Zinc News and Research

RSS

Zinc is an essential mineral that is naturally present in some foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. Zinc is also found in many cold lozenges and some over-the-counter drugs sold as cold remedies.

Researchers decipher gene function that protects against type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes affects almost 400 million people across the world. It is caused by a combination of lifestyle as well as genetic factors which together result in high blood sugar levels.

4 Nov 2019

New contrast agent improves MRI diagnosis of early liver fibrosis

A new compound has been invented to bind to liver cells that are in the early stages of damage, thus making it easier to pick them up using MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

30 Oct 2019

Researchers develop new test to detect nutrient deficiencies in harsh environments

Mothers and children in low resource communities may appear well fed but often suffer from micronutrient deficiencies.

29 Oct 2019

Poor urban consumers willing to pay a premium for more nutritious food, shows study

Ugandans and Kenyans in poor urban households are willing to pay a premium for more nutritious flour, new research shows.

18 Oct 2019

A new delivery system for insoluble drugs

Stable metal organic frameworks are prized for their ability to capture carbon dioxide or harvest atmospheric water, but U-M researchers have developed a use for unstable metal organic frameworks: as a system for drug delivery.

4 Oct 2019

Vapors from tank-style e-cigarettes have higher concentrations of harmful metals

A team of scientists at the University of California, Riverside, has found the concentration of metals in electronic cigarette aerosols -- or vapor -- has increased since tank-style electronic cigarettes were introduced in 2013.

27 Sep 2019

Study shows how a toxin produced by algal blooms in saltwater may cause ALS

Can a computer be used to explain why an environmental toxin might lead to neurodegenerative disease? According to Penn State College of Medicine researchers, a computer generated-simulation allowed them to see how a toxin produced by algal blooms in saltwater might cause Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

17 Sep 2019

Editing away cancer and HIV in China: win or lose?

Scientists in China recently edited out the CCR5 gene from a patient with HIV's stem cells, but the research has sparked ethical debate.

13 Sep 2019

New research examines benefit of nutrient supplementation in people with mental disorders

We've all heard that 'food is good for your mood'. Now a new study into mental health and nutrient supplementation has taken a leap forward by establishing the gold standard for which nutrients are proven to assist in the management of a range of mental health disorders.

10 Sep 2019

'Junk food' diet can lead to blindness

An extreme case of "fussy" or "picky" eating caused a young patient's blindness, according to a new case report published today [2 Sep 2019] in Annals of Internal Medicine.

3 Sep 2019

Study uncovers link between dietary zinc and protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae

Researchers have uncovered a crucial link between dietary zinc intake and protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae, the primary bacterial cause of pneumonia.

23 Aug 2019

Blocking key mineral uptake could prevent gonorrhea infection

A team of researchers may have found a way to block gonorrhea infection by blocking bacterial pathogen from using zinc, an essential mineral found in many food sources.

6 Aug 2019

New synthetic approach would facilitate development of medicine and agrochemicals

A group of Japanese researchers mainly from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) and Hokkaido University drastically enhanced and sped up the way to skeletally diverse indole alkaloids, composed of the medicinally-relevant scaffolds.

31 Jul 2019

Check with your doctor before putting your child on a vegan diet, say experts

The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) has released new guidelines on toddler nutrition in response to an increasing number of children being raised vegan.

29 Jul 2019

Climate change and increasing CO2 could decrease the availability of critical nutrients

One of the biggest challenges to reducing hunger and undernutrition around the world is to produce foods that provide not only enough calories but also make enough necessary nutrients widely available.

18 Jul 2019

Virus killing protein could be the real antiviral hero finds study

Researchers have identified a protein that can kill viruses and it forms the missing clue to the natural antiviral mechanism of the body that can target the viruses based on their genetic patterns. This newly identified protein is called KHNYN.

9 Jul 2019

Mice cured of HIV in an experiment sparks new hope

HIV is a viral infection that leads to AIDS and is fatal in almost all cases. For decades now, researchers have been trying to find a complete cure for this infection that affects 37 million people across the globe.

4 Jul 2019

Adequate consumption of milk and dairy products can help prevent chronic diseases

An adequate consumption of milk and dairy products at different life stages can help prevent various chronic diseases.

3 Jul 2019

Copper compound with potential as therapy for ALS shows further promise

A compound with potential as a treatment for ALS has gained further promise in a new study that showed it improved the condition of mice whose motor neurons had been damaged by an environmental toxin known to cause features of ALS.

2 Jul 2019

Researchers explore connection between sense of smell, pollution and neurological disease

A consensus is building that air pollution can cause neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, but how fine, sooty particles cause problems in the brain is still an unanswered question.