Category Health/Medical

New insights on Health effects of Long-duration Space Flight

snow-capped peaks of the Andes Mountains, seen from the International Space Station
The snow-capped peaks of the Andes Mountains in southern Chile are pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited above South America in November 2020. Photo: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Among the new findings, the research team found that chronic oxidative stress during spaceflight contributed to the telomere elongation they observed. They also found that astronauts had shorter telomeres after spaceflight than they did before.

The historic NASA Twins Study investigated identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly and provided new information on the health effects of spending time in space.

Colorado State University Professor Susan Bailey was one of more than 80 scientists across 12 universities who conducted research on the textbook experiment; M...

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Aim to Exceed Weekly Recommended Physical Activity level to Offset health harms of prolonged Sitting

Aim to exceed weekly recommended physical activity level to offset health  harms of prolonged sitting, says WHO - FarmWeek

First recommendation of its kind in new global guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior. New additional research shows that increasing physical activity can counter early death risk linked to long periods of sedentary time

The health harms associated with prolonged sitting can be offset by exceeding weekly recommended physical activity levels, says the World Health Organization (WHO) in new global guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour, published in a special dedicated issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

But all physical activity counts and is good for long term health, say the new guidelines.

It’s the first time that a recommendation of this kind has been made...

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Quantum Nanodiamonds may help Detect Disease earlier

nanodiamonds - artist's conception
An artist’s conception of nanodiamonds used for in vitro diagnostics. Credit: Ella Maru Studio / UCL. 

The quantum sensing abilities of nanodiamonds can be used to improve the sensitivity of paper-based diagnostic tests, potentially allowing for earlier detection of diseases such as HIV, according to a study led by UCL researchers in the i-sense McKendry group.

Paper-based lateral flow tests work the same way as a pregnancy test in that a strip of paper is soaked in a fluid sample and a change in colour — or fluorescent signal — indicates a positive result and the detection of virus proteins or DNA...

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New Mechanism of Pain Control Revealed

Marked as concentrated yellow here, a unique population of astrocytes in the dorsal horn of the mouse spinal cord have been found to play a role in controlling pain.

Researchers in Japan have revealed a previously unknown mechanism for pain control involving a newly identified group of cells in the spinal cord, offering a potential target for enhancing the therapeutic effect of drugs for chronic pain.

While neurons may be the most well-known cells of the central nervous system, an assortment of non-neuronal cells first discovered in the mid-nineteenth century also play a wide variety of important roles.

Originally named after the Greek word for “glue,” these glial cells are now known to be much more than glue and in fact are critical elements for regulating neuronal development a...

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