From Mediterranean diets to probiotics, scientists reveal how reshaping the gut microbiome could help protect brain function, while highlighting why timing may be critical for slowing cognitive decline. Study: The association between gut microbiota and cognitive decline: A systematic review of the literature. Image credit: Toa55/Shutterstock.com The gut-brain axis is gaining importance as a modulator … Read more
A simple fiber supplement could reshape the gut microbiome, stabilize blood sugar spikes, and even prevent preterm births in high-risk pregnancies, offering a promising new path for precision prenatal care. Study: Dietary fiber supplementation mitigates gestational diabetes risk and preterm birth via gut microbiota modulation: a randomized controlled trial. Image credit: dilyaz/Shutterstock.com A new study … Read more
A sweeping new review shows how disruptions in the gut microbiome may fuel obesity, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular risk, while pointing to diet and other microbiome-focused strategies that could help restore metabolic balance. Integrative mechanistic framework linking gut dysbiosis to systemic metabolic dysfunction. Arrows indicate the progression of events from exogenous and host-related factors to … Read more
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, affects as many as 18% of all childbearing-age women. The condition occurs when a woman’s body produces too much of a group of hormones called androgens, chiefly testosterone. Menstrual irregularity, obesity and even infertility can result. The first line of treatment is typically hormonal birth control, said UIC professor of … Read more
A new review suggests the menopause transition may mark a critical window for Alzheimer’s prevention in women, shifting focus toward earlier detection, sex-specific risk factors, and more personalized care. Expert Review: Women’s midlife: the front line of Alzheimer prevention. Image Credit: izzuanroslan / Shutterstock In a recent review published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, author … Read more
One of oncology’s biggest challenges is that the same treatment can work well for some patients but fail completely in others. A study published in Nature Communications, from a multi-disciplinary team led by Dr Louise Fets at the LMS, has mapped the distribution of a type of targeted treatments, known as PARP inhibitors, using advanced imaging techniques and patient ovarian tumour samples. The research reveals that build up of these drugs in lysosomes – small compartments inside cells that normally act as “recycling centres” – can trap and … Read more
Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have uncovered how the bacteria that causes tuberculosis fuels itself during infection, providing new insights into one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. The study, published in The EMBO Journal, provides the first detailed 3D structure of a protein called EtfD, which the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis uses to extract energy from lipids (fats), along with the first laboratory … Read more
A large real-world study shows that patients who stop popular GLP-1–based weight-loss drugs often return to treatment or try alternative therapies, helping explain why average weight regain after discontinuation may be smaller than expected. Study: Obesity Treatments and Weight Changes in Clinical Practice After Discontinuation of Semaglutide or Tirzepatide. Image credit: KaterynaBorodina/Shutterstock.com Obesity treatment has … Read more
Cells behave like cities and organelles carry out infrastructural roles: Mitochondria are powerhouses, the endoplasmic reticulum serves as a transport hub and lysosomes help with waste disposal. Communication between different parts of a cell is important for metabolism. This inter-organelle communication can occur at sites where these parts are in contact with each other, known … Read more
A lack of vitamin B2 makes tumor cells more susceptible to a unique form of cell death. This was discovered by researchers at the Rudolf Virchow Centre at the University of Würzburg. The human body cannot produce vitamin B2 – also known as riboflavin – itself; it must absorb the important substance through diet. The … Read more