Health & Science

A major new review led by Swansea University has highlighted growing evidence that diet in the early years of life may shape how well the brain develops, with effects that can still be seen in adolescence. Published in Advances in Nutrition, the paper brings together findings from 73 studies—including 48 controlled trials and 25 prospective studies—to examine how diet affects cognitive performance and academic outcomes in young people aged 8 to 19.

You sit down to start a task you care about. Nothing happens. You open your phone instead. Minutes turn into hours. You feel restless, flat, or oddly exhausted, even though you haven't done much at all.

Sunshine, heat, cold and rain all play a role in how active preschool children are during the day, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal Environmental Research, in which researchers linked children's activity patterns to everyday weather conditions.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an innate brain developmental disorder that often manifests from early childhood. While genetic factors and differences in brain development are known to be involved, a definitive cure has yet to be established. Understanding and potentially reversing the underlying neurological abnormalities is a major challenge in neuroscience.

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a molecular pathway that drives certain stressed or aging cells to become abnormally active, causing inflammation inside blood vessel plaques. This results in disturbed blood flow and high-risk lesions that can lead to blood clots that cause heart attacks or strokes.

There is no shortcut to improving technical skills in football. Natural talent is not enough to be among the very best. Without good technical skills, neither you nor your team will perform their best in football. But how do you actually become technically good?

An interactive robotic plushie called "Purrble" could improve depressive symptoms in LGBTQ+ teens. The research, published in Nature Medicine, also found that participants were twice as likely to see improvements in symptoms of anxiety, and more likely to see improvements to their emotional regulation.

When thinking of the immune system, most people imagine white blood cells putting up a fight against invading germs in the bloodstream. But now, in research published in Molecular Cell, scientists detail a separate but equally important route by which our bodies fight infection—directly inside already infected cells.

An international collaboration of genetic researchers has identified more than 90 genetic regions associated with the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The large-scale meta-analysis reveals new biological insights into the disease, highlighting the important roles of immune processes, beta-amyloid and tau biology, and lipid metabolism.

More adults are surviving both the wait for an organ and transplant surgery, but the number of people who need transplants continues to exceed the number of organs available, especially for kidneys, according to a national analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Smartphone-based heart rhythm monitoring from home can reduce same-day cancellations and help save significant health care resources ahead of planned electrical cardioversion in patients with atrial fibrillation. This is shown in a new study published in JAMA Cardiology by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Danderyd Hospital.

The presence of blood cells in urine is a sign of bladder cancer. Because aspirin blocks platelets from forming harmful blood clots, the medication can cause mild bleeding or worsen existing bleeding in the urinary tract. Results from a study in the Journal of Internal Medicine suggest that this may prompt a clinician to run tests to uncover an asymptomatic bladder tumor.

Paralysis on one side of the body is common after stroke. A new study in CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics demonstrates that acupuncture can significantly improve muscle function recovery in patients who have experienced a stroke, with this recovery correlating to increases in gray matter volume in certain regions of the brain related to cognitive-motor integration.

Significant underdiagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD), now the ninth leading cause of death globally, is endangering millions of patients around the world and could be improved with the increased use of a simple urine test. The stark health care message is laid out in a landmark series of research papers, published in The Lancet by a global team of experts who are now calling for a renewed focus on CKD diagnosis and treatments.

Two scientists at a U.S. government lab were charged with smuggling vials of deactivated mpox virus into the country from Africa and lying about it during interviews with investigators at a Michigan airport, authorities said Tuesday.

Cancer researchers highlighted several treatment breakthroughs during their annual summit in Chicago that concluded Tuesday, including preliminary but encouraging data on potential benefits of weight loss medications.

More than 6 in 10 Australian men have experienced some form of adversity during childhood, with significant impacts on their mental health in adulthood, according to a new report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS). Drawing on data from "Ten to Men," the world's largest longitudinal study on male health, the report explores the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult mental health outcomes.

Celiac disease (CeD) is associated with a nearly tripled risk for needing a solid organ transplantation, according to a study published online May 28 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

People with problematic Internet use are unconsciously drawn to certain types of online content. These findings could help researchers develop targeted training programs to support people with problematic Internet use.

In high-performance sport, success is often measured in medals, rankings and results, but far less attention is paid to the human cost of achieving them. For Wayne Aquila, Master of Commerce graduate, this tension became the driving force behind his research project, which saw him investigate the influence of power on well-being in high-performance sport environments.