by Scott Gilbert, Pennsylvania State University It sizzles on the grill. But does it fizzle in terms of nutrition? That’s the question when it comes to the new plant-based burgers that are flying off grocery store shelves and restaurant tables. Consumer choices include the Beyond Burger, the Impossible Burger and even Impossible sausage crumbles, which...
Post
Health: Vegetarian diet linked with lower risk of urinary tract infections
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS vegetarian diet may be associated with a lower risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs), a study in Scientific Reports suggests. UTIs are usually caused by gut bacteria, such as E. coli, which enter the urinary tract through the urethra and affect the kidneys and bladder. Previous research has shown that meat is a...
Post
Magnetic Microbots Deliver Stem Cells to Heal Knee Cartilage
As has been widely hyped for many years now, mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to heal all sorts of damage in our bodies. The reality has been more complicated, since it is actually very difficult to get these cells to perform their magic just where we want them to. Damaged cartilage, for example, doesn’t...
Post
Do you take warfarin? Time of day might not matter
by Steven Reinberg, Healthday Reporter (HealthDay)—Patients taking the blood thinner warfarin have been told that it should be taken at night, but a new study found the time of day doesn’t matter. “Whether warfarin is taken in the morning, or the evening, its therapeutic effect is the same,” said lead researcher Dr. Scott Garrison, an...
Post
CDC: Benzodiazepines prescribed at 27 office visits per 100 adults
(HealthDay)—Benzodiazepines were prescribed at 27 annual physician office visits per 100 adults during 2014 to 2016, according to a study published online Jan. 17 in the National Health Statistics Reports, a publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Loredana Santo, M.D., M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland,...
Post
No shield from X-rays: How science is rethinking lead aprons
by Mary Chris Jaklevic Patients have come to expect a technician to drape their torsos with a heavy lead apron when they get an X-ray, but new thinking among radiologists and medical physicists is upending the decades-old practice of shielding patients from radiation. Some hospitals are ditching the ritual of covering reproductive organs and fetuses...
Post
Robotic glove powers up paralyzed hands
By Ben Coxworth If someone is lacking a hand, a prosthetic appendage can help them perform basic daily tasks. However, what if they’ve still got both hands, but one of them is paralyzed? Well, that’s where NeoMano is designed to come in. Designed by Korean startup Neofect, the NeoMano system consists of three parts. First...
Post
3 BRAIN GAMES BOOST MEMORY, FOCUS, AND FLEXIBLE THINKING
BY JORDAN BENNETT-NYU Three digital games can help children and adults improve their cognitive skills, say the researchers who created them. They designed and developed the games—available online and in the iOS and Google Play app stores—to help users’ brains work more efficiently. While some games falsely claim to improve cognitive skills, these three games...
Post
Myositis: Understanding the Rare Autoimmune Disease
It’s easy to brush off the early signs of myositis, a muscle weakening autoimmune disease. That trip or fall while walking could be attributed to clumsiness. Difficulty climbing up stairs, rising from a chair or lifting something overhead could be from an abandoned regular exercise program or muscle breakdown from age. That cough, difficulty breathing,...
Post
MDMA for PTSD granted Expanded Access by FDA, patient treatments begin
By Rich Haridy Marking an impressive milestone in the development of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the treatment for Expanded Access, allowing certain patients access to the therapy before full market approval is granted. Ten treatment clinics in the United States are reported as ready to commence...