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458 news posts in Health

Health

30 Aug 2024

Promising antibiotic candidates discovered in microbes deep in the Arctic Sea

Researchers from Finland and Norway developed a new suite of methods for the screening of antivirulence activity of unknown compounds of bacterial origin. The compounds tested had been derived from actinobacteria living inside invertebrates in the Arctic Sea. They found two interesting compounds with strong antivirulence or antibacterial effects against enteropathogenic E. coli. These results demonstrate the potential of prospecting novel habitats for promising new antibacterial drugs, to solve the current global antibiotics crisis.

Health

23 Aug 2024

Men infected with high-risk types of HPV could struggle with fertility

Researchers from Argentina compared semen quality between men infected with high-risk (HR-HPV) and low-risk (LR-HPV) genotypes of human papillomavirus and HPV negative men. They showed that HR-HPV positive men had higher percentages of dead sperm, a higher level of reactive oxygen species, and a lower count of white blood cells in their semen. These results suggest that HR-HPV positive men, but not LR-HPV positive men, may have lower fertility due to oxidative damage to sperm.

Health

08 Aug 2024

Microbes conquer the next extreme environment: your microwave

Researchers have measured the diversity of microbes inside microwaves for the first time. They showed that microwaves harbor a specialized community of locally adapted microbial genera, which resembles that reported on kitchen surfaces and in another extreme, highly irradiated habitat: on solar panels. This finding has potential biotechnological applications, in processes that require microbes resistant to thermal shock, radiation, and desiccation.

Health

26 Jul 2024

Conflicting health advice from agencies drives confusion, study finds, but doctors remain most trusted

Researchers from the US analyzed replies to the Health Information National Trends Survey and found that doctors are more trusted than scientists and especially government health agencies. The results revealed that perceived uncertainty in health recommendations, inherent in the scientific process, tends to confuse the public and undermine its trust in experts apart from doctors. This implies that doctors are best placed to communicate changes in recommendations, to ensure better health and restore trust in agencies.

Health

02 Jul 2024

Study shows hairy skin does not become less sensitive with age

Our sense of touch is generally thought to decline with age, just like the other senses. However, a study has now shown for the first time that age-related decline in sensitivity only happens in hairless skin like the tip of the index finger, but not in the hairy cheeks and forearms. The authors speculate that the exceptional sensitivity of the cheeks throughout life is due to our evolutionary history as social primates, for whom touch is an important method of communication.

Health

19 Jun 2024

Ultrasound beam triggers ‘nanodroplets' to deliver drugs at exactly the right spot

Conventional drug delivery is inefficient and imprecise. Through a series of preclinical experiments, researchers from the University of Utah have optimized a novel, targeted method of delivery through nanodroplet carriers, which are triggered to release their drug at exactly the desired spot by a focused beam of ultrasound. Their results showed that nanodroplets with a core of perfluorooctylbromide are stable, efficient in delivery, and well tolerated. Clinical experiments are likely to follow.