Sanctions, on Rise, Are as Deadly as Armed Conflict, Study Says
Unilateral and economic sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union lead to a substantial increase in mortality that disproportionately hurts children younger than five years old, the study published in the Lancet Global Health journal found. Sanctions can hobble public health provision and keep humanitarian organizations from operating effectively, weighing on the death toll.
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How Many Steps a Day You Actually Need, According to New Research
Good news: You don't need to hit 10,000 steps a day to improve your health. According to a new study published in The Lancet Public Health, you can experience roughly the same benefits with fewer steps—around 7,000 per day. Researchers from the University of Sydney reviewed and analyzed long-term studies conducted between 2014 and 2025 that tracked people's daily steps and various health risks, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive function, and mental health, as well as overall mortality. Compared to walking 2,000 steps a day, the study found that walking 7,000 steps lowered the risk of dementia by 38%, type 2 diabetes by 22%, and cardiovascular disease by 25%. Researchers concluded that the incremental improvement beyond 7,000 steps per day was small, but they acknowledged that some figures may be less accurate than others because they were drawn from only a small number of studies. The researchers added that even a modest step count can help lower health risks. "For example, 4,000 steps per day compared with 2,000 steps per day was associated with substantial risk reduction, such as a 36% lower risk in all-cause mortality ... the message that every step counts for those who are able should be emphasized as a core public health message, regardless of the specific quantitative target." According to the study, the goal of 10,000 steps a day is an unofficial target without any clear evidence—it actually started as part of a marketing campaign in Japan. And while that many steps a day can be a good goal for active individuals, the researchers report that 7,000 steps per day "might be a more realistic and achievable target for some." Read the original article on Martha Stewart
CNET
an hour ago
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How to Track Your Sun Exposure With This New App
Facing down a heat wave this summer? There's a new beta app for iPhones from the founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, that helps you track your exposure to the sun. The Sun Day app is free to testers and contains information like sunrise, sunset and UV index in order to assess your potential burn-limit time and, as the app description says, "track your Vitamin D from the sun." Dorsey is currently testing UI updates and a solar noon notification, according to the app notes. In the app, you can describe the type of clothing you're wearing, such as shorts and T-shirts or swimwear, and your Fitzpatrick skin type, which classifies how quickly you'll burn. The iOS app asks permission to connect to some Apple Health data when the app is installed. Dorsey also recently released Bitchat, a private messaging client that uses Bluetooth as its communication platform. Although it's meant to be a secure, private app, some users have flagged Bitchat for potential security flaws that are still being tested. How to test the Sun Day app If you've got an iOS device, download the Sun Day TestFlight app from the App Store and then follow the link to the app for Sun Day to join the beta test. The effectiveness of an app such as Sun Day depends on giving it accurate information about your skin type and clothing, and while vitamin D levels are one way to gauge UV exposure, it's not foolproof given that some people also take vitamin D supplements. "Jack Dorsey's new app Sun Day is exciting, not to detect vitamin D levels but really to help us understand our UV index which is so important in sun safety," said Tanya Kormeili, an LA-based dermatologist. "The app does have an interesting promise as far as I am concerned, in that using the UV index can show you the risk for the level of UV exposure." The risks of too much sun exposure include sunburns, aging skin and skin cancer. Tracking UV levels is one way to help mitigate those risks. People tend to think about sun exposure and protections like sunscreen most during the summer, when the sun is strongest and the days are long, and when you're heading to the beach or out gardening, golfing or otherwise getting in quality sun time. But there is always a risk of sun damage to your skin while you're outside -- year round. "Sometimes it is hard for patients to be convinced that there can be an excessive UV risk on a cloudy day," Kormeili says. "The app would provide an objective measure of that UV index and guide you in safer sun practices." The dermatologist suggests that Dorsey putting the app out for public consumption without medical experts endorsing it might be a missed opportunity. "I am surprised that they have not involved actual dermatologists in pointing out the true value and limitations of this app," she said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
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A single injection for newborns could protect them against HIV for years, study suggests
A single injection at birth could shield children from HIV for years, a study has suggested. The study is one of the first to show that the first weeks of life offer a critical window where the immune system is naturally more tolerant, meaning it is the optimal time to deliver gene therapies that would otherwise be rejected at older ages. Researchers hope the gene therapy jab could be used in the future to fight against paediatric infections in high-risk areas. 'Nearly 300 children are infected with HIV each day,' said first author Amir Ardeshir, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the Tulane National Primate Research Center in the US. 'This approach could help protect newborns in high-risk areas during the most vulnerable period of their lives.' The study, published in the journal Nature, created a gene therapy that programs cells to produce HIV-fighting antibodies. An animal study that tested the injection on non-human primates found it protected them from infection for at least three years without the need for a booster shot. But this was only if the injection was administered in the first month of life. In comparison, those that received the gene therapy between eight and 12 weeks after birth did not tolerate the treatment, study authors explain. 'This is a one-and-done treatment that fits the critical time when these mothers with HIV in resource-limited areas are most likely to see a doctor,' Dr Ardeshir said. 'As long as the treatment is delivered close to birth, the baby's immune system will accept it and believe it's part of itself.' Globally, an estimated 1.3 million women and girls living with HIV become pregnant every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). But if they do not receive medication, the rate of transmission of HIV from the mother to her child either during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding ranges between 15 per cent and 45 per cent, according to WHO data. Although antiviral treatments can suppress the virus and limit transmission, adherence to treatment and doctor visits decline after childbirth, particularly in areas with limited access to healthcare, the study authors noted. This gene therapy uses a harmless virus that can deliver genetic code to cells, but is different to a vaccine. This virus was injected into muscle cells and delivered instructions to produce antibodies that are capable of neutralising multiple strains of HIV. Researchers explained that previous studies have found repeated infusions of the injection are needed for it to work. But by injecting it into muscle cells, researchers say they become 'micro-factories that just keep producing these antibodies'. Newborns showed greater tolerance to the jab, which prevented infection during breastfeeding. However, older infants and juveniles were more likely to have produced anti-drug antibodies that shut down the treatment. In addition, exposing a foetus to the antibodies from the gene therapy before birth helps older infants accept the therapy. However, because it has only been tested on animals, researchers still do not know if it will work on human children. If successful, this treatment could dramatically reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission rates in high-risk regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, where 90 per cent of paediatric HIV cases can be found. 'Nothing like this was possible to achieve even 10 years ago,' Dr Ardeshir said. 'This was a huge result, and now we have all the ingredients to take on HIV.'
