Chlamydia: Infectious disease found in 1 in 3 birds tested at Australian animal hospital

A survey of birds entering an Australian animal hospital shows a huge number of them carry chlamydia, including strains never seen before in Australia Life 31 January 2022 By Alice Klein The laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), native to Australia electra kay-smith / Alamy Nearly one-third of hospitalised Australian birds are carrying chlamydia, including some novel … Read more

Data From Over 350,000 People Have Really Bad News About ‘Moderate’ Drinking

We all know that drinking too much is bad for us. But what about just a few glasses a week? Red wine has antioxidants, we’ve been told, so a few glasses are apparently ‘good for you‘. Other studies have suggested that low-to-moderate drinkers are less likely to have a heart attack than those who avoid drinking altogether. Wine … Read more

A Hidden Pattern in Your Retina May Reveal if You’re at Risk of a Future Heart Attack

Early, accurate, and simple diagnosis is important in just about every health condition you could name, and that includes heart disease. New research now suggests straightforward eye scans could identify patients with an increased risk of cardiovascular problems later on in life.   If this method of diagnosis can be developed, it would be a … Read more

Vitamin D supplements really do reduce risk of autoimmune disease

It has long been suspected that vitamin D could help reduce the risk of developing an autoimmune disease, and now we have evidence this is the case – at least for people over 50 Health 26 January 2022 By Carissa Wong Vitamin D tablets Jochen Tack/Alamy Vitamin D supplements really do prevent people developing an … Read more

Covid-19 brain fog: neurological symptoms likely due to immune reaction, should be reversible

Growing evidence suggests neurological symptoms of long covid, such as brain fog, are caused by an immune reaction – and should be reversible Health 20 January 2022 By Jessica Hamzelou The SARS-Cov-2 virus may cause immune reactions that lead to neurological symptoms SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Over the past couple of years, we have learned that … Read more

Something in Your Eyes May Reveal if You’re at Risk of Early Death, Study Shows

A quick and pain-free scan of the human eyeball could one day help doctors identify ‘fast agers’, who are at greater risk of early mortality. Getting older obviously has an impact on everybody’s body, but just because two people have the same number of years under their belt doesn’t mean they are physically declining at … Read more

Three doses of a cheap, common antibiotic batter—but don’t beat—yaws, a tropical skin disease | Science

One year ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared yaws—a little-known, painful, and disfiguring tropical disease—a target for global eradication by 2030. Today, results from a clinical trial involving 56,000 people have shown just how challenging it will be to achieve that goal. The trial’s ambitious regimen—giving an entire population three doses of the inexpensive … Read more

It’s Possible to Accidentally Develop an Allergy to Red Meat. Here’s The Science

When a 56-year-old farm worker from just outside Kansas City in Missouri, US, began noticing a rash on his waist and arms within hours of chowing down on a hamburger seven years ago, he wasn’t sure what to make of it.   Like so many with alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), the path from tick bite to … Read more

Dangerous blood condition may guard against Alzheimer’s disease | Science

Medicine so far has nothing to offer that clearly prevents Alzheimer’s disease, although keeping your weight down, exercising regularly, and inheriting certain protective genes can lower your risk. Now, a study has identified another, unexpected source of protection: clonal hematopoiesis, a blood cell imbalance best known as a risk factor for cancer and heart disease. … Read more

Heart disease: Rare mutation in Old Order Amish people may lower heart disease risk

A genetic mutation may cause lower levels of cholesterol and a blood clotting protein associated with heart disease, and the hope is to design drugs that have the same effect Health 2 December 2021 By Michael Le Page CT scan of a human heart K H FUNG/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY A rare genetic mutation first identified in … Read more