Category Health/Medical

A new Tulane University study suggests the Mediterranean diet’s brain-boosting benefits may work by changing the balance of bacteria in the gut.

In a study published in Gut Microbes Reports, researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine found that subjects following a Mediterranean diet developed distinctly different gut bacteria patterns compared to those eating a typical Western diet. These bacterial changes correlated with better memory and cognitive performance.

“We’ve known that what we eat affects brain function, but this study explores how that could be happening,” said lead author Rebecca Solch-Ottaiano, Ph.D...

Researchers are making strides in improving gene therapies for genetic diseases, particularly chronic kidney disease, using adeno-associated virus, or AAV, vectors. While AAV-based treatments have shown promise, delivering these therapies effectively to the kidneys has remained a challenge—until now.

There are many different types of AAV capsids—the protein shells of virus particles—that have been used to deliver genes to cells, each with unique effects...

Research led by Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University in China has performed a metadata investigation into the presence of microplastics in humans. They report a concerning relationship between micro and nanoplastic (MNP) concentrations in damaged tissues and links with multiple health conditions.

Plastic usage soared from 1.5 million metric tons in the 1950s to nearly 390.7 million in 2021. With the increased use in consumer products came elevated microscopic plastic pollution circulating in soil and waterways, eventually accumulating in the environment, food webs and human tissues.

Consistent methods to pinpoint and quantify MNPs in human tissues are lacking...

A study from Tel Aviv University could reshape our scientific understanding of how humans learn and form memories, particularly through classical and operant conditioning.

The research team found that our brain engages in a fierce competition between these two learning systems, and that only one can prevail at any given time. This means that if we try to learn two conflicting actions for the same situation simultaneously, the result will be confusion, making it difficult to perform either action when encountering the situation again.

In their study, the researchers demonstrate this phenomenon in fruit flies...