Tag: Research

Surging nervous system disorders now top cause of illness: study

  Conditions affecting the nervous system — such as strokes, migraines and dementia — have surged past heart disease to become the leading cause of ill health worldwide, a major new analysis said on Friday. More than 3.4 billion people — 43 percent of the global population — experienced a neurological condition in 2021, far more than had previously been thought, the analysis found. The study was carried out by hundreds of researchers led by […]

Japanese experimental nuclear fusion reactor inaugurated

TOKYO, Dec 1, 2023 (AFP) – The world’s biggest experimental nuclear fusion reactor in operation was inaugurated in Japan on Friday, a technology in its infancy but billed by some as the answer to humanity’s future energy needs. Fusion differs from fission, the technique currently used in nuclear power plants, by fusing two atomic nuclei instead of splitting one. The goal of the JT-60SA reactor is to investigate the feasibility of fusion as a safe, […]

1.5C limit ‘only option’ for saving Earth’s ice and snow

BANGKOK, Nov 16, 2023 (AFP) – Allowing global temperatures to rise two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels will be catastrophic for the world’s ice sheets, glaciers, polar seas and permafrost, a new report warned Thursday. The assessment of the global “cryosphere” — parts of the Earth covered in ice and snow for at least some of the year — urges upcoming climate talks to commit to keeping warming below 1.5C. “Because of what we have […]

Diabetes cases to double to 1.3 billion by 2050: study

PARIS, June 22, 2023 (AFP) — The number of people suffering from diabetes worldwide will more than double to 1.3 billion by 2050 driven by structural racism and gaping inequality between countries, new research predicted on Friday. Every country on the globe will see an increase in the number of patients with the chronic disease, according to the most comprehensive analysis of global data projecting out to 2050. Some 529 million people were estimated to […]

Cheap diabetes drug reduces risk of long Covid: study

By Daniel Lawler Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — People who took a cheap diabetes drug after testing positive for Covid-19 had a 40 percent lower risk of getting long Covid, a US-based study said Friday. The finding was hailed as a potential “landmark” in the fight against the still little-understood condition, which the World Health Organization estimates affects one in 10 people who get Covid. The study said it was the first randomized, placebo-controlled […]

 Musk’s Neuralink says cleared for human test of brain implants

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Elon Musk’s start-up Neuralink on Thursday said it has gotten approval from US regulators to test its brain implants in people. Neuralink said clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its first in-human clinical study is “an important first step” for its technology, which is intended to let brains interface directly with computers. “We are excited to share that we have received the FDA’s approval to […]

Scientists use brain scans and AI to ‘decode’ thoughts

PARIS, May 1, 2023 (AFP) – Scientists said Monday they have found a way to use brain scans and artificial intelligence modelling to transcribe “the gist” of what people are thinking, in what was described as a step towards mind reading. While the main goal of the language decoder is to help people who have the lost the ability to communicate, the US scientists acknowledged that the technology raised questions about “mental privacy”. Aiming to […]

Costa Rican sloth antibiotics offer hope for human medicine

by Alberto PEÑA Agence France-Press CAHUITA, Costa Rica (AFP) — The fur of Costa Rican sloths appears to harbor antibiotic-producing bacteria that scientists hope may hold a solution to the growing problem of “superbugs” resistant to humanity’s dwindling arsenal of drugs. Sloth fur, research has found, hosts bustling communities of insects, algae, fungi and bacteria, among other microbes, some of which could pose disease risk. Yet, experts say, the famously slow-moving mammals appear to be […]

Dengue treatment advances in animal trials

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Thursday 3/16/2023 by Sara HUSSEIN A new dengue treatment that could become the first to prevent and treat the virus has proven effective in initial trials in monkeys, according to new research. Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes and affects tens of millions each year, producing brutal symptoms that have earned it the moniker “breakbone fever”. It is endemic in dozens of countries, but no treatment exists, and two vaccines that […]

Dengue treatment advances in animal trials

by Sara HUSSEIN Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A new dengue treatment that could become the first to prevent and treat the virus has proven effective in initial trials in monkeys, according to new research. Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes and affects tens of millions each year, producing brutal symptoms that have earned it the moniker “breakbone fever”. It is endemic in dozens of countries, but no treatment exists, and two vaccines that have […]

Brisk daily walk could prevent one in 10 early deaths: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — One in 10 early deaths could be prevented if everyone engaged in a small amount of daily exercise such as a brisk 11-minute walk, a large study said on Wednesday. Physical activity is known to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and other leading causes of death, but exactly how much is needed to have an impact has been unclear. So an international team of researchers pooled together the results […]

Covid infection gives similar immunity to vaccination: study

Paris, France | AFP | Thursday 2/17/2023 The protection against Covid-19 from being previously infected lasts at least as long as that offered by vaccination, one of the largest studies conducted on the subject said on Friday. Ten months after getting Covid, people still had an 88 percent lower risk of reinfection, hospitalisation and death, according to the study published in the Lancet journal. That makes this natural immunity “at least as durable, if not […]