Category: Features
Food cravings determined by gut microbes’ activity
Substances secreted by gut microbes in mice have been found to influence what they choose to eat, providing a sort of explanation into food cravings and associated behaviour. Animals with different compositions of gut microbes do change their preferred diet, […]
Reduced smartphone use more beneficial to wellbeing than total abstinence
Spending days glued to our smartphone screens is linked to a host of problems such as less physical activity, weight gain, neck pain, and even addiction-like behaviour. German researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) suggest reducing the usage of smartphones instead […]
Higher risk of heart disease for people with cognitive impairment
A study led by Canadian researchers suggest cognitive function could predict a person’s future risk of heart disease. In assessing the relationship between cognitive function and future cardiovascular events in over 8,700 people – who also had type 2 diabetes, […]
Faster walking pace beneficial to biological aging
The first-of-its-kind research to look at how walking pace may influence health and biological age has put forth a genetic link: scientists from the University of Leicester, UK, now confirm that walking faster is likely to lead to a younger […]
Stem cell technique to “revolutionise” regenerative medicine
Transient reprogramming of stem cells may hold the answer to rejuvenating aging cells without compromising on their function, claim researchers from the Epigenetics research programme at Babraham Institute, UK. The technique, which would normally take around 50 days, instead involves […]
Alpaca nanobodies successfully treats rheumatoid arthritis and gout
Mini-antibodies, or nanobodies, from wooly creatures called alpacas have been found to tamp down excessive inflammation in mice. An international team of scientists from the Universities of Bonn and São Paulo, in Germany and Brazil, respectively, have developed a promising […]
Enhanced emergency care/ambulance services kicks off in Malaysia
In a bid to improve the overall efficiency and quality of emergency medical services in Malaysia, two local companies have announced a strategic partnership to provide telemedicine and diagnostics services to the hospital from the ambulance, via the “5G Smart […]
New research sheds light on genetic basis of schizophrenia
The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium study, a large and diverse genetics study based in the UK, has identified large numbers of specific genes that influence schizophrenia. This comes from DNA analysis of over 320,000 people, which showed that genetic risk for […]
Cough downwards to reduce spread of disease
Even as COVID-19 infections hit the 500-million mark, researchers continue to study the dispersion of respiratory droplets that contribute to the spread of the disease. According to a team from the American Institute of Physics (AIP), besides coughing or sneezing […]
