Making health and motion sensing devices more personal

Previous definitions of “well-being,” limited to taking a brisk walk and eating a few more vegetables, feel in many ways like a distant past. Shiny watches and sleek rings now measure how we eat, sleep, and breathe, calling on a combination of motion sensors and microprocessors to crunch bytes and bits.  Even with today’s variety […]

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Intermittent fasting can help manage metabolic disease

Eating your daily calories within a consistent window of 8-10 hours is a powerful strategy to prevent and manage chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, according to a new manuscript published in the Endocrine Society’s journal, Endocrine Reviews. Time-restricted eating is a type of intermittent fasting that limits your food intake to a […]

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Gigantic cavity in space sheds new light on how stars form

Astronomers analyzing 3D maps of the shapes and sizes of nearby molecular clouds have discovered a gigantic cavity in space. The sphere-shaped void, described today in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, spans about 150 parsecs — nearly 500 light years — and is located on the sky among the constellations Perseus and Taurus. The research team, which is […]

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Ease up if your kids hate broccoli and cauliflower

Many children, as well as adults, dislike Brassica vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. In the mouth, enzymes from these vegetables and from bacteria in saliva can produce unpleasant, sulfurous odors. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have found that levels of these volatile compounds are similar […]

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Infants have more microplastics in their feces than adults, study finds

Microplastics — tiny plastic pieces less than 5 mm in size — are everywhere, from indoor dust to food to bottled water. So it’s not surprising that scientists have detected these particles in the feces of people and pets. Now, in a small pilot study, researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters discovered […]

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Strength training can burn fat too, myth-busting study finds

It’s basic exercise knowledge that to gain muscles, you strength train, and to lose fat, you do cardio – right? Not necessarily, a new UNSW study published this week in Sports Medicine suggests. In fact, the study – a systematic review and meta-analysis that reviewed and analysed existing evidence – shows we can lose around […]

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Predicting a riot: Social inequality leads to vandalism in experiments

Social inequality can incite collective violence in an experimental setting, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, was conceived following the London riots of 2011, as researchers sought to understand the origins of antisocial group behaviour. The findings are published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. […]

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‘Ultra-potent’ antibody against COVID-19 variants isolated

A technology developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has led to the discovery of an “ultra-potent” monoclonal antibody against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, including the delta variant. The antibody has rare characteristics that make it a valuable addition to the limited set of broadly reactive antibody therapeutic candidates, researchers reported […]

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Researchers use exosome-based strategy to block HIV in mice

In a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health, researchers used exosomes, tiny nanoparticles capable of being taken up by cells, to deliver novel protein into the cells of mice infected with HIV. The protein attached to HIVs’ genetic material and prevented it from replicating, resulting in reduced levels of HIV in the […]

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