Source: PNAS Nexus.
The microbial ecosystems within our mouths may affect our cognitive function as we age, according to a study. Interventions such as prebiotics, including dietary nitrate, have potential for delaying cognitive decline.
About 15% of older adults have mild cognitive impairment, which is the largest risk factor for the development of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. There is a known association between periodontitis—gum disease—and worsened cognitive function.
How we can incorporate wearable data with routine clinical data to build an overall picture for individual patients.
Quantum researchers from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, have demonstrated the potential for quantum computing to significantly improve how we solve complex problems involving large datasets, highlighting the potential of using quantum in areas such as real-time traffic management, agricultural monitoring, health care, and energy optimization.
By leveraging the unique properties of quantum computing, like superposition and entanglement, researchers compressed and analyzed a large dataset with speed, accuracy, and efficiency that traditional computers cannot match.
The work is published in the journal Advanced Science.
The divide between their lineage and ours narrowed even further in 2010, when researchers published the first Neandertal genome sequence. Comparison of that ancient DNA with modern human DNA showed that the two species had interbred and that people today still carry the genetic fingerprint of that intermixing. Since then, numerous studies have explored the ways in which Neandertal DNA affects our modern physiology, revolutionizing our understanding not only of our extinct cousins but of ourselves as a hybrid species.
This area of research, clinical paleogenomics, is still in its infancy, and there are many complexities to unravel as we explore this new frontier. We therefore must take the findings from these studies with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, the research conducted to date raises the fascinating possibility that Neandertal DNA has wide-reaching effects on our species—not only on general health but on brain development, including our propensity for conditions such as autism. In other words, DNA from our extinct relatives may, to some extent, shape the cognition of people today.
Scientists at deCODE genetics/Amgen have constructed a complete map of how human DNA is mixed as it is passed down during reproduction. The map marks a major step in the understanding of genetic diversity and its impact on health and fertility. It continues 25 years of research at deCODE genetics into how new diversity is generated in the human genome, and its relationship to health and disease.
The new map, appearing today in the online edition of Nature, is the first to incorporate shorter-scale shuffling, (non crossover) of grandparental DNA, which is difficult to detect due to the high DNA sequence similarity. The map also identifies areas of DNA that are devoid of major reshuffling, likely to protect critical genetic functions or prevent chromosomal problems. This insight offers a clearer picture of why some pregnancies fail and how the genome balances diversity with stability.
While this shuffling, known as recombination, is essential for genetic diversity, errors in the process can lead to serious reproductive issues. These failures can result in genetic errors that prevent pregnancies from continuing, helping to explain why infertility affects around one in ten couples worldwide. Understanding this process offers new hope for improving fertility treatments and diagnosing pregnancy complications.
Read “The Physiology of Hunger,” the latest review in the Nutrition in Medicine series, by Alessio Fasano, MD, from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Fondazione EBRIS.