The authors analyzed over 21,000 participants and discovered that drinking seven or more units of alcohol a week is related to brain changes and cognitive decline due to greater levels of iron in the brain - iron buildup in the brain has been associated with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
The authors found that prenatal vitamin D supplementation (1000 international units of vitamin D daily from 14 weeks of pregnancy until delivery) may decrease the risk of eczema in newborns and that a child’s bone density benefited long-term from taking the vitamin D supplement throughout pregnancy.
The authors showed that grape consumption altered gene expression in the brain and had positive effects on behavior and cognition that were impaired by a high-fat diet. This team of authors also showed that in addition to changes in genetic expression, grapes also change the metabolism: 🔗https://doi.org/10.1039/D2FO00961G🔗.
The findings of this study show that people (260 UK families who drank two or more 75cl bottles of wine each week in two 14-day intervention periods) consumed about 6.5% less wine when they drank from (290 ml) smaller glasses than when using bigger (350 ml) glasses, so this simple trick may help people drink less.
The authors from seven institutions discovered that brain changes were far superior predictors of learning - brain scans predict students’ learning better than exam results and show the underlying structure of thinking, particularly a kind of learning known as “far transfer” that is so deep that it helps students in completing tasks that they weren’t even taught how to do.
Their findings show that changes in spatial processing centers in students’ brains, specifically the posterior parietal cortex, could best predict improvements in verbal reasoning, providing additional evidence for MMT (Mental Model Theory) in the brain.
The authors found, in contrast to earlier research, that as Alzheimer’s disease progresses, the levels of brain enzymes (e.g. Histone Deacetylase I) that control DNA folding drop; and these findings were verified across two independent cohorts of live patients with Alzheimer’s disease as well as on post-mortem brain tissues.
This clinical trial examining 24 women (aged 55 to 70) for 16 weeks showed that adding the amino acid taurine to the diet can strengthen the body’s antioxidant defenses and possibly reduce the chance of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease – this nutrient could be employed in anti-aging therapies.
This meta-analysis evaluated 38 studies (more than 2 million participants for at least three years) on the effects of cognitive, physical, and social activities on the risk of dementia (age, gender, and education were controlled), and it showed that leisure activities like reading a book, practicing yoga, and spending time with family and friends may help decrease the risk of dementia by 17%.
By using secondary analysis of data from 1713 TOPCAT trial participants who were 50 years of age or older and had heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, the authors discovered that limiting salt consumption too strictly may potentially make things worse for those who have a common form of heart failure, and the most vulnerable groups are young individuals and those of black and other ethnicities.
The authors discovered how the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor changes its conformation when it binds to its target and how those changes cause cells to grow and proliferate, so these findings could help researchers design new cancer drugs that target this protein.
The authors develop an artificial intelligence program that can accurately and efficiently detect cognitive impairment from voice recordings of neuropsychological tests, all with no in-person appointment needed. Moreover, this AI program also detects differences between those with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
The authors reveal the key components in plant cells that reprogram their protein-making machinery to fight disease, and these findings could help researchers boost crops’ immune systems without sacrificing yield. Plants engineered to resist disease-causing bacteria can resist infection but they usually suffer stunted growth, so by controlling how defense proteins are translated, scientists are able to bolster plant immunity without causing stunted growth.
The authors analyzed 3D gait (i.e. a complicated, unconscious motor pattern involving the hip, knee, and foot) data recorded via several markers attached to the lower limbs and they found that Japanese children aged 6-12 develop their manner of walking differently from children in other countries.
By gathering and analyzing existing studies, the authors investigated if infections impact learning, memory, and problem-solving (i.e. “brain fog”) in all animal species around the world, including rats, birds, bees, and humans. They concluded that a wide range of animal species exhibit symptoms of cognitive impairment with infections, possibly due to immune response to infection, host-microbiome changes, malnutrition, parasite damage, and lack of motivation of sick individuals to perform a cognitive task.
The authors discovered that young children often overestimate how much snacking their peers are doing, which results in them snacking more, so a new strategy encouraging schoolchildren to consume fewer unhealthy snacks has been successfully tested.
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