Category: Health

Right combination of diet and bacteria limits cancer progression

Tom Patriot

The diet of a person can have significant effects on the gut microbiome, i.e. the populations of microorganisms such as bacteria which live in the human gut. It is well recognised that dietary habits through complex metabolic interactions contribute to cancer prevention. More specifically, diets rich in fibre reduce the risk of developing specific cancers such as colorectal cancer (CRC). Although such diets are an effective means of cancer prevention, their possible roles in cancer progression and treatment remains poorly understood. A team of scientists from the Luxembourg Centre for…

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Doctors turning to antibiotic alternatives to treat acne

Tom Patriot

Physicians are scaling back on prescribing antibiotics for long-term acne treatment in favor of a combinations of therapies, according to Rutgers researchers. The findings, published as Part I and Part II in the journal Dermatologic Clinics, surveyed studies on acute and long-term acne treatments over the past decade to identify trends. “People are more conscious about the global health concern posed by the overuse of antibiotics and that acne is an inflammatory, not infectious, condition,” said Hilary Baldwin, clinical associate professor of dermatology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “Overuse…

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Do you smell what I smell?

Tom Patriot

Several years ago the internet was captivated by the enigma of “the dress” – specifically, was the dress black and blue, or was it white and gold? No matter what you saw, the viral debate served to highlight that humans differ remarkably in how we each perceive our personal sensory world. While even vision scientists disagree about why people saw the dress so differently, a new study from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions sheds light on understanding the extensive individual differences in how we sense odors. By showing that…

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Put down the protein shake: Variety of protein better for health

Tom Patriot

Amino acids have long been touted by the fitness and bodybuilding communities for their muscle building benefits. From ultra-bulk protein powders to lean mass-promoting snack bars, there’s no shortage of products available for those seeking a muscle boost. However, protein’s popularity has also meant that less attention has been paid to researching its potentially negative side-effects. Published today in Nature Metabolism, new research led by academics from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, Professor Stephen Simpson and Dr Samantha Solon-Biet, suggests that while delivering muscle-building benefits, excessive consumption of branched-chain…

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Ginkgo seed extracts show antibacterial activity on skin pathogens

Tom Patriot

Extracts from the seeds of the Ginkgo biloba tree show antibacterial activity on pathogens that can cause skin infections such as acne, psoriasis, dermatitis and eczema, a study at Emory University finds. Frontiers in Microbiology is publishing the results of laboratory experiments showing that the extracts inhibit the growth of Cutibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. A nearly 200-year-old copy of a 16th-century text on traditional Chinese medicine, the Ben Cao Gang Mu, guided the researchers in their experiments. “It was like blowing the dust off knowledge from the past and rediscovering something that had been there…

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