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Cleveland Clinic study links gut microbe byproduct to heart arrhythmia

A Cleveland Clinic-led study shows a connection between elevated blood levels of TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) — a byproduct of gut bacteria digestion of nutrients found in red meat and other animal products — and a higher risk of atrial fibrillation.

The research team, led by Robert Koeth, M.D., Ph.D., analyzed blood samples from more than 5,000 people undergoing heart procedures. The researchers also conducted laboratory studies in cells to better understand how TMAO may influence the heart. They discovered that gut microbe-produced TMAO changes the heart’s electrical environment, increasing susceptibility to abnormal rhythms. Findings were published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of rhythm disorder that begins in your heart’s upper chambers, with at least 2.7 million Americans living with it. Symptoms include fatigue, heart palpitations, trouble breathing and dizziness. Risk factors include high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and having obesity. Medications and procedures such as an ablation, where scar tissue is created to help the electrical system work better, can lower your risk of a stroke.

Japan’s average life expectancy rises in 2025

For men, average life expectancy was 81.35 years, up 0.25 years from the previous year. For women, the figure was 87.33 years, up by 0.2 years.

The ministry said Friday it believes the increases are due to a decrease in deaths caused by cancer, heart disease and COVID-19.

Average life expectancy indicates how many years newborns in a given year are expected to live, on average.

Another iPS product approved for public insurance coverage in Japan

The Central Social Insurance Medical Council, which advises the health minister, on Wednesday approved the application of public health insurance to RiHeart, a cardiac muscle cell sheet that uses induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, effective on Sept. 1.

It is the second case of insurance coverage approval in the country for an iPS cell-derived regenerative medicine product.

Created by introducing specific genes into the cells of blood and skin, iPS cells are versatile in that they possess the ability to grow into the cells of various tissues and organs.

Early respiratory infections may explain half of younger siblings’ earnings gap

Younger siblings are often portrayed as reckless, scatterbrained and less put-together than their older siblings. Social science researchers have underpinned these portrayals with data, showing that younger siblings obtain, on average, slightly less education and earn slightly less in adulthood.

The explanation has often been that firstborns get more attention and quality time from parents than their younger siblings, resulting in the latter acting out. But a new study from Northwestern University suggests there may be a more immediate reason: germs.

Using Danish administrative data covering all firstborn and second-born siblings born in Denmark between 1981 and 2017, researchers found that younger siblings are two to three times more likely than older siblings to be hospitalized for a respiratory illness in the first months of life—largely because older siblings bring home viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The quest to keep organs alive outside the body

Another way to prolong the lifespan of an organ is to use a machine that perfuses it with nutrients, mimicking what happens inside the body. Machine perfusion devices have become more commonly used over the last decade or so and are typically used to maintain livers and kidneys for up to about 24 hours.

Researchers are now adapting this protocol for a growing list of organs, even eyeballs —a recent feat that might enable whole-eye transplants. In March, I went to visit scientists in Valencia who had developed a perfusion system for uteruses. They had used their device—which they nicknamed “Mother”—to keep a human uterus alive for a day.

It’s an exciting time for organ preservation. Keep an eye out for more coverage from MIT Technology Review in the coming weeks.

Did Eating Too Many Sardines Increase Homocysteine?

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Scientists “recharge” damaged nerves to ease chronic pain

Now, researchers at Duke University School of Medicine say restoring healthy mitochondria could offer a completely new way to treat that pain.

In a study published in Nature, the team used both human tissue and mouse models to test whether replenishing mitochondria could help damaged nerve cells recover. The treatment significantly reduced pain linked to diabetic neuropathy and chemotherapy-related nerve damage. In some cases, the relief lasted for up to 48 hours.

Rather than simply blocking pain signals, the researchers believe the approach may address one of the underlying causes of chronic nerve pain by restoring the energy supply nerve cells need to function properly.

Experimental plague vaccine strategy protects mice with missing key immune defenses

The plague has killed more people than World War II. The bacterium Yersinia pestis (Yp), which causes plague, has triggered three major pandemics throughout history, leaving behind a casualty toll of more than 200 million people. Although the plague no longer causes pandemics on the scale seen in history, it still occurs in many parts of the world today. Vaccination remains our best defense against the disease, but approved options remain scarce.

In a new study, scientists tested two live-attenuated plague vaccines, LMA and LMP—weakened forms of the plague bacterium that cannot cause disease—both alone and in combination with the virus-based vaccine Ad5-YFV.

They genetically engineered the mice to completely lack a signaling protein called interferon-gamma, which plays a crucial role in activating immune cells. Despite lacking a key immune protein, the vaccines protected 80% to 100% of mice exposed to highly lethal doses of the pneumonic plague-causing Yp CO92 strain, while triggering strong antibody and immune responses in all vaccinated animals.

Natural clotting ‘switch’ may one day reduce reliance on blood thinners to prevent heart attacks and strokes

Cardiovascular conditions such as strokes or heart attacks are among the most common causes of death in Germany. Today, treatment and prevention are primarily based on so-called platelet aggregation inhibitors and anticoagulants—types of medication commonly referred to as blood thinners. They inhibit or prevent blood coagulation, which in turn prevents the formation of blood clots and life-threatening medical emergencies such as strokes or heart attacks. However, by intervening directly in the hemostasis process, they increase the risk of dangerous bleeding.

In a study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers led by Dr. Marcel Benkhoff (Department of Cardiology, Pneumology and Angiology at the UKD) have mapped a novel therapy approach that utilizes the body’s own mechanisms. The study focused on two substances produced by the body: sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and thrombomodulin ™.

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