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Mammal mothers give up a lot to care for their young. To nourish their newborns with milk, their bodies pull calcium from their very own bones. 
Scientists have long wondered why mothers' skeletons don't crumple under the pressure, and US researchers led by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) think they have solved the mystery.
The team has discovered a whole new hormone in female mice that promotes the growth of astonishingly strong and dense bones.
Neuroscientists have named it the maternal brain hormone (MBH), though it works to build strong and healthy bones in mice of all ages and sexes.
"One...

Scientists Discover a New Hormone That Makes Super-Strong Bones

A recent study has revealed significant insights into the early brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, focusing on volume loss in key brain regions. The researchers found that volume loss in the basal forebrain and hippocampus is more pronounced in individuals with high levels of amyloid-beta, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s, even before cognitive symptoms become apparent. The effect of amyloid-beta concentration on the pace of brain shrinkage (volume loss) varied between brain regions. The study was published in the Neurobiology of Aging.

Scientists observe faster brain shrinkage in Alzheimer’s patients with high amyloid-beta levels


Placebos offer the tempting possibility of pain relief without drugs or surgery, largely relying instead on expectations that pain will go away.
As intangible and elusive as that sounds, the placebo effect is a very real thing, which scientists have now traced to specific neural circuits in the brain in a recent experiment based on mice.



					
			

What's more, in the process the team of researchers led by Chong Chen, an anesthesiologist at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill, also discovered that a part of the brainstem not previously known to be involved in pain processing actually is.
Scientists have been hunting...

Scientists Discover Brain Circuit That Could Explain How Placebos Ease Pain

A study reveals that brain inflammation leads to the release of a protein that impairs muscle function, suggesting potential treatments for related muscle fatigue in diseases like Alzheimer’s and long COVID. Infections and neurodegenerative diseases are known to cause brain inflammation. However, patients with brain inflammation often develop muscle...

Hidden Connection Discovered: New Research Links Brain Inflammation to Muscle Fatigue

When it comes to developing new pain drugs, the placebo effect is a powerful but baffling force. It’s well known that expectation alone can be enough to provide pain relief, even if the “treatment” is a sham with no real medical benefit. Though the relief provided by a placebo can be enough to make clinical trials for new pain medications fail, how our brains produce such strong pain relief through belief alone is largely a mystery.

The brain regions responsible for the placebo effect have been mapped in mice

B12 is a vitamin that helps the body maintain essential systems, such as the central nervous system. A B12 deficiency in women can cause symptoms such as fatigue and more severe complications. The body needs B12 to function healthily, and a B12 deficiency can cause conditions such as severe neurological...

What are the symptoms of B12 deficiency in females?

rolling out

As women age, their bodies go through a series of changes — many of which are natural parts of the aging process. One of the significant changes that occur in middle-aged women is related to their menstrual cycle. For many, this period of life can bring about heavier menstrual bleeding, which can be both physically and emotionally taxing. Understanding what a heavy period means for middle-aged women is essential for managing health and maintaining quality of life. In this article, we will explore the causes, implications and management strategies for heavy periods during middle age.

What a heavy period means for middle-aged women


A cattle painkiller introduced in the 1990s led to the unexpected crash of India's vulture populations, which still haven't recovered to their former glory.
Some might have said 'good riddance' to this much-maligned, death-associated bird, but there's a devastating human cost, and a new study reveals the shocking numbers, linking their absence to the deaths of over half a million people.



					
			

The analysis from the US and UK suggests human mortality in districts affected by vulture loss increased by more than 4 percent because of the sanitation 'shock' that ensued, causing an estimated US$69.4 billion in economic damages annually from 2000 to...

Shift in India's Vulture Population Linked to Half a Million Human Deaths

Christian Azubike Enwuru1, Adenike Shola Aiyedobgon2, Morakinyo Bamikole Ajayi1 &. BMC Women's Health volume 24, Article number: 415 (2024) Cite this article. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Bacterial Vaginosis (BV), Trichomonas Vaginalis (TV) co-infection, and the antibacterial sensitivity profile of bacterial isolates. Methods. The study was...

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) co-infection, and bacterial antibiogram profile of pregnant women studied in Lagos, Nigeria

A Japanese woman developed cold agglutination disease (CAD) following COVID-19 and a secondary bacterial infection in the lungs that may have worsened her symptoms, a case study showed. “There is a need for continuous observation to evaluate whether COVID-19, even when it does not require hospitalization, is related to the...

Lung infection likely triggered CAD after COVID-19: Case study

Researchers at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) have found significant correlations between age, sex, and BMI, and the frequency of bowel movements. Everybody poops, but not every day. New research from the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) indicates that the frequency of bowel movements is connected to long-term health.

New Research Indicates That How Often You Poop Could Predict Your Health – Are You in the “Goldilocks Zone”?

Scientists plan to study placentas to see if they can identify signs of future heart problems, in a "world first" research project. Bristol Children of the 90s team hope the research will uncover whether placental disorders are linked to heart and vascular disease, both in mothers and their babies. Principal...

Scientists to study placentas in 'world first'

South Carolina State

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Explore Beaufort SC

The mantis shrimp is one tough customer. Beautiful and deadly are two words you don’t typically use to describe shrimp, but the mantis shrimp is definitely in a class of its own; earning a reputation as the ‘savage boxer of the sea’ and one of the most fearsome creatures in the ocean. And, they're right at home here in South Carolina.

Savage Boxer of the Sea: The Deadly Beauty of Mantis Shrimp


You've probably heard that adults should aim for 10,000 daily steps. This one-size-fits-all approach provides a clear message, though it doesn't consider how varied human lifestyles and bodies are.



					
			

Earlier this year, an international team of researchers found that even the most sedentary among us could ward off the harmful effects of sitting by incorporating more steps into our day.
Sedentary lifestyles are increasingly common, and we know they're linked to higher odds of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD), greater risk of  cancer and  diabetes, and a shorter lifespan. And those risks are lower for people with higher step counts...

Scientists Reveal The Optimal Number of Daily Steps to Offset Sitting Down

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Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Characterized by tremors, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination, the disease is primarily caused by the loss of dopamine-prod...

3 Supplements A Neuroscientist Swears By To Prevent Parkinson’s Disease: ‘Gives Your Brain The Raw Materials To Repair Itself’

UCSF and UC Davis researchers identified a new hormone, CCN3, that strengthens bones in breastfeeding women and could treat osteoporosis and enhance fracture healing. Researchers from UCSF and UC Davis have resolved a longstanding mystery about how breastfeeding women maintain strong bones despite losing calcium to milk production. A newly...

Long-Standing Puzzle Solved: Scientists Discover a New Hormone That Can Double Bone Mass

Chicago, IL

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Foodie in Chicago

Shortly before 3 AM, people in the Chicago area may have felt their houses shake as a 3.4-magnitude earthquake occurred about 60 miles west of the city. (CHICAGO) The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 3.4-magnitude earthquake around Somonauk, IL. Somonauk is in DeKalb and LaSalle Counties, 64 miles west of Chicago.

Did You Feel the Earthquake?

Our memory, for all the good it does us, can also tell us lies.
Thanks to the piecemeal way our brain stores memory information, aspects of our recollections can become jumbled as we reconstruct them, leading to the generation of what are called false memories.



					
			

Now, for the first time, evidence of false memories has been seen in the common cuttlefish, a creature that couldn't be more different from humans.
It's a clue that could help us better understand the powerful, strange intelligence evinced, not just by cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), but by its close cephalopod relatives, such as octopuses and, to a lesser...

Cuttlefish Can Falsely Remember The Past in The Same Way Humans Do

Virginia State

Cheryl E Preston

History Facts lists eight names US parents no longer give their newborns, which you may no longer hear in Virginia. The girls' names are Doris, Gertrude, Mildred, and Judith. I know or have known women with all four names, but they are either baby boomers or boomer parents' ages and someone's grandma or great aunt. Consider the ages of females in Virginia you know with these names.

Eight names parents in Virginia may no longer be giving to their newborns

Individuals with type 1 diabetes may have a life expectancy of 10 to 12 years less than the general population. Working with your doctor to reduce risk factors can help extend your life expectancy. Advances in insulin therapy have enabled many individuals with type 1 diabetes to live full, active...

What Is the Life Expectancy for Type 1 Diabetes?

NewsBreak

Blocking One Protein Extends Lifespan in Mice by Up to 25%, Study Shows


A protein called interleukin 11 (IL-11) appears to play a crucial role in aging, with scientists extending the lifespans of mice by up to 25 percent...

Blocking One Protein Extends Lifespan in Mice by Up to 25%, Study Shows

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