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    Category Health/Medical

    Green Tea cuts Obesity, Health Risks in Mice

    March 15, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Green tea.
    Credit: © KMNPhoto / Fotolia

    Follow-up study in people underway. Green tea cut obesity and a number of inflammatory biomarkers linked with poor health in a new study. Mice fed a diet of 2% green tea extract fared far better than those that ate a diet without it, a finding that has prompted an upcoming study of green tea’s potential benefits in people at high risk of diabetes and heart disease.

    The benefits seen in the new study, published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, appear to stem from improved gut health, including more beneficial microbes in the intestines of the mice and less permeability in the intestinal wall – a condition typically called “leaky gut” in people.

    “This study provides evidence that green tea encourages the growth of good gut bacter...

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    Danger of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

    March 14, 2019, Categories  Biology/Biotechnology, Health/Medical

    Rice University researchers found vitamin B12 promotes survival during infection by improving mitochondrial health. The expression of a fluorescent protein (top left) reflects buildup of a toxic metabolic product, propionate, in mitochondria on diets low in B12, as compared (bottom left) to those receiving sufficient B12. Mitochondrially targeted fluorescent protein (center) reveals fragmentation of mitochondria when B12 is low, and dead worms stained with fluorescent dye (bottom right) demonstrate the decreased survival rate of worms infected by the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
    Credit: Natasha Kirienko/Rice University

    Direct link between low-B12 diet, increased risk of infection...

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    Scientists Demonstrate use of Ultrasound to Alter Inflammatory and Metabolic Response

    March 12, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Fig. 1
    Modulation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway through the vagus nerve, splenic nerve and spleen. a Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve or US stimulation of the spleen is thought to modulate the neural communication with T Cells and Macrophages, blocking the production of inflammatory cytokines and promoting an anti-inflammatory state. bTimeline of a typical experiment performed in the presented study in which animals were injected with 300 μl of K/BxN serum on day 0 and treated with focused US that targeted the spleen on days -1 through 6

    GE Research and Feinstein Institute for Medical Research bioelectronic medicine teams have demonstrated potentially breakthrough non-invasive methods to regulate dysfunction in the body’s metabolic or inflammatory control systems ...

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    A Nap a day keeps High Blood Pressure at Bay

    March 10, 2019, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology


    New research shows that people who took advantage of a midday snooze were more likely to have a noticeable drop in blood pressure compared with those who didn’t nap.
    Credit: © Dasha Petrenko / Fotolia

    Catching some midday shut-eye linked to similar drops in blood pressure seen with other lifestyle changes, some medications. It seems that napping may do more than just reboot our energy level and improve our mood. New research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 68th Annual Scientific Session found that people who took advantage of a midday snooze were more likely to have a noticeable drop in blood pressure compared with those who didn’t nap.

    “Midday sleep appears to lower blood pressure levels at the same magnitude as other lifestyle changes...

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