Category Health/Medical

First-in-the-world study suggests that even brief exposure to air pollution has rapid impacts on the brain. A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria has shown that common levels of traffic pollution can impair human brain function in only a matter of hours.

The peer-reviewed findings, published in the journal Environmental Health, show that just two hours of exposure to diesel exhaust causes a decrease in the brain’s functional connectivity – a measure of how The study provides the first evidence in humans, from a controlled experiment, of altered brain network connectivity induced by air pollution.

“For many decades, scientists...

DNA can signal the presence of or predisposition to a slew of diseases, including cancer. The ability to flag down these clues, known as biomarkers, allows medical professionals to make critical early diagnoses and provide personalized treatments. The typical methods of screening can be laborious, expensive or limited in what they can uncover. A new biosensor chip that boasts an accurate and inexpensive design may increase accessibility to high-quality diagnostics.

The biosensor, developed by researchers at the ...

A soldier suffers a serious gunshot wound on a remote battlefield or a machinist has a work accident and gets stuck in traffic on the way to the hospital. Secondary, uncontrolled bleeding from traumatic injury is the leading cause of death of Americans from ages one to 46.

Amir Sheikhi, assistant professor of chemical engin...

Published in Aging Cell, the findings show that animals treated with rilmenidine, currently used to treat hypertension, at young and older ages increases lifespan and improves health markers, mimicking the effects of caloric restriction.

They also demonstrate that the healthspan and lifespan benefits of rilmenidine treatment in the roundworm C. elegans are mediated by the I1-imidazoline receptor nish-1, identifying this receptor as a potential longevity target.

Unlike other drugs previously studied for this purpose by the researchers, the widely-prescribed, oral antihypertensive rilmenidine has potential for future translatability to humans as side-effects are rare and non-severe.

To date, a caloric restriction diet has been considered the most robust anti-aging intervention,...