Live bacteria can grow inside tumors and help attack cancer, but finding strains that combine strong anti-tumor effects with acceptable safety remains a major challenge. A new study tested whether gut bacteria from amphibians and reptiles could serve as novel candidates for new cancer treatments. Researchers isolated 45 gut bacterial strains from a Japanese tree frog, Japanese fire belly newt, and Japanese grass lizard, then selected nine for further testing after they caused no severe short-term toxicity when injected into the tail veins of mice. Each strain was then tested in mice with colo... cancer gut immune system microbes microbiome
Read moreProbiotics have been linked to reduced eczema in early childhood, but it is less clear whether they prevent the condition or merely delay when it appears. A study followed children from infancy into early adolescence to help answer this question. The randomized trial included 474 infants in New Zealand at increased risk of allergic disease. At 35 weeks of pregnancy, their mothers were randomly assigned to receive Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001, Bifidobacterium lactis HN019, or a placebo. Mothers took the probiotic or placebo until 6 months after giving birth, or until they stopped breastfeedin... allergies breast milk immune system pregnancy probiotics skin
Read moreGlioblastoma is an aggressive form of brain cancer, and researchers are still working to understand how sex hormones influence its growth. A new study tested whether androgens, a group of hormones that includes testosterone, shape immune responses to this disease. The main experiments used young male mice in which glioblastoma cells were placed in the brain, with some mice undergoing castration to remove the main source of androgens and others receiving sham surgery. To test whether androgen signaling acted on the cancer cells themselves or instead changed how the brain environment responded ... brain cancer testosterone
Read moreMuscle contraction relies on a magnesium-dependent calcium transport system. Consequently, magnesium levels drop after exercise, increasing muscle soreness and impairing performance. A recent review found that magnesium supplementation reduces muscle soreness, improves performance, and protects against muscle damage. Researchers reviewed the findings of four studies investigating the effects of magnesium supplementation on muscle soreness. The studies included 73 participants (60 males and 13 females) between the ages of 19 and 27. One study focused on muscle soreness, one on running performa... exercise performance magnesium muscle
Read moreFrom the article: > The scientists examined blood samples from 278 women from the Grady Trauma Project, a study of low-income Atlanta residents with high levels of exposure to violence and abuse. They analyzed maps of DNA methylation, a modification of DNA that is usually a sign of genes that are turned off. [...] > "We knew that estrogen affects the activity of many genes throughout the genome," [...] "But if you look at the estrogen-modulated sites that are also associated with PTSD, just one pops out." > That site is located in a gene called HDAC4, known to be critical for learni... brain epigenetics hormones mental health anxiety genetics estrogen
Read moreDr. Steve Horvath discusses epigenetic aging clocks and their use in predicting biological aging and healthspan. ... epigenetics aging telomeres genetics
Watch nowA small clinical trial finds that eating later in the day (12 pm to 11 pm) increased weight gain, raised insulin, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels compared to eating earlier in the day (8 am to 7 pm). In the small study, each of the nine healthy weight adults underwent each of the two conditions: daytime eating (three meals and two snacks between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.) for eight weeks and delayed eating (the same three meals and two snacks eating from noon to 11 p.m.) for eight weeks after a 2-week washout period. This is a small trial and needs to be repeated but is in line w... insulin resistance fasting circadian rhythm fat insulin triglycerides time-restricted eating
Read more