Neat News - Neat things do happen

In a clinical trial people ate for two days only oatmeal. They reduced thereby their harmful LDL cholesterol by 10 percent and lowered their blood pressure, with the cholesterol benefits still available after six weeks due to an improvement in the gut bacteria. The long term effect was stronger in people who kept eating some oatmeal per day, strongest with high amounts of oatmeal per day.

related: #oatmeal #LDL #cholesterol

New research found that a compound of the Aloe vera plant, called beta sitosterol, can bind substances and thereby potentially slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

related: #Aloe_vera #Alzheimer

Researchers are producing bacteria that can invade and consume tumours from the inside. If successful in the long run this may offer an elegant way to destroy cancer.

related: #cancer #bacteria

Using statistically models, linguists found that 40,000 year old engravings in artefacts found in Central Europe may not be just ornamental but contain information and could be seen as an early form of information storing, done several ten thousands of years before genuine writing was invented.

related: #writing #engraving #language

A new study linked the sugar intake in the first 1000 days after conception and heart health as an adult: Less sugar as an embryo and as a baby means a stronger healthier heart decades later.

related: #heart #sugar #baby

Studying the health of more than 5000 women between 63 and 99 for more than 8 years, it has been found that those women who had the strongest muscles had a 30 percent lower risk to die in a year than those with the weakest.

related: #muscle #survival #health

In Thailand rare purple crabs, called Princess crabs, have been seen in the Kaeng Krachan National Park. This is considered also as an indication that the ecosystem in the national park is healthy.

related: #purple_crab #Thailand #national_park

New research found that stop eating three hours before sleep can improve heart health without reducing the amount of calories with better blood pressure, heart-rate, and blood-sugar values.

related: #eating #sleep

In a six-week study it has been found that fermented kefir in conjunction with a diverse prebiotic fibre mix can have a strong anti-inflammatory effect.

related: #inflammation #kefir #fibre

In experiments with a tiny lab grown spinal cord, researchers managed to simulate traumatic injury and let it regrow using so-called dancing molecules. This could be a step to the goal of repairing damages to the spinal cord.

related: #spinal_cord #dancing_molecules #repair

In a first test with 15 patients, a one time infusion with a genetherapy CRISPR generated substance led to the reduction of cholesterol by almost 50 percent and of triglycerides by around 55 percent. The effect started two weeks after the treatment and lasted for at least 60 days. More research is needed. The approach may offer an alternative to the current treatment against high cholesterol blood values.

related: #CRISPR #cholesterol

Using the CRISPR technology, a new blood test has been created that can find cancer biomarkers in tiny amounts of blood. This could become a test to detect cancer long before any symptoms show.

related: #CRISPR #cancer #blood_test

There had been some conflicting results as to the positive effects of a low carb low fat diet. New research found that for such a diet in order to have a strong effect, details are important and should be built on high-quality foods, for instance, be based on whole grains and unsaturated fats.

related: #diet #heart_health

A traditional Chinese medicinal root, Polygonum multiflorum (Chinese knotweed), appears to be effective against some forms of hair loss, for instance, by protecting follicles from damage and activating regrowth signals.

related: #hair #plant

In a new study with more than 130,000 participants it has been found that the long-term intake of (ideally daily 2 to 3 cups of) caffeinated coffee leads to a lower risk of dementia and better cognitive performance. The same is not true for decaffeinated coffee consumption, but for tea consumption.

related: #caffeine #cognition #dementia

In many medical diagnostic elements such as the Covid-19 rapid antigen tests, a lot of plastic is used and then disposed. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of tons of additional plastic rubbish. Now a substitute material is being developed that is mainly made of plant-based stark; it is stable, however, it almost completely decomposes when composted.

related: #compost #medical_diagnostic

A new study found that people who avoid ultra processed food typically eat around 50 percent more food by weight, but they still consume on average 330 calories less per day.

related: #ultra_processed_food #diet

A robot fish has been developed that can collect microplastics from the oceans.

related: #robot #fish #microplastics

A new combination of so-called optical tweezers and metasurfaces has allowed to combine more than 1000 atoms as so-called qubits, reaching the limit of standard methods. It is assumed that it is possible to build this way quantum computers with 100,000 qubits become possible, then probably making them surpassing traditional computers on many problems.

related: #quantum_computer #qubit

A new study finds that looking after grandchildren keeps old people mentally fit. They score better on memory and verbal skills than those who do not.

related: #grandchildren #mental_fitness