All posts by : Felistas

Scientists have unearthed surprising details about how our bodies handle insulin—the hormone that plays a crucial role in regulating blood sugar and developing diabetes. The discovery could lead to better treatment of type 2 diabetes and earlier diagnosis, potentially even before the disease develops.

A large international study led by scientists at FIMM, University of Helsinki, shows that many of the molecular differences between male and female brains are already established during the first trimester of pregnancy and linger throughout life.

Persons with Parkinson’s disease increasingly lose their mobility over time and are eventually unable to walk. Hope for these patients rests on deep brain stimulation, also known as a brain pacemaker.

Public health care emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can drastically disrupt health care systems with long-term repercussions. The effects of such health care crises are more pronounced in the aging population, who are particularly vulnerable to chronic infections and sudden disruptions in health care.

Epidemics of infectious disease often come in waves, but the causes of these waves aren’t clear, frustrating efforts to predict or mitigate them. Are waves of infection caused by transmission seasonality, viral mutations, implementation of public health interventions, or something else?

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed the first technology that is able to recognize biomarkers in menstrual blood—directly in sanitary towels. MenstruAI promises a simple, non-invasive method for recording health data in everyday life.

NATION REPORTER

A NEW report jointly produced by the World Bank, World Food Programme (WFP), and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has cautioned that assigning too many objectives to strategic grain reserves, such as the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), risks creating financial strain, diverting resources from other priorities, and threatening fiscal sustainability.

The report, titled “Strengthening Strategic Grain Reserves to Enhance Food Security,” draws lessons from various countries including Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Ghana, Ethiopia, Zambia, Egypt, Tunisia, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic.

It highlighted that public grain stocks often pursue multiple, overlapping goals — from stabilising prices to meeting emergency food needs — which complicated management and led to inefficient use of public funds.

The report noted that price stability efforts for urban consumers were frequently mixed with emergency food security aims.

Additionally, there was often confusion between achieving food self-sufficiency and ensuring food security, which focused on consistent access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food for all.

A common practice, described as “buying high and selling low,” involves purchasing grain at higher prices to support farmers and later selling at lower prices to protect consumers.

The report warned that this strategy resulted in high fiscal costs, created subsidy dependency, discourages private sector participation, and caused market distortions that ultimately undermined food security.

“The more objectives a grain reserve has, the more financially demanding it becomes, diverting funds from other priorities and potentially endangering fiscal sustainability,” the report stated.

It also highlighted the high costs of pursuing multiple objectives.

“In Zambia, for example, the FRA is tasked with responding to food emergencies, stabilising market prices, and supporting both farmers and consumers. In 2021, the agency consumed 17 percent of the Ministry of Agriculture’s budget,” according to the report.

The report further recommended addressing the high costs of financing grain reserves, stating that: “In Zambia’s case, financing costs alone made up 11 percent of total expenditure, with some countries reporting even higher figures.”

Methamphetamine was recently ranked New Zealand’s second-most harmful drug behind alcohol, and is the country’s most injected drug.

Rural Georgians may find it difficult to access medication that could slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the University of Georgia.

Aphasia is a disorder that affects a person’s ability to retrieve language. It’s as if their brain’s word cabinet has fallen over and mixed their words around, resulting in varying levels and forms of impairment, including auditory comprehension and verbal expression.