativity Institute at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. “Previous studies highlighted differences in gut microbiomes and brain structures in autism, but our research connects t...

There has been a spike in male infertility cases, largely driven by increasing stress levels, obesity, poor lifestyle choices, and growing environmental pollution. These factors affect sperm quality, hormone balance, and overall reproductive health. This growing trend is a cause for concern, especially among couples aged 25-35 trying to conceive. Early diagnosis, maintaining a healthy weight, regular exercise, reducing stress, and avoiding smoking and alcohol can significantly help manage and improve male fertility. Every year, National Infertility Awareness Week is observed between April 20 and April 26. It is done to raise awareness about infertility and the need for more people to be educated about it. Infertility affects both men and women. Male infertility refers to problems in a man...

Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, meningitis, and yellow fever are on the rise globally amid misinformation and cuts to international aid, the United Nations and the Gavi vaccine alliance warned Wednesday. "Vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past five decades," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. "Funding cuts to global health have put these hard-won gains in jeopardy." Tedros added that the increasing outbreaks around the world are "putting lives at risk and exposing countries to increased costs in treating diseases." Measles, for example, is making an "especially dangerous comeback," with cases rising every year since 2021 and reaching an estimated 10.3 million in 2023, which is a 20 percent increase since 2022. The...

By combining artificial intelligence (AI) with electrical recordings of brain activity, researchers have been able to track the language exchanged during conversations and the corresponding neural activity in different brain regions, according to a new study. The team from Department of Neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in the US investigated how our brains process language during real-life conversations. “Specifically, we wanted to understand which brain regions become active when we`re speaking and listening, and how these patterns relate to the specific words and context of the conversation,” said lead author Jing Cai in a paper published in Nature Communications. They employed AI to take a closer look at how our brains handle the back-and-forth of real conversations. Th...