Category Health/Medical

Meat, Dietary Heme Iron, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2017; 1 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwx156

While a plant-based diet is generally considered healthier than a meat-based diet in preventing the risk of diabetes, not all meats affect the risk equally. As Professor Koh Woon Puay, Professor of Clinical Sciences at Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS), and her team found out, higher intake of red meat and poultry is associated with significantly increased risk of developing diabetes, which is partially attributed to their higher content of heme iron in these meats. This study provides the basis for evidence-based dietary recommendations to the Singapore population in mitigating diabetes risk and reducing the healthcare burden of this chronic condition.

These fi...

CNPY2 is required for ER stress-induced Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Credit: Dr. Feng Hong of the Medical University of South Carolina.

The cell’s response to unfolded or misfolded proteins could be a cause, rather than a consequence, of metabolic disorders. The researchers identified a little-known molecule as the trigger for this response. There are links between protein-folding problems at the cellular level and a range of metabolic disorders, though it is unclear if those problems are causes or manifestations of such disorders. This study provides evidence that problems with protein folding contribute to certain metabolic disorders, according to Zihai Li, M.D., Ph.D...

Snapshot of neuronal activity in a normal, healthy mouse (left) compared to a mouse genetically modified to mimic schizophrenia (right). Credit: Attila Losonczy/Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute

A team of Columbia scientists has found that disruptions to the brain’s center for spatial navigation—its internal GPS—result in some of the severe memory deficits seen in schizophrenia. The new study in mouse models of the disorder marks the first time that schizophrenia’s effects have been observed in the behavior of living animals—and at the level of individual brain cells—with such high-resolution, precision and clarity...

Images from a new camera that can detect tiny traces of light through the body’s tissues. Here, the camera is detecting light emitted from a medical device known as an optical endomicroscope whilst in use in sheep lungs. Image on left shows light emitted from the tip of the endomicroscope, revealing its precise location in the lungs. Right image shows the picture that would be obtained using a conventional camera, with light scattered through the structures of the lung. Credit: University of Edinburgh

Scientists have developed a camera that can see through the human body and is designed to help doctors track endoscopes that are used to investigate a range of internal conditions...