New 40cm-long species of stick insect suspected to be the heaviest insect in Australia
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The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
New study reveals which diets will help avoid illness in later life
What you eat could determine how many chronic illnesses you get later in life, scientists warn. Research has revealed that a healthy diet - such as the Mediterranean diet which is high in plants, fish and unsaturated fats - could slow down the accumulation of chronic diseases including dementia in older adults. Inflammatory diets full of processed meat and sugar may accelerate it. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden studied four diets to investigate their impact on chronic diseases in older adults. Three of the diets studied were healthy and focused on the intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, legumes, unsaturated fats and reduced intake of sweets, red meat, processed meat and butter/margarine. The fourth diet, however, was pro-inflammatory and focused on red and processed meat, refined grains and sweetened beverages, with lower intake of vegetables, tea and coffee. Researchers followed the diets of 2,400 adults aged 60 and older in Sweden for 15 years and tracked their chronic conditions. Dietary intake was measured using food frequency questionnaires, and adherence to four dietary patterns: the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index (EDII), AHEI, the Alternate Mediterranean Diet (AMED), and the MIND (Mediterranean–DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay). Multimorbidity was defined as the number of chronic diseases and grouped by organ system - musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and neuropsychiatric. The results published in the journal Nature Aging revealed those who followed the healthy diets had a slower development of chronic diseases. For example, long-term adherence to healthy dietary patterns, particularly the AMED, AHEI, and MIND, was linked to a slower accumulation of chronic diseases in older adults. This applied to cardiovascular disease and dementia, but not to diseases related to muscles and bones. But those who followed the pro-inflammatory diet, on the other hand, increased their risk of chronic diseases. 'Our results show how important diet is in influencing the development of multimorbidity in ageing populations,' said co-first author Adrián Carballo-Casla, postdoctoral researcher at the Aging Research Centre, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet. The protective effects of diet may be explained by reduced inflammation, a key factor in aging-related diseases. Study authors want to further their research by identify the dietary recommendations that may have the greatest impact on longevity and the groups of older adults who may benefit most from them, based on their age, gender, psychosocial background and chronic diseases.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Supersized stick insect with wings the size of a BIRD has been found in Australia
A giant new species of stick insect with a supersized wingspan has been discovered in a remote rainforest in Australia. The stick insect, which is around 40cm long, was discovered in high-altitude trees in the mountainous Wet Tropics region of North Queensland. The female specimen weighed 44g, just less than a golf ball, but significantly heftier than Australia's heaviest insect, the giant wood moth, which gets up to 30g. Footage shows the incredible wingspan of the stick insect, which is a similar length to a small bird. The new species, named Acrophylla alta, is roughly the same size as a barn owl, a wood pigeon and a coot. James Cook University's Angus Emmott, who helped identify the species, said the creature's large size could be an evolutionary response to its cool, wet habitat. 'Their body mass likely helps them survive the colder conditions, and that's why they've developed into this large insect over millions of years,' he said. The remote habitat was probably also why it had remained undiscovered for so long, Professor Emmott added. 'They live high up in the rainforest canopy, and accessing that is almost impossible,' Professor Emmott said. 'You've got to wait until, for instance, a bird knocks one down or you get a big storm and they get knocked down. It's very, very hard to find them in situ.' He added that while females have wings, they are 'not really great flyers' because of their 'heavy bodies'. The next step in identifying and eventually naming the species is finding a male, which is proving difficult, and not just because they are as thin as a stick. Male stick insects tend to be significantly smaller and so visually distinct from females that they have previously been regarded not only as a different species, but as a different genus altogether. 'You really need to find the male copulating with the female,' Professor Emmott said. 'You know what it is then, and you collect the eggs and you can actually ascertain that they're one of the same thing.' The eggs of the newly-discovered stick insect were key to its identification, as no two species' eggs are the same. 'Every species of stick insect has their own distinct egg style,' Professor Emmott said. 'They've all got different surfaces and different textures and pitting, and they can be different shapes. Even the caps on them are all very unique.' The stick insect specimen, along with another female, are now in Queensland Museum's collection. Stick insects tend to be quite still in daylight hours to avoid predation by birds, so researchers traipse through the rainforest at night with head torches for the best chance of glimpsing them. Likewise, their lifespan remains uncertain. 'We don't actually don't know that yet, but I imagine only a couple of years maximum,' he said. 'Because, yes, there's a lot of pressure on them with birds looking for them and eating them all the time, and I guess that's why they're so cryptic.' The depth and density of life in Queensland's rainforests mean untold numbers of insect species remain undefined or undiscovered. 'Up here in the tropics, in northern Australia, we've got so many insects that are as yet undescribed,' Professor Emmott said. 'For instance, I've got an undescribed cicada in the garden here that a friend of mine is in the process of describing, and I've been working on the moths up here as quite a number of them are undescribed.'
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Two common viruses may 'reignite' cancer cells in people decades after remission
Cancer survivors could see the disease return with a vengeance if they contract a common virus, new research suggests. A study, led by scientists from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, looked at how Covid-19 and influenza could awaken dormant breast cancer cells that have spread to the lungs. In remission, dormant cancer cells can exist undetected in the body and may reactivate years later, potentially leading to the disease's spread. During the Covid-19 pandemic, anecdotal reports suggested a possible increase in cancer death rates, bolstering the idea that severe inflammation from the virus might play a role in arousing dormant cancer cells. Researchers tested this hypothesis in a lab setting using mice with breast cancer tumors and dormant cancer cells in their lungs. The mice were exposed to either SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) or the influenza, flu, virus. In both cases, the respiratory infections triggered the reawakening of dormant cancer cells in the lungs. Within days of infection the cancer cells rapidly spread in the mice and the secondary tumors appeared within two weeks. Commenting on the findings, study supervisor Dr James Degregori said: 'Dormant cancer cells are like the embers left in an abandoned campfire, and respiratory viruses are like a strong wind that reignites the flames.' A further analysis found that the awakening of dormant cancer cells is driven by the release of an inflammatory immune protein, called interleukin-6 (IL-6). In an effort to fight off viruses, the body ramps up production of various immune cells, including IL-6. But these well-intentioned molecules can lead to out-of-control inflammation in other areas of the body, which in turn, reawakens cancer cells in remission. The researchers say that the identification of IL-6 as a key trigger could help in developing new treatment plans to stop the chain reaction from happening. Dr Aguirre-Ghiso suggests the possibility of using using IL-6 inhibitors or other targeted immunotherapies to prevent the cancer from returning and spreading. Along with the lab study, the researchers analyzed two large health databases and found support for their hypothesis that respiratory infections can recharge cancer among patients who are in remission. The UK Biobank has information on more than 500,000 participants who were diagnosed with cancer and other diseases prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Researchers from Utrecht University and Imperial College London, who collaborated with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus team, investigated whether a Covid-19 infection increased the risk of death among cancer patients. They focused on cancer survivors who had been diagnosed at least five years before the pandemic, ensuring they were likely in remission. This took into account all cancers in different parts of the body, not just in the breast. Among them, 487 individuals tested positive for Covid-19 and these were compared to 4,350 matched controls who tested negative. After excluding those cancer patients who died from Covid-19, the researchers found that cancer patients who tested positive for the virus faced nearly double risk of dying from the disease compared to those patients with cancer who had tested negative. 'The effect was most pronounced in the first year after infection,' said Dr Roel Vermeulen of Utrecht University. The researchers said the rapid progression of cancer they found when analyzing the data banks mirrored the quick expansion of dormant cancer cells in the mouse study. From the second population study, Dr Junxiao Hu and Dr Dexiang Gao drew data from the US Flatiron Health database pertaining to female breast cancer patients seen at 280 cancer clinics in the US. In the US, there are more than 300,000 new cases of breast cancer and over 42,000 deaths annually. These numbers include both invasive and non-invasive cases for women, as well as cases in men. They compared the incidence of tumors spreading to the lung among Covid-19-negative patients and those who tested positive for the virus (36,216 and 532 patients respectively). During the follow-up period of approximately 52 months, those patients who came down with Covid-19 were almost 50 percent more likely to experience metastatic progression to the lungs compared with patients with breast cancer who did not contract the disease. In conclusion, Dr Vermeulen said: 'Our findings suggest that cancer survivors may be at increased risk of metastatic relapse after common respiratory viral infections. 'It is important to note that our study focused on the period before COVID-19 vaccines were available.' The researchers SAID their findings, published in the scientific journal Nature, indicate that individuals with a history of cancer 'may benefit from taking precautions against respiratory viruses, such as vaccination when available, and discussing any concerns with their healthcare providers'.
