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445 news posts in Health

Health

25 Apr 2022

World Malaria Day: Meet a researcher using genetic engineering to tackle a serious global disease

By Colm Gorey/Prof Tania de Koning-Ward, Deakin University Prof Tania de Koning-Ward, Deakin University. Image: Deakin University World Malaria Day – held on the 25 April –  is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control. To mark this important awareness day, Frontiers caught up with Prof Tania de Koning-Ward to hear how she is contributing to a global effort to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Tania de Koning-Ward is a professor in molecular microbiology based at Deakin University’s School of Medicine in Australia and is a senior research fellow of the country’s National Health and Medical Research Council. Here she heads the school’s malaria pathogenesis research group which aims to investigate molecular level, key parasite-host interactions that enable malaria parasites to thrive and survive in their host and cause disease. She has published extensively on the subject, including in an article published to Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology in September 2020. What inspired you to become a researcher? Do you have any specific memories that set off a spark? Growing up, I always enjoyed biology and maths but realized pretty quickly at university that it […]

Health

12 Apr 2022

People married into long-lived families share lower risk of type II diabetes

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer New study within the US Long Life Family Study identifies biomarkers characteristic for people born in – or married into – families with exceptionally long-lived members. Both groups also have a reduced risk of developing type II diabetes. Sharing the household and lifestyle of children of long-lived parents might lead to these marked health benefits for spouses, but it’s also possible that people tend to pick their partners through ‘assortative mating’, matching phenotypes and genotypes for healthy aging and longevity. What makes some people predisposed to live and remain healthy much longer than others? That some persons reach an exceptional age has been recorded throughout history. It’s tempting to write down such outliers as only the result of environment and behavior: for example, better-than-average nutrition, medical care, childcare practises, and hygiene, not to mention luck. But as average life expectancy continues to increase worldwide due to overall improvements in these and other factors, it’s becoming clear that exceptional longevity and healthy aging tend to run in families. This suggests that genetic differences also play a role in assuring lifespan and life-long good health. Prof Iva Miljkovic from the School of Public Health at the […]

Health

17 Mar 2022

mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccines are safe for high-risk patients, shows study

By Conn Hastings, science writer Image: Shutterstock.com Patients with impaired immunity have faced a difficult predicament during the pandemic. Their condition places them at risk of severe Covid-19 complications, but until now, no-one knew if they were at higher risk of adverse side-effects following vaccination against Covid-19. A new study trialed two mRNA vaccines in such patients and found that they are safe and well tolerated. The results will help immunocompromised patients in making an informed choice about vaccination. Spare a thought for patients with impaired immunity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their condition puts them at high risk of severe complications from Covid-19, but also creates uncertainty about the safety and effectiveness of the available vaccines that could protect them. A new study in Frontiers in Oncology helps to put this catch-22 situation to rest by finding that two popular mRNA-based vaccines are well tolerated by such high-risk patients. The trial found that the vaccines were safe and did not cause unexpected adverse events in a group of patients with various cancers, neurological, and rheumatological conditions that are associated with immunosuppression. The results will reassure vaccine-hesitant patients that the vaccines are safe, even for the immunocompromised.     ► Read original article► Download […]

Health

21 Feb 2022

Eating vegetables does not protect against cardiovascular disease, finds large-scale study

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer A long-term ‘UK Biobank’ study on almost 400,000 people finds little or no evidence that differences in the amount of consumed cooked or uncooked vegetables affects the risk of cardiovascular disease. When known socio-economic and lifestyle confounding factors are corrected for, the small apparent positive effect that remains could likely also be explained away by further confounders. A sufficient intake of vegetables is important for maintaining a balanced diet and avoiding a wide range of diseases. But might a diet rich in vegetables also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)? Unfortunately, researchers from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Bristol found no evidence for this. That the consumption of vegetables might lower the risk of CVD might at first sight seem plausible, as their ingredients such as carotenoids and alpha-tocopherol have properties that could protect against CVD. But so far, the evidence from previous studies for an overall effect of vegetable consumption on CVD has been inconsistent. Now, new results from a powerful, large-scale new study in Frontiers in Nutrition shows that a higher consumption of cooked or […]

Health

07 Feb 2022

‘Try to reverse these wrong stereotypes’ – an interview with Prof Sarah Garfinkel & Dr Lisa Quadt #WomeninScience

By Janine Gronewold and Miriam Engels Interviewee Prof Sarah Garfinkel Interviewee Dr Lisa Quadt During the Covid-19 pandemic, with its repeated lockdowns and social restrictions, many people across the globe have reported increased feelings of isolation and loneliness. Prolonged loneliness is known to be associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes, for example increased cerebrovascular disease. What could be the mechanism underlying this association? That is the subject of a recent perspective article in Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience. Its authors, Dr Janine Gronewold, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Vascular Neurology and Dementia of the University Hospital Essen, and Miriam Engels, a doctoral student at the Institute of Medical Sociology at the University Clinic Düsseldorf and lecturer at the Open University of the Netherlands, were inspired by a recently proposed framework for adaptive versus maladaptive brain-body interactions. For the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2022 on 11th February, Gronewold (denoted as JG below) and Engels (ME) here interview two of the authors behind this framework, Dr Sarah Garfinkel (SG), professor at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, and her postdoc Dr Lisa Quadt (LQ), a research fellow in Clinical Neuroscience at Brighton […]

Health

04 Feb 2022

Sex disparities in sports medicine research may threaten the health and careers of female athletes

By Emily Parker, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Image: leungchopan/Shutterstock.com ‘Hormones’ have long been blamed for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in female athletes, but according to a new review paper, one menstrual hormone may be mediating the damage: relaxin. University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine student, Emily Parker, writes to Frontiers that upon noticing the lack of progress in the 20-odd years since early relaxin-musculoskeletal studies, the support of orthopedic department mentors and the assistance of a fellow student allowed a thorough dive into the disjointed, cross-disciplinary research trail. Female athletes are between three and eight times more likely to suffer devastating ACL injuries compared to their male counterparts. That’s according to 16 years of data from the US National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance System, published in a new paper to Frontiers in Endocrinology. Alex Meyer, one of the authors of this latest research, noted: “It has almost been accepted that these [ACL injuries] are just more prevalent in women.” The cost of female ACL injuries is huge and multi-faceted, seen in the billions of dollars of healthcare costs, team rosters picked apart by injury come tournament time, and future consequences such as post-traumatic […]

Health

01 Dec 2021

Survivors of severe Covid-19 may have increased risk of death within 12 months of illness

By Conn Hastings, science writer Image: Corona Borealis Studio/Shutterstock.com A new study shows the long-term implications of severe Covid-19 infection, with such patients demonstrating significantly increased chances of death in the 12 months following the illness. The majority of deaths occurred for a wide variety of reasons, suggesting that severe infection damages overall health. The stark findings highlight the need to reduce the numbers of severe infections through vaccination. Can long Covid kill? Striking findings presented in a new study published to Frontiers in Medicine show that patients who survive severe Covid-19 have more than twice the risk of dying over the following year, compared with those who experience mild or moderate disease or remain uninfected. Unusually, the increased risk of dying was greater for patients who are under 65, and only 20% of the severe Covid-19 patients who died did so because of typical Covid complications, such as clotting disorders or respiratory failure. The study suggests that severe Covid-19 may significantly damage long-term health and highlights the importance of preventing severe disease through vaccination.          ► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) Reality of long Covid Covid-19 can cause severe symptoms and death for vulnerable people, particularly older patients and […]

Health

29 Nov 2021

DNA of future deep-space explorers could become more ‘error prone’ in microgravity

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer During parabolic flight to simulate weightless conditions in space, researchers show for the first time that a DNA polymerase enzyme derived from bacteria makes 10-140% more errors while copying DNA in microgravity. Combined with the known greater rate of DNA damage from space radiation, this inaccuracy of DNA replication is likely to pose a threat to the health of future astronauts on long missions. On 22 May 2019, scientists from Queen’s University boarded a modified Falcon 20 aircraft at Ottawa airport. Scheduled was a ‘vomit comet’ flight, where the plane repeatedly climbs to 8km in a steep parabola, alternating with a descent in freefall. During freefall, at a rate of over 3.3km in 20 seconds, only gravity but no lift, thrust, or drag work on the plane, resulting in weightlessness. The scientists’ mission under these difficult conditions was to test whether the enzymes that copy DNA are as accurate under weightlessness as under earthbound conditions. This question is of paramount importance for future space exploration, as the health of astronauts will depend on accurate DNA replication during cell division. “So-called DNA polymerases are essential enzymes that copy and repair DNA. Inevitably, they aren’t perfect: […]

Health

19 Nov 2021

Common household sounds are stressing out our pets, but little research has been put into giving them a happier life

By Dr Emma K Grigg, University of California, Davis Dr Emma K Grigg, University of California, Davis. Image: Sherri Rieck We may not realize it, but many household appliances are causing our pets significant stress, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. Now, one of its authors, Dr Emma K Grigg of University of California, Davis, writes about another less-discussed issue: how little effort is being put into better understanding our pets. Grigg is a certified applied animal behaviorist and a staff research associate and lecturer at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. She is also a lecturer in canine behavior at Bergin University of Canine Studies in northern California and has authored a number of scientific publications on canine, feline, and marine mammal behavior. Her first book, The Science Behind a Happy Dog, was published in June 2017. As an animal behavior researcher who specializes in dogs and cats, I have been trained to carefully observe and interpret their body language to better understand and predict their behavior, to study the ways in which they interact with their worlds, and to continually consider the impacts of human activities on their wellbeing. My […]

Health

28 Oct 2021

For less than $10, anyone can now get up close and explore single cells in VR

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager 3D rendered medically accurate illustration of a cancer cell (not representative of what’s seen using singlecellVR). Image: SciePro/Shutterstock A team of scientists has developed a free, open-access VR program that allows anyone to interact with single-cell datasets using a headset costing less than $10. Previous tools used to view single-cell data visualizations in VR have been limited to the most expensive hardware, costing upwards of $2,500. The team’s findings have been published in Frontiers in Genetics. While often thought of as being limited to expensive hardware for dedicated gamers, virtual reality (VR) has become a lot more affordable in recent years with entry-level hardware – such as Google Cardboard – costing less than $10. With this headset, anyone with a smartphone can place their device into the headset and view VR content through its large screen. With the barrier to entry now greatly reduced, scientists and engineers are trying to figure out ways of bringing VR to the masses and, potentially, using it to unlock breakthrough discoveries. One such team of researchers from some of the US’s top medical centers and institutions has now published a paper in Frontiers in Genetics documenting a VR […]

Health

25 Oct 2021

‘Smart bandage’ may help solve a major problem when treating chronic wounds

By Conn Hastings, Science writer A person’s leg wrapped in bandage (not the smart bandage from this research). Image: Nutnaree Saingwongwattana/Shutterstock.com Maintaining optimal moisture levels could be key in allowing chronic wounds to heal. However, clinicians currently have no way to check moisture levels without removing a bandage, potentially disrupting the healing process. A new study presents a smart bandage that can measure and wirelessly transmit wound moisture data in real time. The technology could be a useful tool in treating chronic wounds. How can doctors make sure a dressed wound is healing without taking off the bandage? This is a conundrum, because removing a bandage can disrupt the healing process. Technology presented in a new study in open-access journal Frontiers in Physics could help. This new ‘smart bandage’ contains a sensor that can very sensitively measure wound moisture levels and then transmit the data to a nearby smartphone, without requiring doctors to remove the bandage. In the future, by changing the geometry and materials in the bandage, the researchers may be able to fine tune it to suit different types of wounds. The technology could help doctors to monitor wounds more easily and successfully. Chronic wounds can be a […]