Author: healthadmin

The European Chemicals Agency (Echa) has formally recommended the classification of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a breakdown product of certain pesticides and refrigerants, as a reproductive toxicant. It may impair fertility and harm the fetus. The decision, announced on June 10 and based on the conclusions of Echa’s Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) earlier this month, could have significant implications for the regulation of pharmaceuticals, pesticides and refrigerants. The RAC’s opinion, based on animal studies, will be forwarded to the European Commission. Echa also supported the RAC’s conclusion that TFA should be designated as persistent, mobile, and toxic. The EU classifies TFA…

When scientists sequenced the human genome in 2003, deciphering the entire human genetic code, many hoped it would unlock the secrets of disease. However, genetics only explain about 10% of the risk. The other 90% is environmental, and diet plays a big role. Around the world, approximately one in five adults over the age of 25 die from poor diets. In Europe, cardiovascular diseases account for almost half of deaths. But despite decades of advice to eat less fat, salt and sugar, obesity and diet-related diseases continue to rise. Clearly, something is missing in the way we think about food.…

Minimally invasive surgery that blocks abnormal blood vessels around the knee may provide long-term symptom relief for osteoarthritis patients, according to a new study published June 16 in the journal Arthritis. RadiologyJournal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis and a leading cause of disability worldwide. This condition can cause joint inflammation, stiffness, reduced mobility, and pain caused by sensory nerves. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 365 million adults worldwide have knee osteoarthritis. “For many patients with knee osteoarthritis, there is a major gap in today’s treatment,” says…

Career interest tests are very helpful in helping teenagers and young adults decide which career to pursue. A new study from Michigan State University challenges the assumption that vocational interests are only relevant for early career decisions. In fact, it remains relevant even into adulthood. This study Journal of Personality and Social Psychologywere the first to examine whether interests predict work, relationship, and community outcomes in midlife and later adulthood. The study followed more than 8,000 adults over 11 years and found that career interests predicted important life outcomes in adulthood and beyond. Participants first completed a career interest assessment…

Wearable exoskeletons can reduce physical stress in the workplace and help protect employees from injury, but the technology is not yet widely available. New research published in Pro Swan Here’s why, according to engineers at the University of Texas at El Paso: This technology remains too complex and unwieldy for routine use. “Our study suggests that an important factor that influences the success of exoskeletons may be largely overlooked: how easily they can be assembled, put on and taken off,” said Dr. Arunkumar Pennathur of UTEP, who led the study. “The exoskeletons that are successful in the workplace may not…

High-calorie food cues extended perceptual time in adolescent girls, revealing how media pressure and body image shape even basic cognitive processing. Paper: Beyond calories: The role of media pressure and body appreciation in shaping time perception of food cues in female adolescents. Image credit: Andrii Yalanskyi / Shutterstock In the Journal’s recent “Press Articles” scientific reportresearchers evaluated the interaction between food cues, psychological factors, and time perception in adolescent females. Adolescence is characterized by increased sensitivity to sociocultural factors such as body image and media pressure. In this context, everyday stimuli such as food can acquire substantial emotional value and…

When living cells grow, divide, or respond to drugs, they emit tiny amounts of heat that provide information about what the cells are doing. However, these thermal signals are so small that they disappear, so it has traditionally been impossible to measure them directly. Researchers at Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a calorimeter (a device that measures heat transfer between a biological system and its environment) that can detect metabolic heat signals on the order of 100 picowatts, or trillionths of a watt, inside living cells. This device is the most sensitive…

One of the body’s most important protective functions is the brain barrier system, including the blood-brain barrier and blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier. These barriers are made of highly specialized cells that fight off dangerous toxins and pathogens that may circulate in your bloodstream while allowing essential nutrients to enter. Scientists have long known what these barriers do, but less was known about how they are constructed during development. Led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, cell found senescent cells to be a major contributor. These cells, which are often associated with aging and disease, instead appear to…

An interdisciplinary team of Rice University researchers has uncovered a previously unknown relationship between bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) and their bacterial hosts, providing a powerful new tool for the next generation of microbiome engineering. Published in nature communicationsthe study utilized an RNA-based barcoding system developed by Rice that allows scientists to identify which bacteria receive genetic material from bacteriophages (also called phages) in complex microbial environments. This approach allowed the researchers to uncover a previously undescribed group of bacterial hosts for the well-studied bacteriophage P1 and examine how subtle changes in viral structure affect the microorganisms that the phage…

The link between diabetes and dementia is becoming increasingly clear. New research shows how blood sugar problems can affect brain health and vice versa. Here are 10 evidence-based insights into how the two conditions are related.1. Diabetes increases the risk of dementiaPeople with diabetes are about 60% more likely to develop dementia than people without diabetes, and frequent hypoglycemia is 50% more likely to have cognitive decline.2. Insulin resistance also affects the brainInsulin resistance, the main cause of type 2 diabetes, occurs when cells no longer respond properly to insulin. This means that excess sugar in the form of glucose…