environment Archives - Family Medicine News

Early life environment may lead to high blood pressure in children

02.09.2019 Health Problems

Where a mother lives and the temperature outside while she is pregnant, among other environmental factors, can impact whether her child is prehypertensive or hypertensive during childhood, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Exposure to negative lifestyle factors in pregnancy, such as obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet, and alcohol and tobacco […]

Cancer cells are quick-change artists adapting to their environment

27.05.2019 Health Problems

Until now, researchers have assumed that the growth of solid tumors originates from cancer stem cells characterized by specific surface markers, which develop in a fixed, hierarchical order. Accordingly, such cancer stem cells are responsible for tumor progression and produce specific types of more differentiated cancer cells whose fates are predetermined. In a joint interdisciplinary project led by the Luxembourg […]

Hand movements help us understand language in a noisy environment

03.05.2019 Health Problems

Hand movements (and not especially lip movements, as is often thought) are the best way to recognise language in noisy situations. The best solution is a combination of lip and hand movements. This is the conclusion of a study by cognitive neuroscientist Linda Drijvers from Radboud University and the Max Planck Institute. It is the topic of her PhD degree […]

Cross-species prion adaptation depends on prion replication environment

21.06.2018 Health Problems

A hamster prion that replicated under conditions of low RNA levels in mouse brain material resulted in altered disease features when readapted and transmitted back to hamsters, according to new research presented in PLOS Pathogens by Elizaveta Katorcha of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues. Prions are abnormal proteins that can induce normal versions of the […]

Cell type and environment influence protein turnover in the brain

20.06.2018 Health Problems

Scientists have revealed that protein molecules in the brain are broken down and replaced at different rates, depending on where in the brain they are. The study, published in eLife, provides essential insights into how the components of different cells in the brain are altered. These kinds of alterations may be important in our abilities to learn and form memories, […]