Low calorie diet can add years to your life

Overeating can lead to health issues that can shorten one’s life. File Photo for representational purposes.

Count your calories even if you don’t need to as a recent study has suggested that cutting calories can extend your lifespan.

Overeating can lead to health issues that can shorten one’s life, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. On the other end of the spectrum, several studies have shown that restricting calorie intake below what a normal diet would dictate may lead to a longer life.

In an animal study, Huiru Tang, Yulan Wang, Yong Liu and colleagues report the metabolic reasons why these opposite diets may lead to such differences in longevity.

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The group divided mice into four dietary categories, low-fat, low-fat with calorie restriction, high-fat and high-fat with calorie restriction, for more than a year.

They then used nuclear magnetic resonance analysis to examine the metabolic effects in blood and urine samples.

The researchers found that calorie restriction had a much bigger effect on metabolic outcomes than the amount of fat in the diet.

Mice on higher calorie diets had increased oxidative stress, disturbed lipid metabolism, suppressed glycolysis and altered gut-microbial metabolites compared to those on the calorie-restricted regimens.

The study appears in Journal of Proteome Research.

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Researchers develop $2 portable test that rapidly detects Zika in saliva in 40 minutes

Caio Julio Vasconcelos who was born with microcephaly undergoes physical therapy at the Institute for the Blind in Joao Pessoa, Brazil. Researchers say the Zika virus may be linked to a wider variety of “grave outcomes” for developing babies than previously reported and that threats can come at any stage of pregnancy. (Source: AP)

With Zika buzz-bombing Brazil’s grandiose Summer Olympics plans, a team of researchers has come up with a new 2 dollar-test that rapidly detects Zika virus in saliva within 40 minutes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced that there was no need to postpone or move the Olympics due to Zika’s presence, but concern over the virus’ spread and its link to serious birth defects is far from allayed. Public health experts debate whether WHO made the right call.

But while the discussion continues, scientists are working on new tools to help manage the outbreak. Current gold-standard tests to detect the virus require expensive lab equipment and trained personnel.

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Low-cost diagnostic methods have been reported but can’t detect low levels of the disease or don’t distinguish between Zika and similar viruses such as dengue.

Changchun Liu and colleagues wanted to design a rapid, low-cost and more reliable point-of-care detection test.

To ensure their system would be highly selective for Zika without confusing it with similar viruses, the researchers looked for and found a stretch of genetic code that is nearly identical for 19 different strains of the Zika virus infecting people in the Americas but not in other pathogens.

Then, with materials costing 2 dollars per test, they developed a diagnostic system, which only requires the addition of water to operate.

If the Zika-specific genetic sequence is in a saliva sample, a dye within the system will turn blue within 40 minutes. The test even works if low levels of the sequence are present.

The study appears in journal Analytical Chemistry.

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Zika infection may linger longer during pregnancy: Study

Zika virus infection confers protection against future infection in monkeys, but lingers in the body of pregnant animals for prolonged periods of time. (Source: thinkstock images)

A new study has shown that pregnant monkeys stay infected with Zika longer, indicating an infection loop between mom and fetus.

Zika virus infection confers protection against future infection in monkeys, but lingers in the body of pregnant animals for prolonged periods of time, according to the research.

The team, led by University of Wisconsin-Madison pathology professor David O’Connor, infected eight rhesus macaque monkeys with the Zika virus strain responsible for the current outbreak in the Americas.

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Non-pregnant monkeys cleared the virus from their blood approximately 10 days after infection, which is similar to what is seen in humans with Zika virus and other flaviviruses. In the two pregnant monkeys, however, Zika virus persisted in the blood for at least 57 days.

The team then re-infected three of the non-pregnant monkeys with the same virus strain 10 weeks later and found they all were protected against infection.

The results indicate that natural immunity may be sufficient to protect against future Zika infections in humans, and a vaccine that can mimic this immunity would likely be safe and provide similar protection, the authors wrote.

The research team will continue to follow the pregnant monkeys to learn why the virus lingers in the body, and how this persistent infection relates to any potential fetal malformations or birth defects.

The findings appear in Nature Communications.

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47% people in NCR have symptoms of respiratory disease, says survey

A WHO report shows that indoor air pollution accounts for nearly 3 per cent of global burden of disease. (Source: AP File Photo)

47 per cent people in NCR, mostly staying indoors during the day, have been found to have symptoms of various respiratory disease, said a recent survey.

According to the survey, indoor air contains two to five times more concentration of pollutants than outdoor air, and in some cases, the numbers are found to exceed 100 fold.

The diseases symptoms which were found among the residents included rhinitis, asthma, decreased resistance to respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

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The survey was done by the Artemis hospital in collaboration with the Air purifiers manufacturer Blueair.

The brand has recently initiated the country’s biggest awareness programme against air pollution, with several studies on the affects of outdoor and indoor air pollution among the citizens.

A report of the World Health Organization (WHO) report showed that indoor air pollution accounts for nearly 3 per cent of global burden of disease.

“Indoor air pollution is one such health hazard which silently entering our body and incapacitating us from inside. It’s quality is equally or more dangerous than outdoor air pollution. Since we spend more time indoors, naturally the risk associated with indoor air is more.” said Raj Kumar, head Respiratory Allergy and Applied Immunology at Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, commenting on the survey.

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Soon, home test for cancer, malaria

The test can be tailored to detect any disease for which the human body produces antibodies. File Photo for representational purposes.

In a few years, testing yourself for cancer or malaria could be as easy as testing your blood sugar or taking a home pregnancy test, according to a recent study.

Chemists at the Ohio State University are developing paper strips that detect diseases including cancer and malaria for a cost of 50 cents per strip.

Researcher Abraham Badu-Tawiah explained that the idea is that people could apply a drop of blood to the paper at home and mail it to a laboratory on a regular basis and see a doctor only if the test comes out positive.

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The researchers found that the tests were accurate even a month after the blood sample was taken, proving they could work for people living in remote areas.

Badu-Tawiah conceived of the papers as a way to get cheap malaria diagnoses into the hands of people in rural Africa and southeast Asia, where the disease kills hundreds of thousands of people and infects hundreds of millions every year.

He and his colleagues report that the test can be tailored to detect any disease for which the human body produces antibodies, including ovarian cancer and cancer of the large intestine.

The patent-pending technology could bring disease diagnosis to people who need it most–those who don’t have regular access to a doctor or can’t afford regular in-person visits, Badu-Tawiah said.

“We want to empower people. If you care at all about your health and you have reason to worry about a condition, then you don’t want to wait until you get sick to go to the hospital. You could test yourself as often as you want,” he said.

The technology resembles today’s “lab on a chip” diagnostics, but instead of plastic, the “chip” is made from sheets of plain white paper stuck together with two-sided adhesive tape and run through a typical ink jet printer.

Instead of regular ink, however, the researchers use wax ink to trace the outline of channels and reservoirs on the paper. The wax penetrates the paper and forms a waterproof barrier to capture the blood sample and keep it between layers. One 8.5-by-11-inch sheet of paper can hold dozens of individual tests that can then be cut apart into strips, each a little larger than a postage stamp.

“To get tested, all a person would have to do is put a drop of blood on the paper strip, fold it in half, put it in an envelope and mail it,” Badu-Tawiah said.

The technology works differently than other paper-based medical diagnostics like home pregnancy tests, which are coated with enzymes or gold nanoparticles to make the paper change color. Instead, the paper contains small synthetic chemical probes that carry a positive charge. It’s these “ionic” probes that allow ultra-sensitive detection by a handheld mass spectrometer.

The university will license the technology to a medical diagnostics company for further development and Badu-Tawiah hopes to be able to test the strips in a clinical setting within three years.

In the meantime, he and his colleagues are working to make the tests more sensitive, so that people could eventually use them non-invasively, with saliva or urine as the test material instead of blood.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

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Canned food linked to hormone-disrupting chemical exposure

The study also finds that different foods have different amounts of BPA contamination, and particular kinds of canned food are associated with higher urinary BPA concentrations. (Source: File Photo)

A new study has confirmed the link between eating canned food and increased exposure to a chemical linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health effects.

The study, by researchers at Stanford and Johns Hopkins universities, with a first-of-its-kind sample including thousands of people of various ages, and geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, highlights the challenges consumers face in trying to limit their exposure to the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

Published in the recent issue of Environmental Research, the study of 7,669 participants, 6 years and older with 24-hour dietary recall information and urinary BPA concentrations from year 2003 through 2008 establishes the link that the more canned food consumed, the higher the BPA, confirming canned food’s outsized influence on exposure to BPA.

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“I could eat three cans of peaches, and you could eat one can of cream of mushroom soup and have a greater exposure to BPA,” said lead author Jennifer Hartle, a postdoctoral researcher at the Stanford Prevention Research Centre.

According to the study, the consumption of one canned food to none was found to be associated with 24 per cent higher urinary BPA concentrations; and the consumption of two or more canned foods to none was associated with 54 per cent higher urinary BPA concentrations.

BPA is a compound used to make, among other things, resins that coat the inside of food cans and jar lids. Previous research has focused on analysing levels of BPA in canned products and measuring BPA exposure within groups of fewer than 75 people.

The new study also finds that different foods have different amounts of BPA contamination, and particular kinds of canned food are associated with higher urinary BPA concentrations. The worst offenders, in descending order: canned soup, canned pasta, canned vegetables and fruit.

The state of California has listed BPA as a female reproductive toxicant, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has restricted its use in some products, such as baby bottles, sippy cups and liquid infant formula canned linings.

However, the FDA said the federal agency is still working to “answer key questions and clarify uncertainties about BPA”.

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Zika Brain Damage May Occur in Babies With Normal-Sized Heads

Study suggests microcephaly birth defect isn’t always present; cases may be underreported

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