The carnival worker who tries to guess your age relies on aspects of your appearance, such as your posture and whether any wrinkles emanate from the corners of your eyes and lips. If the carny’s guess is more than a few years off, you win a stuffed koala. But a…
'Green inhaler' could cut the asthma devices' carbon footprint by 90%
‘Green inhaler’ that cuts the carbon footprint of asthma devices by 90% could be on the market in just five years More than five million people in the UK receive treatment for asthma Inhalers can release 500g of carbon dioxide in each puff and 25kg of it per year There…
Exercise can cut the risk of prostate cancer by up to 51%
Exercising can cut men’s risk of developing prostate cancer by up to 51% (and scientists say you can reap the benefits by gardening!) Exercise among 140,248 men was measured. Around half had prostate cancer A 51% difference in risk was seen between the most and least active volunteers The effects…
Genes which trigger heart disease could be 'switched off' by doctors
Genes which trigger heart disease could one day be ‘switched off’ by doctors to stop fat building up in the arteries, scientists say British Heart Foundation funded research is being done by scientists in Sheffield They have identified a gene, named TWIST, which causes build-up in arteries The experts believe…
Woman, 20, discovers headaches were caused by FIVE brain tumours
Woman, 20, discovers headache and flu symptoms are caused by FIVE brain tumours which spread from a mole she had removed a year earlier McKennah Carter, 20, had a malignant mole removed from her back in 2017 Presumed she’d stay cancer-free as doctors caught disease in its early stages But…
Study finds assigning hospitalists by unit has both pros and cons
Researchers from Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine have conducted the first time-motion study in more than a decade to assess the impact of geographic cohorting of hospitalists. Geographic cohorting—restricting or localizing hospitalists and their patients to one or two inpatient units rather than having hospitalists travel from…
ANTHRAX may be the key to shrinking bladder tumors by 30% in 3 minutes
ANTHRAX may be the key to shrinking tough-to-treat bladder tumors by up to 30% with a single 3 minute session, animal study suggests Bladder cancer is one of the most expensive cancers to treat in part because it recurs and therapies don’t work for very long Patients have to lie…
Paralympian Marieke Vervoort Has Died By Euthanasia At Age 40
Belgian athlete Marieke Vervoort has died by euthanasia. She suffered from progressive tetraplegia, an incurable spinal disease, and decided to end her life on her own terms on Tuesday. Marieke competed as a wheelchair sprinter in the London and Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. Belgian Paralympic gold medalist Marieke Vervoort has…
Don’t be fooled by the dangers of ‘lean living’
What does "leanest liveable weight" mean to you? This was the phrase recently used in an article on Gwyneth Paltrow's loopy Goop website. It prompted, in my mind, images of people suffering from starvation: be as thin as you can without actually being dead. Gwyneth Paltrow, founder of the Goop…
Racism 'shortens lives of black people' by promoting genes that cause illness'
Racism, prejudiced attitudes, beliefs and behaviour have a significantly detrimental impact on the lives of minorities. It leads to structural oppression, worse outcomes in education, job prospects and earning ability – as well as the isolation and fear that can be caused by open hostility. But a new American study…
Sensory and motor brain plasticity is not limited by location
The new function of unused cortical regions is not necessarily determined by the function of nearby cortical regions, according to new research in adults born without one hand, published in JNeurosci. Sensory and motor functions for each body part are represented in multiple “body maps” across the brain. Following arm-amputation,…