News Roundup

…and other items from this week’s health news: 🎶 Please don’t take my sunshine away 🎶 Many people have long argued against moving the clocks back and forth twice per year. Science backs this up! Changing the clock times might have served a purpose during the industrial revolution, but in today’s modern world, it just…

…and other items from this week’s health news: It’s a good time to be a Legionella pneumophila bacterium Dozens of confirmed cases of of Legionnaires’ disease have been reported in Manhattan, prompting New York City health officials to investigate nearly 160 building cooling towers, as contaminated mist from cooling towers can travel through the air,…

…and other items from this week’s health science news: Interrupting the weight-gain process Rather than reversing weight loss, a newly-approved compound called inulin propionate ester (IPE) is designed to help prevent the slow, long-term weight gain caused by small daily calorie surpluses. Randomized controlled trials found that approximately 10g per day of IPE can regulate…

…and other items from this week’s health science news: From the pharmacy to poison control Semaglutide, you will remember, became widely prescribed because it produced greater reductions in blood sugar and body weight than earlier GLP-1 drugs, with clinical trials showing an average weight loss of 12.4% at the approved dose. But there’s a catch:…

…and other items from this week’s health science news: Don’t wait until later! Recovery from surgery can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be so bad: a randomized trial involving 164 patients aged 75 and older found that a four-week prehabilitation program before spinal fusion surgery reduced postoperative complications and improved recovery outcomes compared…

…and other items from this week’s health science news: T3 to the rescue? Hypothyroidism is commonly treated with levothyroxine (T4), but many patients continue to experience fatigue, weight gain, brain fog, and cold intolerance despite normal blood test results. In a recent study, liothyronine (T3) was added in different dosing schedules to test whether directly…

…and other items from this week’s health science news: Not so fast! Fasting has been popularly lauded (including by us!) for its metabolic benefits, but it’s important to remember that not all things work the same way for all people. We’ve covered this a bit before, as you can see in the “Related” link below,…

…and other items from this week’s health science news: Metabolic health is more than most people think Researchers (Dr. Emilie Lavallée et al.) found that ATP5I is a direct molecular target of metformin. This may not mean much to most readers, so: ATP5I is part of the enzyme complex that produces ATP, the primary “energy…

…and other items from this week’s health news: Kills insects and isn’t great for humans either In few words: exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) causes lasting structural and metabolic abnormalities in the brain, leading to poorer motor skills. In particular, researchers (Dr. Virginia Rauh et al.) found that higher prenatal CPF exposure was directly…

…and other items from this week’s health science news: Seeing life in a better light? Bringing new meaning to the idea of “looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses”, researchers at Yonsei University have developed soft, transparent contact lenses with built-in ultrathin electrodes that deliver mild electrical stimulation through the retina*, and in mice with…

…and other items from this week’s health news: Soy joy This one’s quite impressive! A pooled analysis of 12 observational studies found that higher intake of legumes and soy foods was associated with a significantly lower risk of developing high blood pressure, with high legume intake linked to a 16% lower risk of hypertension and…

…and other items from this week’s health science news: The other cannabis chemicals Researchers (Dr. Magriet Muller et al.) found the first evidence of rare flavoalkaloids in cannabis leaves, revealing previously overlooked medicinal compounds in plant material that’s often treated as waste. In particular, Dr. Muller and her team identified 79 phenolic compounds across three…