the swedish scientist Svante Paabo won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discoveries on human evolution: he initiated and spearheaded the development of new techniques that will allow researchers to compare the genome of modern humans and that of other hominids such as Neanderthals and Denisovans.
The human intestinal microbiota is updated
An international team of researchers discovered that a widely used food additive E415 (also known as xanthan gum) affects the human gut microbiota. They discovered that its use is so common that the human intestine has evolved to digest it.. a family of bacteria Ruminococcaceae, in particular, has become more common in the intestine and is part of a food chain that has developed since food manufacturers began adding the material to foods such as ice cream, baked goods and also as a substitute for gluten.
inheritance and tobacco
A team from the University of Bristol presented evidence indicating that granddaughters and great-granddaughters of men who start smoking before puberty have more body fat than expected. They analyzed study data «Children of the ’90s« on 14,000 people, and found patterns of higher body fat in women whose ancestors started smoking before reaching puberty.
Blood and severe covid-19
Likewise, researchers from King’s College London, the University of Cambridge and the University of Liverpoolin collaboration with the Covid Clinical Neuroscience Study Consortium and a colleague at the Karolinska Institutet, found evidence of a causal relationship between blood groups and severe Covid-19, although they were unable to link particular blood groups to increased risk.
Cancer
An international team discovered that the commercial dietary supplement nicotinamide riboside, a form of vitamin B3, could, in high doses, increase a person’s risk of developing certain types of breast cancer. They also found that consuming it could increase the risk of breast cancer metastasizing to the brain, which the team says is almost always fatal.
Vitamin D and autoimmune diseases
Also, a team from Hospital Brigham and Women’s found that people who take vitamin D supplements with or without omega-3s have a lower risk of autoimmune diseases. In their five-year trial of vitamin D supplementation with or without omega-3 fatty acids, they found that it had a significant impact in reducing rates of autoimmune disease compared to people taking a placebo.
Life expectancy
A team made up of members of the Duke Universitythe University of Minnesota and Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings discovered that the factors that define the life expectancy of the elderly boil down to just 17, often surprising factors, and most of them have to do with physical abilities, such as the ability to go shopping or do the cleaning of home.
More dark chocolate for stress
researchers of the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (Iran) studied the effects of dark chocolate consumption on the brains of rats and found that it may have beneficial effects for people with chronic isolation stresso. More specifically, they found that it reversed the negative effects on synaptic strength associated with isolation and increased the plasticity of the CA1 hippocampal area.
The levodopa can cause paranoia
A combined team of Cambridge Health Alliance and the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy studied a large number of over-the-counter supplements and found that many of them contained high levels of levodopa, an amino acid that, when consumed, can cause feelings of paranoia. The team also found that it was more common in supplements containing Mucuna pruriens, a type of kidney bean.
Protection against Covid
Likewise, an international team of researchers carrying out a meta-study identified a genetic variant that protects against Covid-19. Their finding showed that, in addition to factors such as age and health conditions, people may be at higher or lower risk of severe symptoms or death due to genetic factors. They found that the protective genetic variant rs10774671-G determines the length of the protein encoded by the OAS1 gene, making it easier for the organism to break down the invading virus.
Vaccines and antibodies
Likewise, a team of researchers affiliated with various institutions in Spain, in collaboration with a colleague from Austria, discovered that only 1 in 3 unvaccinated people infected with Covid-19 had no detectable antibodies in their body one year later. The study, carried out in a Catalan population, showed that people should be vaccinated, even if they have already been infected, because hybrid immunity is more durable and solid.
Iboprufen and kidney damage
researchers of the University of Waterloo found that combining certain medications with ibuprofen could permanently damage the kidneys. More specifically, they found that people taking diuretics or renin-angiotensin system inhibitors to treat high blood pressure should avoid taking ibuprofen because doing so could lead to acute kidney injury that, in some cases, could be permanent.
Daytime Naps and Alzheimer’s
A team of Rush University Medical Center discovered a possible relationship between excess daytime naps and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. In tracking the health of 1,400 patients over 14 years (using wrist sensors), researchers found that older people’s longer and more frequent naps led to worsening cognition. They also noted that they couldn’t say for sure whether frequent naps caused cognitive decline or whether cognitive decline caused more naps.
Covid is persistent
Scientists from China carried out a two-year follow-up study on patients who had been admitted to hospital due to Covid-19. They discovered that about half of the 1,192 study participants still had one or more symptoms of the infection. They also found that, although the physical and mental health of those affected improved, all of these patients reported worse health and a lower quality of life.
And in a similar study, a team of researchers from various UK institutions carried out follow-up reviews of 2,000 people hospitalized for Covid-19. They discovered that, after one year, only the 25% of these patients considered that they had fully recovered their health. The researchers also found that other factors, such as gender and obesity, influenced the degree of well-being that patients experienced a year after recovery.
In addition, other work found that nearly 1 in 3 older adults developed new conditions after recovering from a Covid-19 infection in the months after the initial infection. These new conditions ranged from major organ problems to mental health problems.
Bacteria and autism spectrum disorders
Finally, a team made up of members of the University of Rome Tor Vergata and the University of Calabria found evidence of a role that gut microbiota might play in autism spectrum disorders. Although it is not yet clear what causes autism, the new study suggests that it may be related to the state of the brain. gut microbiome during the first years of a child’s life, the period of time in which symptoms usually begin to appear.