Heavy energy drink consumption linked to heart failure in a young man

Heavy energy drink consumption may be linked to heart failure, doctors have warned in the journal BMJ Case Reports after treating a 21 year old, who had regularly drunk 4 such cans every day for around 2 years.

Temporal link between medical cannabis for epilepsy and early puberty

The use of medical cannabis for severe childhood epilepsy may be linked to early puberty, doctors have warned in the journal BMJ Case Reports after treating a 2 year old boy with the condition.

Ten reasons why the coronavirus is airborne

There is consistent, strong evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is predominantly transmitted through the air, according to a new assessment published today in the medical journal Lancet. Therefore, public health measures that fail to treat the virus as predominantly airborne leave people unprotected and allow the virus to spread, according to six experts from the UK, U.S. and Canada, including Jose-Luis Jimenez, chemist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and University of Colorado Boulder.

J&J vaccine to remain in limbo while officials seek evidence

Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine will remain in limbo for a while longer after government health advisers declared Wednesday that they need more evidence to decide if a handful of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot—and if so, how big the risk really is.

Study finds that blocking seats on planes reduces virus risk

A new study says leaving middle seats open could give airline passengers more protection from the virus that causes COVID-19.

Tunisia 'sandy' farms resist drought, development

Farmers near a seaside lagoon in northern Tunisia are fighting to preserve a unique, traditional irrigation system that has sparked renewed interest as North Africa's water shortages intensify.

Chipmaker TSMC says profit up 16.7% as demand revives

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest contract manufacturer of processor chips, said Thursday quarterly profit rose 16.7% over a year ago as global demand strengthened.

Epic drought means water crisis on Oregon-California border

Hundreds of farmers who rely on a massive irrigation project that spans the Oregon-California border learned Wednesday they will get a tiny fraction of the water they need amid the worst drought in decades, as federal regulators attempt to balance the needs of agriculture against federally threatened and endangered fish species that are central to the heritage of several tribes.

What is a COVID-19 vaccine passport, and will I need one?

What is a COVID-19 vaccine passport, and will I need one?

Study strengthens links between red meat and heart disease

An observational study in nearly 20,000 individuals has found that greater intake of red and processed meat is associated with worse heart function. The research is presented at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

Self-assembling nanofibers prevent damage from inflammation

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a self-assembling nanomaterial that can help limit damage caused by inflammatory diseases by activating key cells in the immune system. In mouse models of psoriasis, the nanofiber-based drug has been shown to mitigate damaging inflammation as effectively as a gold-standard therapy.

Lipid research may help solve COVID-19 vaccine challenges

New research by University of Texas at Dallas scientists could help solve a major challenge in the deployment of certain COVID-19 vaccines worldwide—the need for the vaccines to be kept at below-freezing temperatures during transport and storage.

Stretching the boundaries of medical tech with wearable antennae

Current research on flexible electronics is paving the way for wireless sensors that can be worn on the body and collect a variety of medical data. But where do the data go? Without a similar flexible transmitting device, these sensors would require wired connections to transmit health data.

97% of Earth's land area may no longer be ecologically intact

Only between 2% and 3% of the Earth's terrestrial surface can be considered ecologically intact, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. This percentage is drastically lower than past assessments, which estimated it to be between 20% and 40%, because it factored in loss of species from intact habitat as well as reduced populations of species. A restoration focus of specific species in intact habitat could recover ecological integrity to about 20% of land.

First clinical evidence of drug-resistant malaria mutations gaining

New data provide the first clinical evidence that drug-resistant mutations in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum may be gaining a foothold in Africa. The study, conducted in Rwanda, is published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal and finds for the first time that the mutations are associated with delayed parasite clearance, as was first shown in South-East Asia when artemisinin-resistance started to emerge.

Cellular 'hotspots' in the brain may signify the earliest signs of cancer

Researchers at King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, & Neuroscience, in collaboration with King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, have found small clusters of cells in the brain that identify locations where tumors could become malignant.

Seeing is believing, even for the ears: Video goggles diagnose balance and movement loss

Our ears are not just organs for hearing; they also sense head motion, coordinate balance and enable us to move safely in different environments. Now, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have found that a test using commercially available, high-speed video goggles can help diagnose vestibular loss—weakness in the balance mechanism of the inner ear—more effectively.

Exploiting bacterial 'sweet tooth' may help image and diagnose infections

In the movie Mary Poppins, the title character sings that "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." Now, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have shown how a radioactive sugar—combined with a widely used imaging technology—could soon help physicians make the medicine work better by enabling them to rapidly detect and monitor infections from the largest group of bacterial pathogens threatening humans.

Later school start times let students get adequate sleep

A new study in Sleep demonstrates the significant benefits of later school start times for middle and high school students' sleep schedules.

Study indicates longer reproductive life span experienced by US women

As females age, their bodies typically undergo two significant changes that generally occur during adolescence and middle age. The first, known as menarche, is the time during puberty when a girl begins having monthly menstruation cycles, which often tends to range from 8-13 years of age. She enters the second change, known as menopause, 12 months following her last menstruation cycle when her ovarian function ceases, usually sometime in her 40s or 50s.

5 hours of moderate activity a week may be required to avoid midlife hypertension, study shows

Young adults must step up their exercise routines to reduce their chances of developing high blood pressure or hypertension—a condition that may lead to heart attack and stroke, as well as dementia in later life.

Famous fast radio burst FRB20180916B just barely lets itself be captured

Two international teams of astronomers (with significant Dutch involvement) have published two scientific papers with new information about the famous fast radio burst FRB20180916B. In a study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, they measured the radiation from the bursts at the lowest possible frequencies. In a study published in Nature Astronomy, they examined the bursts in the greatest possible detail. While the articles provide new information, they also raise new questions.