All posts by : Felistas

Devices made with cheap strips of paper have outperformed two other testing methods in detecting malaria infection in asymptomatic people in Ghana—a diagnostic advance that could accelerate efforts to eliminate the disease, researchers say.

In today’s world, we hear a lot about what we should eat: more vegetables, less sugar and salt, and to obtain locally sourced, sustainable, and nutrient-rich food. But there’s a fundamental question most people don’t think about: How do we actually know what is in our food? The answer lies in food composition databases (FCDBs), which are collections of data about the nutritional content of different foods, from macronutrients like protein and fat, to vitamins, minerals and specialized biomolecules like antioxidants and phytochemicals.

A research team has identified genetic factors that influence the shape of subcortical brain regions—far beyond volume measurements. The results could open up new approaches for the early detection of neurological and mental disorders.

Dads with poor mental health may be impacting the development of their kids, with Australian research linking mental distress in fathers to poorer social-emotional, cognitive, language, and physical development in their kids. The review, which pooled together the results from 84 studies across 48 groups of people, found that these impacts were generally stronger for mental distress after birth than before birth, suggesting that a father’s mental state may exert a more direct influence on the developing child after birth.

Huntington’s disease has long defied attempts to rescue suffering neurons. A new study in Cell Reports shows that transplanting healthy human glial progenitor cells into the brains of adult animal models of the disease not only slowed motor and cognitive decline but also extended lifespan. These findings shift our understanding of Huntington’s pathology and open a potential path to cell-based therapies in adults already showing symptoms.

Did you know that around one in two women in the UK will experience symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction at some point in their lives? And for women who engage in high-intensity exercise, that figure rises to 63%.

In children with undernutrition, increasing weight in a child’s first decade of life can lead to significantly taller adults—with no increase in the risk of obesity or high blood pressure later in life, according to a new University of Michigan study.

Mass General Brigham researchers have developed a new AI tool in collaboration with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to probe through previously collected CT scans and identify individuals with high coronary artery calcium (CAC) levels that place them at a greater risk for cardiovascular events. Their research, published in NEJM AI, showed the tool called AI-CAC had high accuracy and predictive value for future heart attacks and 10-year mortality. Their findings suggest that implementing such a tool widely may help clinicians assess their patients’ cardiovascular risk.

Older couples may want to take a closer look at their drinking habits together.

Obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are increasingly present in the population. Brown adipose tissue has a protective function against these prevalent diseases, as it burns calories and can produce body heat from fat. But as the body ages, the activity of brown adipose tissue decreases. This inactivation of brown adipose tissue—also typical of obese people—remains poorly studied in the scientific literature.