Medicine

New experiments, performed in vitro on bacterial cultures and in vivo in rats, show that coffee — regardless of caffeine content — inhibits gut microbiota and stimulates intestinal smooth muscle contractility. Hegde et al, feeding rats coffee and also mixing it with gut bacteria in Petri dishes, found that coffee …

Compounds in blueberries may help to improve blood vessel function and reduce systolic blood pressure, according to a new study published in the Journals of Gerontology: Series A. Eating 200 g of blueberries every day for a month can lead to an improvement in blood vessel function and a decrease …

The more regularly adults aged 50 and over played puzzles such as crosswords and Sudoku, the better their brain function, according to new research led by the University of Exeter, UK. Regular word and number puzzles linked to sharper brain in later life. Image credit: Steve Buissinne. University of Exeter’s …

Walnuts are a rich source of polyunsaturated fatty acids, including alpha-linolenic acid and the linoleic acid, and contain a proportionally greater quantity of polyphenolic compounds compared with other tree nuts and vegetable oils. In a new randomized, controlled trial, a team of researchers from the Pennsylvania State University and the …

E171, a mixture of micro- and nano-sized particles of titanium dioxide (TiO2), is commonly used in high quantities in foods and some medicines as a whitening agent. Found in more than 900 food products such as chewing gum and mayonnaise, E171 is consumed in high proportion everyday by the general …

  Antibiotics were miracle drugs for most of the 20th century, but they’re no longer a silver bullet that can treat any infection. Overuse of antibiotics has fostered the proliferation of resistant organisms that can prove life-threatening, especially to those with already weakened immune systems. A teenager in the UK …

Prions are misfolded versions of a protein that can spread like an infection by forcing normal copies of that protein into the same self-propagating, misfolded shape. According to new research led by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Alzheimer’s disease is a double-prion disorder in which amyloid beta and …

A new study by researchers from the Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Korea, showed that secondhand smoke exposure was significantly associated with hypertension (high blood pressure) in never-smokers, suggesting that necessity of health program and stricter smoking regulation to reduce the risk of hypertension. Avoid exposure to secondhand smoke regardless …

Scientists say they have discovered an antidote to the sting delivered by the box jellyfish Chironex fleckeri, which is considered to be one of the most venomous animals on Earth. The antidote blocks the symptoms of a box jellyfish sting if administered to the skin within 15 minutes after contact; …

The elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is a small, antioxidant-rich fruit common to Europe and North America that is still commonly consumed as a jam or wine. According to a new study, published in the Journal of Functional Foods, compounds from elderberries exhibit multiple modes of therapeutic action against influenza infection. Compounds …