Health News: Can pollution cause it? What about inflammation? And how do tumours spread? Here’s what scientists are learning about this complex disease.
Loneliness isn’t just about being alone—it can happen even in relationships. People in unhappy marriages or toxic relationships can suffer from emotional loneliness despite having a social network, showing that quality of relationships matters more than quantity.
Understanding loneliness as multidimensional has significant implications for clinical practice. EL is more strongly associated with mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. In contrast, SL is less directly linked to psychological distress but remains an indicator of social disconnection. Meta-analyses of loneliness interventions have shown that generic approaches often fail because they do not differentiate between EL and SL, leading to inconsistent results. Cross-sectional studies indicate that EL contributes to depressive symptoms more than SL, and longitudinal research suggests that EL has a stronger predictive value for long-term mental health deterioration. In contrast, SL can often be addressed through social interventions that encourage group participation and community engagement.
Loneliness has profound implications for physical health and mortality risk. Longitudinal studies show that EL, in particular, is associated with increased mortality rates, even after controlling for medical conditions and demographic factors. One explanation is that EL triggers chronic stress responses, leading to adverse physiological effects such as inflammation and weakened immune function. For example, a five-year study of nursing home residents found that EL, but not SL, was a significant predictor of earlier mortality, reinforcing its unique impact on health. While SL also presents health risks, its impact on mortality appears to be less severe than that of EL.
Curtin University researchers have gained an unprecedented glimpse into the early history of our solar system through some of the most well-preserved asteroid samples ever collected, potentially transforming our understanding of planetary formation and the origins of life.
Experts from Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences were selected to be among the first in the world to inspect samples collected during NASA’s seven-year, OSIRIS-REx mission to the ancient asteroid Bennu.
Asteroid Bennu is thought to be made of rubble fragments from a 4.5-billion-year-old parent body, containing materials that originated beyond Saturn, which was destroyed long ago in a collision with another object.
The announcement confirms one of two rumors that circled the internet this week. The other was about superintelligence.
Osteoporosis is typically treated with orally administered drugs, which may take up to a year to have a noticeable effect. A new injectable hydrogel, however, is claimed to drastically boost bone density in as little as two weeks.
The disease occurs when there’s an imbalance between a person’s osteoblasts – which are bone-building cells – and their osteoclasts, which are bone-degrading cells.
Ordinarily, osteoclasts serve a beneficial function by reshaping bones so they become stronger over time. When those cells outnumber the osteoblasts, though, there’s an overall loss of bone tissue, resulting in weaker, more fragile bones.
As long as you have problems posting, I would recommend using a “throwaway” account to do your posting so you never lose your main account. A few months ago, I actually got 2 of my “throwaway” accounts UNBANNED. It is cool when you end up gaining accounts instead of losing them.
S timeline but they almost never complain recently.
The weekend release of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) report favouring a laboratory leak as the likely origin of COVID-19 – albeit with “low confidence” – has reignited a vitriolic debate.
A new model shows that the denizens of a vast, ancient biome beneath the seafloor use barely enough energy to stay alive — and broadens understanding of what life can look like.
The Theory of Relativity, published in 1905 by Albert Einstein, postulated the existence of gravitational waves—oscillations of the space-time fabric—and more than a century later, we have irrefutable evidence of it. Now, a new study has managed to find clear indications of relativistic procession in the orbits of two colliding black holes.
Stars don’t appear to show up in any photographs of space, nor do astronauts recall seeing them when on a mission — so why is that and how does it work?
The immune system is a marathon, not a sprint.
New research reveals stem-like T cells that help fight disease longer—a breakthrough for cancer treatments and vaccines. Discover more via Pursuit → unimelb.me/3EnoujK
It’s a reminder that, much like training for a race, scientific discovery demands persistence, teamwork and a clear goal.
While more work is needed to translate these findings into real-world applications, harnessing the unique strengths of stem-like T cells and their regulation paves the way for innovative treatments that could redefine how we tackle chronic diseases and cancer.