Category Health/Medical

Enjoy a glass of wine with dinner or a nightcap before bed, but don’t count on their heart benefits.

A new study found that even moderate alcohol consumption may change the structure of the heart in ways that increase the risk of atrial fibrillation. “There’s growing evidence that moderate alcohol intake may be a risk factor for atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm disturbance in the world, but the mechanism by which alcohol may lead to atrial fibrillation is unknown,” said Gregory Marcus, MD, endowed professor of atrial fibrillation research at UCSF.

Marcus and colleagues looked at damage to the left atrium of the heart as a possible pathway between alcohol and atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a known risk factor for stroke...

Cross-section of a 3-D printed adult human femur.

A Northwestern Engineering research team has developed a 3-D printable ink that produces a synthetic bone implant that rapidly induces bone regeneration and growth. This hyperelastic “bone” material, whose shape can be easily customized, one day could be especially useful for the treatment of bone defects in children. Bone implantation surgery is never an easy process, but it is particularly painful and complicated for children. With both adults and children, often times bone is harvested from elsewhere in the body to replace the missing bone, which can lead to other complications and pain. Metallic implants are sometimes used, but this is not a permanent fix for growing children.

“Adults have more options when it comes to implants,” said ...

Isolated germ line of C. elegans. Damage to the DNA induces the formation of large UFD-2 complexes in C. elegans, in which the decision between DNA repair and cell death is made. The protein UFD-2 is visualized in red, whereas the DNA is made visible in blue. Picture: Leena Ackermann

The genetic information of every cell is encoded in the sequence of the DNA double helix. Double strand breaks in the DNA, which can be induced by radiation, are a dangerous threat to the cells, and if not properly repaired can lead to cancer. Damaged cells need to decide whether the breaks can be fixed or whether they should be removed by “apoptosis” before initiating cancer.

Björn Schumacher, one of the senior authors, explains: “Within seconds after an harmful incident, different mechanisms start...

Know your risks for metabolic syndrome. Credit: Image courtesy of American College of Cardiology

Increasing stomach fat – especially the “hidden fat” in your abdomen – is associated with newly identified and worsening heart disease risk factors, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. These adverse changes in cardiovascular risk were evident over a relatively short period of time and persisted even after accounting for changes in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, two commonly used methods to estimate whether someone is a healthy weight or not.

Previous studies have shown that people who carry excess abdominal fat around their midsection -“spare tire”- tend to face higher risks of heart disease compared to people who have fat elsewhe...