Category: Features
Experimental drug boosts blood system’s recovery after chemo/radiation
Chemotherapy and radiation are known to suppress the activity of blood stem cells, which gives rise to all of the body’s blood and immune cells. Although it typically takes several weeks or months for the blood and immune systems to recover after exposure to radiation, scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have […]
Indian women more prone to gestational diabetes than Swedish women
High blood glucose incurred during pregnancy, known as gestational diabetes, is typically affected by differing lifestyle and genes. But the extent of such differences was only realised after a recent study by Lund University Diabetes Centre (LUDC), Sweden, which examined pregnant women in India and those in the countries of Scandinavia. The large study comparing […]
Insomnia may lead to heart disease and stroke
Insomnia, whether consciously or not, is a debilitating condition to most – a new study has found that insomniacs have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke than those who rest well. While previous observational studies have associated just as much, they were unable to determine the reasoning behind it. Now, Susanna Larsson, at […]
Alzheimer’s found to affect the neurons that keep us awake
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is most often associated with memory problems, but sleep problems can manifest much earlier and may hint at the progress of AD. While suggestions abound that disrupted sleep promotes AD, scientists from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in US have found that specific tangles of brain proteins associated with AD […]
US researchers develop automatic chlorine dispenser that allays diarrhea
Clean water is a vital necessity to the developing world – a purified source of water that meets international safety standards can ward off many contamination-related diseases. A test project by Stanford University, US, using an automatic chlorine dispenser in Dhaka, Bangladesh, proved that such a system ensures clean water supply and even reduces the […]
Breakthrough Ebola trial drug increases survival rates by up to 90%
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR-Congo), which has already killed over 1,800 people, may soon be safely treatable and preventable, thanks to two new drugs. Ebola’s symptoms start with a viral fever, a sore throat, intense weakness, and muscle pain. It gradually progresses to vomiting, diarrhoea and internal/external bleeding. Most of […]
UN recommends plant-based diet, revised land management to fight climate change
Climate change is upon us and may worsen quickly if measures are not taken to preserve the environment. In a recent advocate by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN-IPCC) switching to a plant-based diet can help the war against climate change, as more people can be fed and less land used, if […]
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 […]
Dengue cases, deaths double in Malaysia
Malaysia has been plagued by dengue once again – as of August 3, 2019, some 80,000 cases and 113 deaths have been reported in the country, nearly twice as many as last year. Over 70% of cases occurred in urban areas, such as flats and apartments, with 251 hot spots in nine states, including Selangor, […]
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 […]
