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Managing children's weight, blood pressure and cholesterol protects brain function mid-life
Having high blood pressure, high cholesterol and/or obesity from childhood through middle age were linked to poorer brain function by middle age.These cardiovascular risk factors were linked with low memory, learning, visual processing, attention span, and reaction and movement time.Strategies to prevent heart disease and stroke should begin in childhood to promote better brain health by middle age.
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Undetected early heart damage raises risk of death in hospitalized COVID-19 patients
First-phase ejection fraction, a possible indicator of heart failure, is a strong predictor of survival in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.Hospitalized patients who had impaired first-phase ejection fraction were nearly 5 times more likely to die from COVID-19 compared to patients with normal first-phase ejection fraction.
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Parallel universes cross in Flatland
Physics researchers at the University of Bath discover that assembling 2D materials into a 3D arrangement does not just result in 'thicker' 2D materials but instead produces entirely new materials. The nanomesh technologically pioneered at Bath is simple to produce and offers tunable material properties to meet the demands of future applications. The team's next goal is to use the nanomesh on Silicon (Si) waveguides to develop quantum optical communications.
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Could wider use of gene reserves protect rare species?
UK landowners and conservationists welcome wider-spread use of Gene Conservation Units (GCUs) to help protect some of the rarest plants and insects, research at the University of York has shown.
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Molecular tweezers that attack antibiotic resistant bacteria developed by Ben-Gurion U.
Prof. Jelinek, who is also BGUs vice president of Research & Development and a member of the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology explained, "The tweezers are just like your home tweezers but a million times smaller, and instead of plucking hairs they attack fibers of the bacteria's biofilm." By doing that they break the biofilm, making it more vulnerable to human immune defenses and external substances that are used against bacteria like antibiotics."
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Sharks in protected area attract illegal fishers
Thousands of sharks have been illegally caught in a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Indian Ocean, new research shows.
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Worldwide network develops SARS-CoV-2 protocols for research laboratories
For the development of drugs or vaccines against COVID-19, research needs virus proteins of high purity. For most of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins, scientists at Goethe University Frankfurt and a total of 36 partner laboratories have now developed protocols that enable the production of several milligrams of each of these proteins with high purity, and allow the determination of the three-dimensional protein structures. The laboratory protocols and the required genetic tools are freely accessible to researchers all over the world.
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Making the shift from blue to red for better LEDs
Pure red-light micrometer-scale emitting devices made from a nitride semiconductor reaches excellent efficiency.
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Brain cancer breakthrough provides hope for new treatments
A novel approach to immunotherapy design could pave the way for new treatments for people with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. Using specifically designed receptors, researchers were able to completely clear brain cancer tumours in preclinical models, using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. Published today in Clinical & Translational Immunology and led by Associate Professor Misty Jenkins, the research is a crucial step towards developing new immunotherapy treatments.
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Clue to killer whale cluster
A Flinders University researcher has finally fathomed why large numbers of killer whales gather at a single main location off the Western Australian southern coastline every summer. In a new paper published in Deep Sea Research, physical oceanographer Associate Professor Jochen Kampf describes the conditions which have produced this ecological natural wonder of orcas migrating to the continental slope near Bremer Bay in the western Great Australian Bight from late austral spring to early autumn (January-April).
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Future-proofing mental health -- Experts set out research roadmap to prioritise key areas
In a commentary, backed by Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer and co-lead of the National Institute for Health Research, experts are calling for targets for mental health in order to meet the healthcare challenges of the next decade.
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Cricket bats should be made from bamboo not willow, Cambridge study finds
Bamboo cricket bats are stronger, offer a better 'sweet spot' and deliver more energy to the ball than those made from traditional willow, tests conducted by the University of Cambridge show. Bamboo could, the study argues, help cricket to expand faster in poorer parts of the world and make the sport more environmentally friendly.
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Research shows for the first time that protein complexes 'inflammasomes' are linked to obesity-related colon cancer
New research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (held online, 10-13 May) finds evidence that structures called inflammasomes (a part of the innate immune system that helps to regulate inflammation) could play an important role in the development of obesity-associated colon cancer.
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Higher BMI in childhood may help protect women against breast cancer in later life, both before and after the menopause
A study of more than 173,000 women in Denmark, presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) held online this year, suggests that girls with a higher body mass index (BMI) during childhood are less likely than their peers with a lower BMI to develop breast cancer as adults, both before and after the menopause.
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Higher BMI, body fat, and larger waist and hips pose similar risk for
Obesity increases the risk of developing 10 of the most common cancers, regardless of how it is measured, according to a study of more than 400,000 adults in the UK, being presented at The European Congress on Obesity (ECO) held online this year.
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Combining BMI with body shape better predictor of cancer risk, suggests
New research being presented at The European Congress on Obesity (ECO) held online this year, suggests that a measure of body shape should be used alongside body mass index (BMI) to help determine the risk of obesity-related cancers.
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Body mass index during childhood linked with risk of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in later life
New research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) held online this year, suggests that among girls a low body mass index (BMI) during childhood indicates a higher risk of developing anorexia nervosa as young adults, whereas a high BMI or overweight in childhood indicates a higher risk of bulimia nervosa.
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New Strep A human challenge model paves the way to test vaccines against the deadly bacteria
Researchers have successfully developed a new Strep A human challenge model, paving the way to test vaccines against the common deadly bacteria that causes sore throats, scarlet fever and skin sores.
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Smartphone breath alcohol testing devices vary widely in accuracy
The latest generation of personal alcohol breath testing devices pair with smartphones. While some of these devices were found to be relatively accurate, others may mislead users into thinking that they are fit to drive, according to a new study from Penn Medicine.
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How proteins control information processing in the brain
A complicated interaction between different proteins is needed for information to pass from one nerve cell to the next. Researchers at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have now managed to study this process in the synaptic vesicles, which play an important role in this process. The study appeared in the journal "Nature Communications".
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