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One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation

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A 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 alcohol at all, just one alcoholic drink a day was linked to a 16% increased risk of atrial fibrillation over an average (median) follow-up time of nearly 14 years.

This means that while four teetotallers in 100 might develop atrial fibrillation over the period of the study, five per 100 might develop the condition if they consumed alcohol starting with slightly more than an alcoholic drink a week and more than 75% of them consumed up to one drink a day. [Read more…] about One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation

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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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  • 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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  • ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in Europe
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    ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in EuropeThe number of people living with undiagnosed HIV is increasing in the WHO European Region. According to data published today by ECDC and the WHO/Europe, more than 136 000 people were newly diagnosed in 2019 – roughly 20% of these diagnoses were in the EU/EAA and 80% in the eastern…
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Better diet and glucose uptake in the brain lead to longer life in fruit flies

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Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered that fruit flies with genetic modifications to enhance glucose uptake have significantly longer lifespans.

Looking at the brain cells of aging flies, they found that better glucose uptake compensates for age-related deterioration in motor functions, and led to longer life.

The effect was more pronounced when coupled with dietary restrictions. This suggests healthier eating plus improved glucose uptake in the brain might lead to enhanced lifespans. [Read more…] about Better diet and glucose uptake in the brain lead to longer life in fruit flies

Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask study

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A 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 their patients bring down their blood pressure. High blood pressure (hypertension) is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and among the top preventable risk factors affecting overall mortality.

This new finding, published December 18, 2020 in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, shows that stretching should be part of a well-rounded treatment plan for people wrestling with hypertension. [Read more…] about Stretching more effective than walking to lower high blood pressure: USask study

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  • ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in Europe
    38
    ECDC and WHO call for improved HIV testing in EuropeThe number of people living with undiagnosed HIV is increasing in the WHO European Region. According to data published today by ECDC and the WHO/Europe, more than 136 000 people were newly diagnosed in 2019 – roughly 20% of these diagnoses were in the EU/EAA and 80% in the eastern…
    Tags: people, news, health
  • Physical distancing policies ‘not enough to protect lower-income people’
    36
    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…
    Tags: people, study, health, news
  • One small alcoholic drink a day is linked to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation
    36
    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…
    Tags: study, people, news, health
  • Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe not
    31
    Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe notIt's generally accepted health advice that adults of all ages should sit less, move more, and engage in regular exercise to feel better and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. However, when it comes to the brain and cognition, a new study of older adults from Colorado State University suggests…
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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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What happens when your brain can’t tell which way is up or down?

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What feels like up may actually be some other direction depending on how our brains process our orientation, according to psychology researchers at York University’s Faculty of Health. 

In a new study, researchers at York University’s Centre for Vision Research found that an individual’s interpretation of the direction of gravity can be altered by how their brain responds to visual information.

Laurence Harris, a professor in the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health and Meaghan McManus, a graduate student in his lab, found, using virtual reality, that people differ in how much they are influenced by their visual environment. [Read more…] about What happens when your brain can’t tell which way is up or down?

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  • Keeping weight off is up to your brain, not just willpower, Ben-Gurion U researchers discover
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    Keeping weight off is up to your brain, not just willpower, Ben-Gurion U researchers discoverWhat if an MRI scan could determine whether a weight loss program was likely to be effective? Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have discovered a neural subnetwork of connected regions between the brain and gastric basal electric frequency that correlates with future weight loss based on connectivity patterns.…
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  • Why some friends make you feel more supported than others
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    Why some friends make you feel more supported than othersIt's good to have friends and family to back you up when you need it – but it's even better if your supporters are close with each other too, a new set of studies suggests. Researchers found that people perceived they had more support from a group of friends or…
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Preserving workers’ hearing health by improving earplug efficiency

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Noise exposure accounts for 22% of worldwide work-related health problems. Excessive noise not only causes hearing loss and tinnitus, but also increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

To provide protection, workers normally wear earplugs. However, commonly available earplugs are often uncomfortable, since they don’t fit everyone’s ears equally well.

How could we improve the comfort and effectiveness of these earplugs? What aspects of the ear canal must be taken into account? [Read more…] about Preserving workers’ hearing health by improving earplug efficiency

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  • Fast food restaurant proximity likely doesn't affect children's weight
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    Fast food restaurant proximity likely doesn't affect children's weightA new paper in Q Open finds that the availability of fast food restaurants on the route between children's houses and their schools does not affect children's weight. Reducing the rate of childhood obesity is a top public health priority in the United States where obesity rates are 18.4% for those ages…
    Tags: health, industry

Hardly any sports but more physical activity during lockdown

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In spring 2020, when soccer and sports clubs closed for sever-al weeks due to the Corona pandemic, children and adoles-cents looked for alternative physical activities.

According to a supplementary study covering more than 1700 children and adolescents aged from 4 to 17 as part of the Motorik-Modul Study (MoMo) conducted by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Karlsruhe University of Education (PHKA), the children were physically active about 36 minutes longer every day, but also spent an hour more in front of screens and monitors.

“Surprisingly, boys and girls looked for a replacement of the cancelled sports offers, also those, who had not been physically active before,” says Dr. Claudia Niessner. [Read more…] about Hardly any sports but more physical activity during lockdown

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  • Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe not
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    Is sitting always bad for your mind? A new study suggests maybe notIt's generally accepted health advice that adults of all ages should sit less, move more, and engage in regular exercise to feel better and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. However, when it comes to the brain and cognition, a new study of older adults from Colorado State University suggests…
    Tags: activity, physical, study, health, activities

Disposable surgical masks best for being heard clearly when speaking, study finds

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Researcher Ryan Corey recently heard from a friend who teaches at a school where some of the students have hearing loss.

The friend wanted to know if he had any ideas to help her communicate with these students while wearing a mask to slow the spread of Covid-19. Corey, who also has hearing loss, did not know what to tell her. So, he headed to the Illinois Augmented Listening Laboratory to look for solutions.

Corey, an electrical and computer engineering postdoctoral researcher under professor Andrew Singer at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, leads a team that studies audio signal processing, especially for listening devices like hearing aids. The results of the team’s new study evaluating the acoustic effects of face masks on speech are published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. [Read more…] about Disposable surgical masks best for being heard clearly when speaking, study finds

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    Simple, no-cost ways to help the public care for common resourcesResearchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison, New York Institute of Technology, University of Iowa, and Cornell University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines whether it is possible to make people feel as if the property is theirs – a feeling known as psychological ownership – and how…
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AI-designed serotonin sensor may help scientists study sleep and mental health

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Serotonin is a neurochemical that plays a critical role in the way the brain controls our thoughts and feelings. For example, many antidepressants are designed to alter serotonin signals sent between neurons.

In an article in Cell, National Institutes of Health-funded researchers described how they used advanced genetic engineering techniques to transform a bacterial protein into a new research tool that may help monitor serotonin transmission with greater fidelity than current methods. Preclinical experiments, primarily in mice, showed that the sensor could detect subtle, real-time changes in brain serotonin levels during sleep, fear, and social interactions, as well as test the effectiveness of new psychoactive drugs.

The study was funded, in part, by the NIH’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative which aims to revolutionize our understanding of the brain under healthy and disease conditions. [Read more…] about AI-designed serotonin sensor may help scientists study sleep and mental health

Bait and switchBait and switch

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Perhaps that sauteed snapper you enjoyed last evening at your neighborhood restaurant was not snapper at all. Perhaps it was Pacific Ocean perch, cloaked in a wine sauce to disguise its true identity.

The same goes for that grouper you paid a handsome price for at your local fishmonger’s and cooked up at home. Instead, you may have been feasting on a plateful of whitefin weakfish and been none the wiser.

Seafood is the world’s most highly traded food commodity, and reports of seafood mislabeling have increased over the past decade. However, proof of the environmental effects of mislabeled seafood has been scant as has research. [Read more…] about Bait and switchBait and switch