Health & Wellbeing
On these pages you'll find everything from devices designed to give you a better night's sleep to the latest work being done to tackle the obesity epidemic. Live long and prosper!
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Study estimates COVID vaccines saved nearly 20 million lives last year
June 23, 2022New modeling has estimated COVID-19 vaccines prevented nearly 20 million deaths worldwide in 2021. The study also concluded millions more lives could have been saved last year if vaccine distribution was more equitably spread around the globe. -
FDA bans Juul e-cigs after “insufficient” data on harmful chemicals
June 23, 2022Following years of regulatory delays the FDA has called for all e-cigarette products from Juul to be removed from sale in the US. The FDA cites the reason for the action as “insufficient and conflicting data” in toxicological studies submitted by Juul. -
Polio virus found in London wastewater. Should we be worried?
June 22, 2022The UK Heath Security Agency (UKHSA) is reporting several traces of poliovirus have been detected in London sewage samples over the past few months. So what does this mean? And should anyone be worried? -
Women significantly more likely to develop long COVID than men
June 21, 2022A new review article has discovered females are much more likely to suffer from long COVID than males. The findings are curiously distinct from earlier studies that show men more often experience severe acute disease from COVID-19 compared to women. -
America’s first CRISPR trial is still nearly 100% effective 3 years on
June 19, 2022Incredible new data has revealed an experimental CRISPR gene editing therapy is both safe and effective up to three years after treatment. The results come from one of the longest running trials using CRISPR to treat a pair of rare blood diseases. -
Jumpsuit uses motion sensors to tracks infants' neurological development
June 17, 2022One of the best ways of tracking an infant's neurological development is to observe their movements as they play. A new "smart" jumpsuit is designed to do so automatically, providing consistently accurate data via machine learning technology. -
Sleep-tracking smart pillow powers itself through head movement
June 02, 2022Scientists in China have developed a smart pillow designed to offer an accessible and accurate sleep-tracking solution, monitoring the quality of rest through head movements, which work to power the system at the same time. -
Upping certain gut bacteria may increase motivation to exercise
June 02, 2022Can the makeup of gut bacteria influence athletic performance? A new mouse study indicates that indeed it could, and raised the prospect of therapeutics that could help get couch potatoes up and about. -
Best time of day to exercise seems to be different for men and women
May 31, 2022A new study suggests that the best time of day to exercise differs by sex. Evening exercise was found to be more effective for men, while results for women varied, with different health outcomes improving with different exercise times. -
Chest-buzzing CUE1 wearable may help reduce Parkinson's symptoms
May 26, 2022Among other things, people with Parkinson's disease suffer from a slowness of movement and a stiffness of the muscles. A new wearable device may help alleviate those symptoms, by buzzing the user in the chest. -
Retraining minds to resist cravings shows long-term weight loss potential
May 18, 2022Scientists have drawn up an alternative approach to tackle obesity that retrains the minds of people highly responsive to food cues to resist cravings, and demonstrated that it may outperform current go-to strategies for long-term weight loss. -
"Smart" pacifier could warn of dehydration in newborn babies
May 17, 2022Presently, in order to check electrolyte levels in newborn babies, blood samples are drawn from the infants twice a day. Soon, however, a "smart" pacifier could be used to non-invasively collect that same data. -
First at-home test for flu, COVID and RSV authorized by the FDA
May 16, 2022A new direct-to-consumer test designed to detect a number of different respiratory viruses including COVID-19 and influenza has been authorized by the FDA. The test is the first of its kind to be approved that doesn't need a prescription from a doctor. -
Weight training burns fat as well as aerobic exercise, on the right diet
May 16, 2022A team at Australia's Edith Cowan University have shown that when combined with the right diet, resistance training such as body-weight exercises or lifting dumbbells, can have similar effects to aerobic exercise when it comes to burning fat. -
New target to treat age-related hearing loss raised by large gene study
May 16, 2022A newly published meta-analysis has uncovered 10 new genetic variants that contribute to age-related hearing loss. The findings indicate a part of the ear known as the stria vascularis may play a part in hearing impairment.
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