Category: Health alert
South Korean study finds air pollution may be causing hairfall
Particulate matter (PM) is the term used to denote solid particles/droplets found in the air and their respective diameters. Major pollutants like PM10 and PM2.5, then, would cause serious health conditions – various concentrations of PM10-like dust and diesel particulate has also been recently found to cause hair loss in humans. Lead researcher, Hyuk Chul […]
Specific gut bacteria species could increase bowel cancer risk, research suggests
Recent research presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) in Glasgow, UK, highlights a significant relationship between a specific type of gut bacteria and an increased risk of colorectal/bowel cancer.The new research is the first to use an analytical method known as the “Mendelian randomisation” to reveal that a specific type of bacteria, from […]
German study suggests shorter people are at higher risk of type-2 diabetes
Height could predict the risk for diabetes, as a short stature is associated with a higher risk of type-2 diabetes,with each 10cm difference in height corresponding to a 41% decreased risk of diabetes in men and a 33% decreased risk in women. The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) postulates that the increased […]
Promising malaria treatment “kills” deadly parasite
Malaria affect almost 200 million people globally, but the threat of malaria could potentially be reduced to nil as researchers from the Kenyan Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) have recently – and successfully -killed the parasite that causes the disease. Trials which used Ivermectin, a conventional drug against parasitic diseases, in Burkina Faso, West Africa, reduced […]
US youth risk kidney/liver function from exposure to fluoride
Fluoride can be accumulated by the kidneys over time, even though a person’s body excretes more than half the ingested fluoride through urine – an adult can eliminate 60% and a child, 45%. A recent study of US adolescents has suggested that fluoride exposure could contribute to complex changes in kidney and liver function. Adolescents […]
Scientists turn breast cancer cells into fat, halts deadly spread
In an innovative approach to cancer therapy, Swiss scientists have successfully coaxed human breast cancer cells to turn into fat cells, to prevent them from metastasising and taking over the body. Typically, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), when the epithelial cells change into a mesenchyme stem cell and then morphs into whatever cell the body needs, and […]
Finns similar DNA provides hints to major disease risks
The predisposition of certain individuals in Finland to diseases may be insightful to genetic research. A recent study conducted by Washington University School of Medicine, US, identified 26 potentially harmful DNA variations in about 20,000 Finnish participants – such variations might alter a person’s lifetime risk of developing obesity, diabetes or high cholesterol levels, whether […]
Diabetic women risk heart failure more than men
Diabetes has been associated with an increased risk for heart failure – the incidence is exacerbated by sex difference, as women have been found to be more at risk. A new study, led by Dr. Toshiaki Ohkuma from the Georgia institute of Global Health in Australia, linked type-1 diabetes to a 47% increased risk of […]
UN reports on the ‘immense’ global challenges of hunger
Hunger is fast growing worldwide despite various attempts to reach the Zero Hunger target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. A 2019 report by the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World shows that hunger has risen by 20% in Africa’s subregions and is slowly increasing from 7% in Latin America […]
Younger female smokers at greater risk of deadly heart attack
Smoking is an acquired habit, and while it may cause major heart attacks in men and women who smoke, it has been found to especially affect young women under 50. They risk a more deadly type of heart attack by a whopping 13 times. However, these risks can be eliminated by quitting smoking and so […]
