news 2022

Cambridge researchers have developed a method for measuring overall fitness accurately on wearable devices - and more robustly than current consumer smartwatches and fitness monitors - without the wearer needing to exercise.

Researchers in engineering, health search for new ways to detect bone fragility, prevent fractures By John Roe Faculty of Engineering Engineering and health experts at the University of Waterloo are collaborating on research that may lead to breakthroughs in preventing a serious, all-too-common injury - broken bones.

There's more to a strand of hair than meets the eye. This human tissue is a chronological record-keeper of the adversities endured by the human body and mind. A new study co-authored by researchers at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry's Drug Safety Lab analyzes the relationship between war exposure, current living conditions, hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

Nine in 10 Australians would participate in preventive DNA screening for risk of medically actionable conditions, a new national survey has found. Published in the Journal of Medical Genetics , the Monash University-led survey results come as a world-first Australian DNA screening program for some cancers and heart disease called DNA Screen recently attracted more than 20,000 volunteers in its first week.

Queenslanders are incapable of assessing their own intoxication levels, especially when their blood alcohol level is high, according to research co-led by The University of Queensland. Dr Dominique De Andrade from UQ's School of Psychology and Deakin University's School of Psychology said the research team used data from approximately 2100 people in nightlife hotspots in Fortitude Valley, West End, Cairns and Surfers Paradise.

A new study led by UCL researchers has identified patterns in how common health conditions occur together in the same individuals, using data from four million patients in England. With advancing age, millions of people live with multiple conditions - sometimes referred to as multimorbidity - and the proportion of people affected in this way is expected to rise over the next decades.

The anti-ageing drug rapamycin only prolongs the lifespan of female fruit flies, but not that of males, finds a new study co-led by UCL researchers. Working with researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, the team reports in Nature Aging that in addition, rapamycin only slowed the development of age-related pathological changes in the gut in female flies.

Early life experiences can impact the activity of our genes much later on and even affect longevity, finds a new study in fruit flies led by UCL researchers. In the study published in Nature Aging , the scientists report that gene expression 'memory' can persist across the lifespan, and may present a novel target for improving late-life health.

Structural details of an attractive drug target in coronaviruses that could be used against SARS-CoV-2 and in future pandemics have been published by international teams co-led by UCL researchers. Two new studies published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences and eLife reveal pockets in an important piece of the virus' machinery that drugs could bind to in order to halt virus replication.

A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists has developed a new technique to analyze fentanyl in human blood and urine samples that could aid work in the fields of medicine and chemical forensics. Led by Carlos Valdez, an LLNL synthetic chemist and lead author, the team discussed its new fentanyl analysis approach in a paper recently published in the San Francisco-based Public Library of Science (PLOS) One online journal.

The number of non-fatal car accidents that involve prescription opioids has dropped significantly in recent years, suggesting efforts to curb use are working. People taking prescription opioids are more than twice as likely to be involved in a car accident than those who aren-t, research has shown. In fact, between the early 1990s and early 2010s, as opioid use rose sharply in the United States, the number of fatalities among drivers using prescription opioids increased seven-fold.

The number of non-fatal car accidents that involve prescription opioids has dropped significantly in recent years, suggesting efforts to curb use are working. People taking prescription opioids are more than twice as likely to be involved in a car accident than those who aren-t, research has shown. In fact, between the early 1990s and early 2010s, as opioid use rose sharply in the United States, the number of fatalities among drivers using prescription opioids increased seven-fold.

University of Waterloo researchers take a novel approach to public health analysis High school students who have a large weekly allowance, friends who smoke and low levels of physical activity are more likely to use multiple substances over time. Conversely, being older, being Black and eating breakfast daily were factors associated with a smaller chance of transitioning to multiple use.

Researchers Lorena Cano Orón (University of Valencia) and Emilia H. Lopera Pareja (Energy, Environmental and Technological Research Centre) highlight that the media have changed from a mainly favourable attitude towards alternative medicine, a series of practices deviant from integrated medicine in the western health system, to another more sceptical.

University of Queensland virologists are a step closer to understanding a mysterious AIDS-like virus that is impacting koala populations differently across state lines. Dr Michaela Blyton Associate Professor Keith Chappell from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) a School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences , have uncovered another piece of the puzzle in their quest to halt the koala retrovirus known as KoRV - a condition strongly associated with diseases that cause infertility and blindness.

Size of fat cells can cause metabolic diseases If you gain weight, the fat cells grow with you. In cases of severe obesity, the cells are usually greatly enlarged. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now been able to show how enlarged fat cells can cause metabolic diseases. In addition, they have developed examination methods to determine the fat cell size of humans non-invasively.

Just as blood pressure informs heart health, intracranial pressure (ICP) helps indicate brain health. ICP sensing is the burgeoning focus of Jana Kainerstorfer 's biomedical optics lab at Carnegie Mellon University. Her team is working to modernize ICP sensing approaches, which historically have been invasive and risky.

Hearing-impaired people whose auditory nerve is still intact can often be helped with a cochlear implant. But inserting the implant into the inner ear is not without risks, as facial nerves can be damaged in the process. researchers have developed a novel smart drill that minimizes the risk by automatically shutting off when it comes near nerves.

Studies in fruit flies reveal how the sex determines the responses to the anti-ageing drug rapamycin The effect of medicines on women and men can differ significantly. This also applies to the currently most promising anti-ageing drug rapamycin, as researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne and University College London have now shown.

Increasing intake of protein and drinking regular cups of tea or coffee is a way women could reduce their risk of suffering a hip fracture, according to new research. Food scientists at the University of Leeds have found that for women, a 25 grams a day increase in protein was associated with, on average, a 14% reduction in their risk of hip fracture.