Tag: Extreme Survival

A new study finds that the muscles in bats’ wings operate at a significantly lower temperature than their bodies, especially during flight. Past research suggests that in most other creatures, including humans, muscles involved in exercise become warmer in response to movement. But the small muscles of a bat’s wing are uniquely vulnerable to heat

Taxing high sugar snacks such as biscuits, cakes, and sweets might be more effective at reducing obesity levels than increasing the price of sugar sweetened drinks, suggests a study published by The BMJ today. The researchers say this option “is worthy of further research and consideration as part of an integrated approach to tackling obesity.”

Exercise is known to reduce blood pressure — but the activity of bacteria in our mouths may determine whether we experience this benefit, according to new research. An international team of scientists has shown that the blood pressure-lowering effect of exercise is significantly reduced when people rinse their mouths with antibacterial mouthwash, rather than water

Manuka honey could provide the key to a breakthrough treatment for cystic fibrosis patients following preliminary work by experts at Swansea University. Dr Rowena Jenkins and Dr Aled Roberts have found that using Manuka honey could offer an antibiotic alternative to treat antimicrobial resistant respiratory infections, particularly deadly bacteria found in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) infections.

As bacteria continue to demonstrate powerful resilience to antibiotic treatments — posing a rising public health crisis involving a variety of infections — scientists continue to seek a better understanding of bacterial defenses against antibiotics in an effort to develop new treatments. Now, researchers at the University of California San Diego who combine experiments and

Recommendations for a high quality diet to avoid cardiovascular disease were developed in high-income countries two to three decades ago. They don’t consider other parts of the world or how diets have changed. Now scientists of the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences are using research from several large

University of Leicester researchers have shed new light on how bacteria sense nutrients in their environment — a finding that could provide important knowledge in the development of drugs and antibiotics to combat a range of diseases including tuberculosis. The research team, led by Dr Helen O’Hare from the University of Leicester’s Department of Infection,

UCLA scientists have identified specific gut bacteria that play an essential role in the anti-seizure effects of the high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet. The study, published today in the journal Cell, is the first to establish a causal link between seizure susceptibility and the gut microbiota — the 100 trillion or so bacteria and other microbes

Although cannabis, also known as marijuana, has been shown to impair memory, reaction time and attention, it is difficult to assess this impairment in a natural setting. Researchers have developed a prototype app called ‘Am I Stoned’ that could help cannabis users understand how the drug is affecting them through a series of phone-based tasks.

Chlorine, commonly used in the agriculture industry to decontaminate fresh produce, can make foodborne pathogens undetectable, according to new research published in mBio, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The study may help explain outbreaks of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes among produce in recent years. “This important work is a major