Dr. Priyom Bose, Ph.D. By Dr. Priyom Bose, Ph.D.Apr 5 2023 Reviewed by Danielle Ellis, B.Sc. To combat the double burden of non-communicable diseases and climate change, adopting sustainable and healthy diets and transitioning to sustainable food systems is essential. To support food security and sustainable development, the Mediterranean diet (MD) has been widely recognized as a healthy nutrition and biodiversity resource. A recent Advances in Nutrition study explored biodiversity and analyzed food-plant diversity differences between the Western diet and the MD. Background The global population is expected to rise to 10.9 billion by the end of the century. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that food production must increase by almost 50% to meet consumers’ demands. Rapid population growth is often considered a threat to sustainable development, as it stresses natural resources. The existing agro-food system has also been cited as a key driver of climate change and environmental ...
Adjuvants—ingredients that help boost the immune response in vaccines—have been used in vaccines for decades. But inducing a stronger immune response can result in more unwanted side effects, like swelling at the injection site or fever and body aches. Researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago have found that adding small molecules called immunomodulators to vaccine adjuvants gives them the ability to better regulate the body’s response to vaccines. “If you think of adjuvants as a megaphone that stimulates the immune system, then you can think of immunomodulators as a sound mixer,” said Jeremiah Kim, a graduate student and co-lead author of the paper. “We’re able to selectively tune the immune response to reduce negative side effects.” In models, adding immunomodulators to a flu vaccine increased antibody response, and adding them to a typhoid vaccine reduced inflammation. The results were published in ACS Central Science. Graduate student Matthew Rosenberger was also a ...
by Howard Hughes Medical Institute Overview of GCaMP calcium indictors for neuronal imaging. When they sense calcium, GCaMP indicators cause neurons to produce green fluorescent light, allowing scientists to see which neurons and synapses are activated in living animals as they perform a task. Credit: Yan Zhang New ultra-fast sensors developed at Janelia can detect calcium ions nearly as fast as they are released from neurons, allowing scientists to tease out the individual, milliseconds-long signals passing between brain cells. Genetically encoded calcium indicators dubbed GCaMPs are used to track the activity of large populations of neurons in living animals by revealing the calcium ions that are released as signals pass between neurons. When they sense calcium, GCaMP indicators cause the neurons to produce green fluorescent light, allowing scientists to see which neurons and synapses are activated in living animals as they perform a task. GCaMP indicators have become brighter and more sensitive since ...
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (red) infected with the Omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (blue), isolated from a patient sample.NIAID The magnitude and quality of a key immune cell’s response to vaccination with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were considerably lower in people with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to people without prior infection, a study has found. In addition, the level of this key immune cell that targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was substantially lower in unvaccinated people with COVID-19 than in vaccinated people who had never been infected. Importantly, people who recover from SARS-CoV-2 infection and then get vaccinated are more protected than people who are unvaccinated. These findings, which suggest that the virus damages an important immune-cell response, were published today in the journal Immunity. The study was co-funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National ...
One in six people worldwide are affected by infertility, according to a report that lays bare the scale of the problem. About 17.5% of the global adult population – roughly one in six – will experience infertility at some point in their lifetime, the 98-page report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) says. The figures are its first estimates of infertility prevalence in more than a decade. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general, said the report underlined the magnitude of infertility as a public health issue globally, and showed there was an urgent need to expand access to prevention, diagnosis and treatments. “The report reveals an important truth – infertility does not discriminate,” said Tedros. “The sheer proportion of people affected shows the need to widen access to fertility care and ensure this issue is no longer sidelined in health research and policy, so that safe, effective and affordable ...
A blood test which can detect traces of cancer cells could spare thousands of patients unnecessary chemotherapy every year. A major bowel cancer trial is examining whether the test can show if surgery has removed all of the tumour. Doctors say half of patients with stage 3 bowel cancer are cured by surgery alone so by using chemotherapy they are over-treating many people. About 1,600 bowel cancer patients are being recruited to the UK study. Ben Cooke runs a hair salon on the King’s Road in Chelsea, London, and also works as a stylist for fashion shoots. In early March last year, he noticed some dark blood in his poo. He rang NHS 111 and was sent to A&E. He was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer, which was successfully treated with surgery. The gold standard treatment is to then have intravenous chemotherapy to mop ...
Drugs that combat obesity are under consideration for the first time for the World Health Organization’s “essential medicines list,” used to guide government purchasing decisions in low- and middle-income countries, the U.N. agency told Reuters. A panel of advisers to the WHO will review new requests for drugs to be included next month, with an updated essential medicines list due in September. The request to consider obesity drugs was submitted by three doctors and a researcher in the United States. It covers the active ingredient liraglutide in Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Saxenda, which will come off patent soon, allowing for cheaper generic versions. The panel could reject the request or wait for more evidence. A decision by the WHO to include Saxenda and eventual generics on the list for adults would mark a new approach to global obesity by the health agency. It could also pave the way for a newer, more ...
The pharmaceutical company that makes Wegovy slimming jabs is funding the expansion of weight-loss services across England as it seeks to boost sales of its obesity drugs, the Observer can reveal. Novo Nordisk is paying the salaries of staff on NHS obesity teams and financing the launch and redesign of services, including giving £206,000 to a health partnership to transform its treatment of obesity. The Danish firm also has financial links to the co-chair of an NHS England weight management advisory group, and paid her almost £50,000 in lecture, consulting and other fees in just two years. Novo Nordisk’s funding arrangements are under the spotlight after an Observer investigation in March found it had paid £21.7m to UK health organisations and professionals in three years before the approval of its Wegovy injections for NHS use. In some cases, recipients of the funding went on to praise Wegovy or support its approval for use on the NHS without ...
British researchers are developing a testosterone hormone patch to help combat symptoms linked to menopause, which if successful would be a world first that could help women secure better access to a hormone that is widely available to men but is subject to fierce debate over whether it should be used to alleviate symptoms of menopause in women. Testosterone patches are going to be tested to treat menopause symptoms. KEY FACTS The patch is being developed to help boost the sex drive of women with symptoms of menopause, according to news reports. Women’s natural production of testosterone drops drastically after menopause and low levels can cause issues including headaches, loss of libido, impaired focus and tiredness. While there are a plethora of testosterone replacement therapies available to men around the world, the few available to women are in the form of creams and gels, which are tough to dose properly and can ...
This is fourth installment in my series on progress toward the elimination of Hepatitis C infection and disease. Read more about Hepatitis C in part one, part two and part three. Figure 1. The direct-acting antiviral targets in the hepatitis C virus replication cycle. NS3/4A … [+] In the previous articles of this series, I’ve outlined the seriousness and uncontrolled nature of hepatitis C. In the absence of a vaccine, the control and treatment of hepatitis C, much like that of HIV/AIDS, depends on the use of antiviral medications. Recent progress in the development of several highly active, anti-hepatitis C drugs has been a triumph of modern medicine. These drugs usher in an era of effective treatment and even elimination of hepatitis C both nationally and globally. Later in this series I will describe how these drugs have been used to eliminate hepatitis C from some countries and discuss how that success may be ...
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