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Scientists call for more effort to map the human exposome

An international team of researchers is calling for a large-scale effort to map the health effects of cumulative exposure to environmental components such as chemical pollutants.

23 Jan 2020

Controlled-release opioids may lead to endocarditis in injection drug users

A new study from ICES, Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University suggests that injection drug users prescribed controlled-release hydromorphone are three times more likely to develop endocarditis, a serious bacterial heart infection, when compared to those prescribed other opioids.

22 Jan 2020

Study explains equal attraction of mosquitoes to flowers and humans

A new study published online on December 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports the discovery of the basis on which mosquitoes are drawn towards a type of orchid of which they are inordinately fond, resulting in its pollination.

22 Jan 2020

Potential Parkinson's treatment effectively targets a specific group of brain cells

Scientists have discovered that a non-invasive technique which could one day be used to treat Parkinson's disease, can successfully target a highly specific group of brain cells which play a key role in development of the condition.

22 Jan 2020

Persistant industrial chemical modifies gut microbiome of mice

An industrial chemical -- phased out since 2002, but previously used in stain and water-repellent products and firefighting foam -- alters the gut microbiome of mice and could have implications for human health, according to an international team of researchers.

21 Jan 2020

Sunscreen ingredients absorbed into blood finds study from FDA

A new study has analyzed the amount of sunscreen ingredients that get absorbed into the blood stream via the skin. The study titled, “Effect of Sunscreen Application on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients A Randomized Clinical Trial,” was published in the latest issue of the journal JAMA.

21 Jan 2020

Gut microbiome linked to behavioral problems in children

Children with behavioral problems may have different compositions in their gut microbiome, with parents playing a major role in how pronounced the differences were, other than the food they provide, a new study suggests.

21 Jan 2020

Medicinal cannabis may not alleviate sleep problems over the long term

Medicinal cannabis might not ease sleep problems in people with chronic pain over the long term, because frequent users might build up tolerance to its sleep-inducing effects, suggests preliminary research published online in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care.

20 Jan 2020

Certain enzymes implicated in diseases like cancer also destroy each other

Like motley bandits, certain enzymes implicated in cancer and other diseases also annihilate each other. A new study reveals details of their mutual foils in the hopes that these behaviors can be leveraged to fight the enzymes' disease potential.

20 Jan 2020

Enzymes that cannibalize each other and promote cancer

A new study to be published this week in the journal The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the week of January 20, 2020. shows that certain human enzymes play dual roles in health and disease. Not only do they promote the occurrence of cancer and some other illnesses, they also eliminate one another rather like cannibals. The researchers hope this behaviour can be exploited to prevent these enzymes from causing human disease.

20 Jan 2020

Team finds a way to removes GI device without using endoscopy

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have potentially found a way to eliminate some of the endoscopic surgeries need to remove gastrointestinal (GI) medical devices.

17 Jan 2020

Air pollution plus early life stress may lead to cognitive difficulties in children

Children with elevated exposure to early life stress in the home and elevated prenatal exposure to air pollution exhibited heightened symptoms of attention and thought problems, according to researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia Psychiatry.

16 Jan 2020

New wearable gas sensor may soon be available for environmental and health monitoring

A highly sensitive, wearable gas sensor for environmental and human health monitoring may soon become commercially available, according to researchers at Penn State and Northeastern University.

16 Jan 2020

Bladder cancer linked to drinking water chemicals in Europe

Over 6,500 new cases of bladder cancer in Europe are caused by exposure to chemicals called trihalomethanes (THM) found in drinking water. This number adds up to almost 5% of all bladder cancers in the continent. The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives in January 2020, is a pioneering attempt to establish the levels of these chemicals in tap water supplied in 26 countries in the European Union.

15 Jan 2020

Parkinson’s disease could be prevented by gut microbes

One common gut organism that helps us digest food better could also be a powerful instrument in preventing or reversing the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to a recent study. The changes are due to the ability of this bacterium to delay the build-up of a toxic protein involved in this in the disease condition, or even to eliminate the toxin altogether.

14 Jan 2020

WHO spells out most urgent health issues for the next 10 years

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its “to-do” list of the most urgent worldwide health issues that need to be tackled over the next decade. The heart of the issue, argues the WHO, is that governments are simply failing to fund health needs and health care systems. As a result, they are putting many people at the risk of death, poverty and of a national economic downturn.

14 Jan 2020

Flame retardants and pesticides responsible for intellectual disabilities among millions

A few decades back one of the commonest environmental causes of intellectual disabilities among babies was exposure to lead and mercury. A new study reveals that while exposure to these heavy metals is on the decline, there is risk of other toxic chemicals. Researchers have found that chemicals present in pesticides and flame retardants could be causing over a million cases of intellectual disabilities among babies between 2001 and 2016.

14 Jan 2020

Biomaterial-based vaccine has potential to completely eliminate AML cells

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a deadly blood cancer that originates in the bone marrow and kills most of its victims within five years. Chemotherapy has been the standard AML treatment for over 40 years, and while it often causes the cancer to go into remission, it rarely completely eliminates the cancerous cells, which then lead to disease recurrence in nearly half of treated patients.

14 Jan 2020

New tool could speed up neuroscience research into pheromones

Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have developed a tool to identify molecular receptors in worms that are involved in sensing pheromones related to mating, an advance that could speed up neuroscience research into pheromones by eliminating months of work.

14 Jan 2020

Skin-protecting antibody may promote tumor growth during chronic tissue inflammation

One of the skin's defenses against environmental assault can help tumors to grow when skin is exposed to chronic inflammation, finds a study in mice published today in eLife.

14 Jan 2020