Health & Medicine

It has been thought that artificial sweeteners, such as sucralose, don’t have an effect on metabolism. In most of the studies of artificial sweeteners which have been conducted in healthy, lean individuals, scientists have found that the popular artificial sweetener sucralose, (Splenda®), can modify how the body handles sugar. In obese people without diabetes, we have shown sucralose is more than just something sweet that you put into your mouth with no other consequences.

An Alzheimer’s disease protein controls the speed at which materials move through brain cells, and defects could lead to deadly pileups of the kind seen in neurodegenerative disease, a new publication finds.

Salt levels in processed and fast foods remain dangerously high, despite calls for the food industry to voluntarily reduce sodium levels, new research shows. Researchers assessed the sodium content in selected processed foods and in fast-food restaurants in 2005, 2008, and 2011 and found sodium content is as high as ever.

Scientists from have bioengineered a novel molecule which has been proven to successfully kill tumour cells. This molecule is based on a natural protein present in human breast milk, which has been found to have strong and wide-ranging tumour killing properties when bound to certain lipids. Lipids are organic molecules like amino acids and carbohydrates, made up of carbon and hydrogen, and help to store energy and to form biological membranes. The protein-lipid molecule complex, is known as HAMLET, which stands for Human Alpha-lactabumin Made Lethal to Tumour cells. It has been proven to be safe and effective as it only targets tumour cells, leaving healthy human cells intact.

Every cell in our bodies runs on a 24-hour clock, tuned to the night-day, light-dark cycles that have ruled us since the dawn of humanity. The brain acts as timekeeper, keeping the cellular clock in sync with the outside world so that it can govern our appetites, sleep, moods, and much more. But new research shows that the clock may be broken in the brains of people with depression—even at the level of the gene activity inside their brain cells. It’s the first direct evidence of altered circadian rhythms in the brain of people with depression, and shows that they operate out of sync with the usual ingrained daily cycle.

The children of parents who were addicted to drugs or alcohol are more likely to be depressed as adults than their peers, a new study shows.

Mosquitoes are deadly and efficient disease transmitters, but they also can be equally good at spreading a cure for diseases they transmit, such as malaria, new research suggests. Thanks to Zhiyong Xi’s work with mosquitoes and Wolbachia bacteria, researchers are closer than ever to eradicating both Dengue Fever, the devastating disease with no cure and no vaccine, and malaria.

A new analysis of the contents of lipstick and lip gloss may cause you to pause before puckering. Scientists found lead and eight other metals in lipsticks commonly sold in the US, in some cases at levels that could raise potential health concerns.

Pure gold nanoparticles found in everyday items such as personal care products, those also used for drug delivery, such as MRI contrast agents, and in solar cells can inhibit adipose (fat) storage and lead to accelerated aging and wrinkling, slowed wound healing and the onset of diabetes new study says. Gold nanoparticles found in everyday personal products almost instantly penetrate adult stem cells and accumulate with no obvious pathway for elimination.

Exposure to acute, intense and chronically elevated levels of stress have a negative effect on the entire body, such as increasing the risk of chronic obesity, heart disease, depression, leads to post-traumatic stress disorder and impairs memory. However, new research has uncovered short-lived acute stress may be good for you as it primes the brain for improved performance and health.

Preschoolers who are given low-fat milk, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, are more likely to be overweight or obese than children given 2 percent or whole milk and, over time, gain weight at a similar rate as children drinking 2 percent or whole, new research at the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests. Study shows that consumption of 1 percent and skim milk is most common among preschoolers who are overweight or obese – possibly reflecting parents’ concern about their children’s weight. The study also shows, however, that the low-fat milk did not restrain weight gain between ages 2 and 4. In fact, children given skim or 1 percent milk were more likely to become overweight or obese during that time than their peers who drank whole milk.

by Erin Digitale, Stanford University April 1, 2013 (TSR) - Women who breathe traffic pollution early in their pregnancy have a higher risk of having a baby with serious birth...