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Global warming already responsible for one in three heat-related deaths

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Between 1991 and 2018, more than a third of all deaths in which heat played a role were attributable to human-induced global warming, according to a new article in Nature Climate Change.

The study, the largest of its kind, was led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the University of Bern within the Multi-Country Multi-City (MCC) Collaborative Research Network. Using data from 732 locations in 43 countries around the world it shows for the first time the actual contribution of man-made climate change in increasing mortality risks due to heat.

Overall, the estimates show that 37% of all heat-related deaths in the recent summer periods were attributable to the warming of the planet due to anthropogenic activities. This percentage of heat-related deaths attributed to human-induced climate change was highest in Central and South America (up to 76% in Ecuador or Colombia, for example) and South-East Asia (between 48% to 61%). [Read more…] about Global warming already responsible for one in three heat-related deaths

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    Will global warming bring a change in the winds? Dust from the deep sea provides a clueThe westerlies – or westerly winds – play an important role in weather and climate both locally and on a global scale, by influencing precipitation patterns, impacting ocean circulation and steering tropical cyclones. So, finding a way to assess how they will change as the climate warms is crucial. Typically,…
    Tags: warming, climate, change, future, global, news
  • The most discussed and shared research and commentary of 2020
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    The most discussed and shared research and commentary of 2020Covid-19, racial justice, climate change, the origins of life and other crucial issues all garnered attention in 2020. The annual Altmetric Top 100 highlights research and scholarly commentary published in 2020 that generated significant international online attention and discussion – from patents and public policy documents to mainstream media, blogs,…
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  • Almost half of world heritage sites could lose glaciers by 2100
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    Almost half of world heritage sites could lose glaciers by 2100Glaciers are set to disappear completely from almost half of World Heritage sites if business-as-usual emissions continue, according to the first-ever global study of World Heritage glaciers. The sites are home to some of the world’s most iconic glaciers, such as the Grosser Aletschgletscher in the Swiss Alps, Khumbu Glacier…
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  • Population and climate change point to future water shortages
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    Population and climate change point to future water shortagesA new study suggests that reductions in agricultural water use will probably play the biggest role in limiting future water shortages. Climate change plus population growth are setting the stage for water shortages in parts of the U.S. long before the end of the century, according to a new study…
    Tags: study, future, climate, news
  • Better health for people and the planet grows on trees
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    Better health for people and the planet grows on treesTwo of humanity's biggest problems – the climate crisis and abysmal eating habits – can partly be solved by one healthy solution: eating more food from trees, specifically tropical ones. While global trends in agriculture and diets are not easily reversed, scientists say that creating incentives to grow and eat…
    Tags: global, change, news, health

Most US adults may lack knowledge about palliative care

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The majority of surveyed Americans had an inadequate understanding of palliative care, and frequency of health care utilization was one determinant of knowledge.

Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life for patients and caretakers by addressing the physical, psychological, and logistical challenges associated with a disease or its treatment. In contrast to hospice, which provides comfort care for patients who have stopped treatment and are near the end of life, palliative care serves as an adjunct to life-sustaining treatments by addressing the side effects of treatment or symptoms of the disease.

“Despite the known benefits of palliative care and its endorsement by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, we have not seen an increased uptake of palliative care by those who need it most,” said Ogunsanya. “A common misconception is that palliative care is only for end-of-life care when, in fact, it can begin at any point in the disease course.” [Read more…] about Most US adults may lack knowledge about palliative care

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  • Making health care more personal
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    Making health care more personalThe health care system today largely focuses on helping people after they have problems. When they do receive treatment, it’s based on what has worked best on average across a huge, diverse group of patients. Now the company Health at Scale is making health care more proactive and personalized –…
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  • Sugar tax in Spain has led to only tiny reduction in calories in shopping basket
    33
    Sugar tax in Spain has led to only tiny reduction in calories in shopping basketThe introduction of a sugar tax, increasing the price of fizzy drinks and other products high in sugar content, has had only a limited, moderate effect in shifting people's dietary habits and behaviours, according to a new study. Fresh research from an international team of economists published in the journal Social Science…
    Tags: life, health
  • Obesity and cancer: Studies highlight different aspects of the connection
    33
    Obesity and cancer: Studies highlight different aspects of the connectionMulti-factorial metabolic and inflammatory abnormalities in obesity, independently or in combination, seems to be the critical biological link of obesity, cancer and racial/gender health disparities. However, the specific cross-talk between these factors remain elusive. Because of the extraordinary relevance in understanding the relationship between obesity-associated inflammation and comorbidities with cancer…
    Tags: health, life

A better understanding of ‘wet markets’ is key to safeguarding human health, biodiversity

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Great uncertainty surrounds the origins of SARS-CoV-2. Early on, some suggested a link between COVID-19 and a seafood market in Wuhan, China. Other theories are now circulating, though the origins of the virus are still unknown.

In response, governments have pushed for the closing of so-called “wet markets” around the world, but this is not an effective policy solution, Princeton University researchers report.

A widespread shuttering of all wet markets could have the unintended consequences of disrupting critical food supply chains, stimulating an unregulated black market for animal products, and stoking xenophobia and anti-Asian sentiment. Furthermore, the majority of these informal markets – which specialize in fresh meat, seafood, and other perishable items in open-air settings – pose little risk to human health or biodiversity. [Read more…] about A better understanding of ‘wet markets’ is key to safeguarding human health, biodiversity

Super productive 3D bioprinter could help speed up drug development

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A 3D printer that rapidly produces large batches of custom biological tissues could help make drug development faster and less costly.

Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego developed the high-throughput bioprinting technology, which 3D prints with record speed – it can produce a 96-well array of living human tissue samples within 30 minutes.

Having the ability to rapidly produce such samples could accelerate high-throughput preclinical drug screening and disease modeling, the researchers said.

The process for a pharmaceutical company to develop a new drug can take up to 15 years and cost up to $2.6 billion. It generally begins with screening tens of thousands of drug candidates in test tubes. [Read more…] about Super productive 3D bioprinter could help speed up drug development

Study shows how taking short breaks may help our brains learn new skills

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In a study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers have mapped out the brain activity that flows when we learn a new skill, such as playing a new song on the piano, and discovered why taking short breaks from practice is a key to learning.

The researchers found that during rest the volunteers’ brains rapidly and repeatedly replayed faster versions of the activity seen while they practiced typing a code.

The more a volunteer replayed the activity the better they performed during subsequent practice sessions, suggesting rest strengthened memories. [Read more…] about Study shows how taking short breaks may help our brains learn new skills

Kids who sleep with their pet still get a good night’s rest: Concordia research

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There is a long-held belief that having your pet sleep on the bed is a bad idea. Aside from taking up space, noisy scratching, or triggering allergies, the most common assertion averred that your furry companion would disrupt your sleep.

A new study published in the journal Sleep Health tells a different story. Researchers at Concordia’s Pediatric Public Health Psychology Lab (PPHP) found that the sleep quality of the surprisingly high number of children who share a bed with their pets is indistinguishable from those who sleep alone.

“Sleeping with your pet does not appear to be disruptive,” says the paper’s lead author, PhD student Hillary Rowe. “In fact, children who frequently slept with their pet endorsed having higher sleep quality.” [Read more…] about Kids who sleep with their pet still get a good night’s rest: Concordia research

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  • Déjà brew? Another shot for lovers of coffee
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  • Medicaid expansion made mouths healthier, study finds
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    Medicaid expansion made mouths healthier, study findsAs the pandemic's economic effects drive more people to enroll in Medicaid as safety-net health insurance, a new study suggests that the program's dental coverage can improve their oral health in ways that help them seek a new job or do better at the one they have. The study focuses…
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  • Tackling food allergies at the source
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    Tackling food allergies at the sourceFood allergies are a big problem. About 7% of children and 2% of adults in the U.S. suffer from some kind of food allergy. These allergies cost a whopping $25 billion in health care each year. Then there's the time lost at school or work. And there's the risk of…
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  • Child marriage is ‘legal and persists across Canada’
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    Child marriage is ‘legal and persists across Canada’Canada is at the forefront of global efforts to end child marriage abroad. Yet this practice “remains legal and persists across the country”, according to research by McGill University. In Canada, more than 3,600 marriage certificates were issued to children, usually girls, under the age of 18 between 2000 and…
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Covid-19 kept our parks busy, but not everyone ventured outside

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Public use of parks and reserves increased only slightly during last year’s Covid-19 national lockdown despite gyms and sports facilities shutting down, a University of Queensland study found.

UQ School of Biological Sciences PhD candidate Violeta Berdejo-Espinola surveyed 1000 people in Brisbane, measuring their use of urban green space and the benefits people associated with visiting the areas during lockdown.

“People all around Brisbane, myself included, noticed a boom in park use in 2020, but while more people ventured into local parks, many folks were left indoors,” Ms Berdejo-Espinola said. [Read more…] about Covid-19 kept our parks busy, but not everyone ventured outside

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  • Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’
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    Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’A new Boston University School of Public Health study of the first four months of America's coronavirus epidemic, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, shows that physical distancing (also called "social distancing") policies had little effect on lower income people still needing to leave their homes to go to work…
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  • Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask study
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    Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask studyA new University of Saskatchewan (USask) study has found that stretching is superior to brisk walking for reducing blood pressure in people with high blood pressure or who are at risk of developing elevated blood pressure levels. Walking has long been the prescription of choice for physicians trying to help…
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  • Making health care more personal
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  • Empathy may be in the eye of the beholder
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    Empathy may be in the eye of the beholderEmpathy is talked about a lot these days. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and a divisive political climate in the United States, calls for empathy have become louder and more urgent. We encourage empathy for those inflicted with Covid-19 and those struggling with unemployment. We reminisce about the…
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Obesity and cancer: Studies highlight different aspects of the connection

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Multi-factorial metabolic and inflammatory abnormalities in obesity, independently or in combination, seems to be the critical biological link of obesity, cancer and racial/gender health disparities.

However, the specific cross-talk between these factors remain elusive. Because of the extraordinary relevance in understanding the relationship between obesity-associated inflammation and comorbidities with cancer development, progression and intervention, three new papers emphasizing different aspects of the obesity and cancer connection can be found in the latest online issue of Obesity, The Obesity Society’s flagship journal.

“We highlighted in the review the contribution of alteration of metabolic factors such as lipids, insulin and leptin in obesity on the modulation of immunosuppressive and pro-oncogenic capabilities of myeloid cells, as key players in the chronic inflammation, which is a feature in obesity and cancer. Also, although the maintenance of a healthy weight is an essential principle to prevent cancer, obesity – within the context of a certain metabolic and inflammatory phenotype that remains to be defined – seems to be advantageous for the anti-cancer immunotherapy, a clinically and scientifically fascinating observation recently published,” said Maria D. Sanchez-Pino, MSc., PhD, assistant professor of research at the Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, member of the Department of Interdisciplinary Oncology and Department of Genetics at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, and corresponding author of the paper titled “Obesity-associated Myeloid Immunosuppressive Cells, Key Players in Cancer Risk and Response to Immunotherapy“. [Read more…] about Obesity and cancer: Studies highlight different aspects of the connection

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  • Sugar tax in Spain has led to only tiny reduction in calories in shopping basket
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    Sugar tax in Spain has led to only tiny reduction in calories in shopping basketThe introduction of a sugar tax, increasing the price of fizzy drinks and other products high in sugar content, has had only a limited, moderate effect in shifting people's dietary habits and behaviours, according to a new study. Fresh research from an international team of economists published in the journal Social Science…
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  • Coffee lovers, rejoice! Drinking more coffee associated with decreased heart failure risk
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    Coffee lovers, rejoice! Drinking more coffee associated with decreased heart failure riskDietary information from three large, well-known heart disease studies suggests drinking one or more cups of caffeinated coffee may reduce heart failure risk, according to research published today in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal. Coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke are among the top causes of…
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  • Most US adults may lack knowledge about palliative care
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    Most US adults may lack knowledge about palliative careThe majority of surveyed Americans had an inadequate understanding of palliative care, and frequency of health care utilization was one determinant of knowledge. Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life for patients and caretakers by addressing the physical, psychological, and logistical challenges associated with a disease or its…
    Tags: health, life
  • Amazon indigenous group's lifestyle may hold a key to slowing down aging
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    Amazon indigenous group's lifestyle may hold a key to slowing down agingA team of international researchers has found that the Tsimane indigenous people of the Bolivian Amazon experience less brain atrophy than their American and European peers. The decrease in their brain volumes with age is 70% slower than in Western populations. Accelerated brain volume loss can be a sign of…
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Weight-loss maintainers sit less than weight-stable people with obesity

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People who are successful at weight-loss maintenance spend less time sitting during the week and weekends compared to weight-stable individuals with obesity, according to a paper published online in Obesity, The Obesity Society’s flagship journal. This is the first study to examine time spent in various sitting activities among weight-loss maintainers.

Prior findings from 2006 in the National Weight Control Registry indicated that weight-loss maintainers watched significantly less television than controls, but other sitting activities were not examined. In the current study, weight-loss maintainers did not significantly differ from controls in reported weekly sitting time spent watching television, but did differ in time spent in non-work-related time using a computer or video game.

Differences between the current study and National Weight Control Registry findings could reflect changes over the past 15 years in available electronic devices, including the rise in availability of computers and video games. Weight-loss maintainers and controls also did not appreciably differ in time spent sitting while reading or studying, traveling; or talking, texting and socializing. These could be considered more mentally active forms of sedentary behavior. [Read more…] about Weight-loss maintainers sit less than weight-stable people with obesity

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  • Weight loss shouldn't be the goal of PE
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    Weight loss shouldn't be the goal of PEFor adults, the goal of exercise is often to shed some pounds, but new research from the University of Georgia suggests the objective should be different for kids. Physical education should focus on improving students' physical skills, knowledge of the benefits of exercise and motivation to be active. The goal…
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  • Obesity and cancer: Studies highlight different aspects of the connection
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    Obesity and cancer: Studies highlight different aspects of the connectionMulti-factorial metabolic and inflammatory abnormalities in obesity, independently or in combination, seems to be the critical biological link of obesity, cancer and racial/gender health disparities. However, the specific cross-talk between these factors remain elusive. Because of the extraordinary relevance in understanding the relationship between obesity-associated inflammation and comorbidities with cancer…
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People who eat a plant-based dinner could reduce their risk of heart disease by 10 percent

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People who eat too many refined carbs and fatty meats for dinner have a higher risk of heart disease than those who eat a similar diet for breakfast, according to a nationwide study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Cardiovascular diseases like congestive heart failure, heart attack and stroke are the number one cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year.

Eating lots of saturated fat, processed meats and added sugars can raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. [Read more…] about People who eat a plant-based dinner could reduce their risk of heart disease by 10 percent

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  • One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation
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    One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillationA study of nearly 108,000 people has found that people who regularly drink a modest amount of alcohol are at increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a condition where the heart beats in an abnormal rhythm. The study, published today (Wednesday) in the European Heart Journal, found that, compared to drinking no…
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  • One cup of leafy green vegetables a day lowers risk of heart disease
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    One cup of leafy green vegetables a day lowers risk of heart diseaseNew Edith Cowan University (ECU) research has found that by eating just one cup of nitrate-rich vegetables each day people can significantly reduce their risk of heart disease. The study investigated whether people who regularly ate higher quantities of nitrate-rich vegetables, such as leafy greens and beetroot, had lower blood…
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  • Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask study
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