Peer-Reviewed Publication

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death in America. It’s also one of the most common chronic conditions in the United States, with nearly half of U.S. adults considered hypertensive under current guidelines. Among those with high blood pressure, an estimated 20% have what’s known as resistant hypertension, meaning their blood pressure remains high despite aggressive treatment. New research from The University of Toledo has shown gut bacteria can reduce the effectiveness of certain blood pressure drugs, potentially providing a pathway to developing new ways of overcoming treatment-resistant hypertension.

A team of Georgia Tech researchers has built a better system to quickly produce high-resolution 3D images in real time, providing a quantitative analysis of organoids.

Dysfunctional breathing patterns are associated with a high risk of musculoskeletal conditions, resulting in poor physical performance. Now, a study by researchers in Japan has found that among athletes across age groups, there is a high prevalence of dysfunctional breathing patterns. Effective intervention strategies are required to restore normal breathing patterns and prevent injuries among athletes to ensure their superior performance and health.

Circular economy may not always be effective or even desirable owing to the spatiotemporal dimensions of environmental risk of materials, and variability of global policies. Circular flows involving toxic materials may impose a high risk on the environment and public health such that overemphasis on anthropogenic circularity is not desirable. Moreover, waste flows at a global scale might result in an uneven distribution of risks and costs associated with a circular economy. Challenges remain in implementing and enforcing international policies across national boundaries. The United Nations Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and their disposal is used here as an example to illustrate the challenges and to propose a way forward for anthropogenic circularity.

USC researchers have found a correlation between tsunami severity and the width of the outer wedge — the area between the continental shelf and deep trenches where large tsunamis emerge — that helps explain how underwater seismic events generate large tsunamis.

Old dogs may not learn new tricks, but old drugs can, according to a research team based in China. The collaboration found that Metformin, a small molecule drug that has been used to treat type II diabetes for more than 50 years, can improve the efficiency and efficacy of antibacterial treatments for quick wound-healing in mice. They published their results on May 19 in Nano Research.

Scientists at the University of Michigan fabricated a nanoparticle to deliver an inhibitor to brain tumor in mouse models, where the drug successfully turned on the immune system to eliminate the cancer. The process also triggered immune memory so that a reintroduced tumor was eliminated—a sign that this potential new approach could not only treat brain tumors but prevent or delay recurrences.

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), commonly obtained from salmon nasal cartilage, are a key ingredient of various health foods. As the popularity of health foods increases, scientists are searching for alternative sources of CSPGs. Now, researchers from Japan have analyzed the PGs and their CS structures in the head cartilage of 10 edible bony fishes, including sturgeons. Their findings point to several new fishes that can serve as alternatives to salmon as a source of CSPGs.