Scientists hail breakthrough putting them on ‘pathway to an HIV cure'
The team developed a new type of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) that allows mRNA technology to be delivered to blood cells, instructing them to reveal the virus.
Dr Paula Cevaal said the team was initially skeptical of the results but repeated testing confirmed the breakthrough.
The new method has shown unprecedented success in revealing the virus, offering hope for a potential HIV cure, though further animal and human trials are needed.
The study used cells donated by HIV patients. Future research will focus on whether the immune system can effectively tackle the revealed virus, with years of safety testing anticipated before human trials.
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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
‘Social apnoea' could raise your risk of deadly heart disease, dementia and even death – 3 weekend habits to blame
FUN weekend habits might be putting our health at risk by triggering a condition that also causes terrible snoring, research suggests. Scientists from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, reckon loads of us have a newly discovered condition called 'social apnoea'. It is a version of sleep apnoea, which causes heavy snoring and disrupted breathing in the night, brought on by Friday and Saturday revelling. They suggest it is triggered by spending our weekends drinking alcohol, smoking and having lie-ins. As many as 10million Brits are thought to suffer typical sleep apnoea, raising their risk of depression, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease and dementia. Now even more might have it only at the weekend after letting loose. Experts studied data from mattress sensors given to 70,000 people worldwide. Men affected worse than women They found sleep apnoea was 18 per cent more likely on Saturdays than Wednesdays. The likelihood was 21 per cent higher in men compared to nine per cent higher for women. Having a lie-in to catch up on lost sleep further boosted the risk by up to 47 per cent. The results mean people, and especially men, are significantly more likely to snore badly on the weekends. Writing in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the study authors said: 'A variety of factors can influence obstructive sleep apnoea severity, many of which exhibit a strong day-of-week effect. Your ultimate sleep toolkit in 13 steps - from recording snoring to daylight hack 'An increase in alcohol consumption and smoking has been documented over weekends. 'This is consistent with our finding that the social apnoea effect is particularly intensified in men and younger individuals, groups with higher alcohol consumption and smoking behaviours.' Lead author Dr Lucia Pinilla added: 'Sleep apnoea is already a major public health issue but our findings suggest its true impact may be underestimated. 'Most clinical diagnostic testing is done on a single weeknight, missing the weekend effect we're now calling social apnoea.' The NHS says sleep apnoea can leave people feeling very tired during the day, causing mood swings, trouble concentrating and even car crashes. It recommends sufferers go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, lose weight if they are overweight, exercise regularly and sleep on their side. Avoiding smoking, drinking and sleeping pills can also help, it adds. What is sleep apnoea? THIS Morning anchor Josie Gibson suffers with sleep apnoea - but what is it? Sleep apnoea is - as you might expect - a sleep condition, but it can cause serious health implications. It causes breathing to repeatedly stop and re-start when you're asleep. There are lots different symptoms linked to sleep apnoea but some of the most obvious are loud snoring and abrupt awakenings followed by gasping and choking. Night time sweating, morning headaches, high blood pressure and a decreased libido are also huge tell-tale signs. Symptoms of sleep apnoea mainly happen while you sleep. They include: breathing stopping and starting making gasping, snorting or choking noises waking up a lot loud snoring During the day, you may also:
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Weekend habit enjoyed by millions linked to disorder and risk of deadliest cancer, new study reveals
Weekend lie-ins, late nights and drinking could be making a dangerous sleep disorder worse, scientists have discovered. Obstructive sleep apnoea is a condition that causes repeated pauses in breathing during sleep and extreme snoring—affecting between eight and ten million people in the UK, and up to 30 million Americans. However researchers have coined the term 'social apnoea' to describe a weekend spike in severity of the problem, linked to lifestyle changes such as alcohol use, smoking and irregular sleep patterns. The phenomenon was identified by an international team led by Flinders University in Australia, who analysed sleep data from more than 70,000 people worldwide. Using a clinically validated under-mattress sleep monitor, they found participants were 18 per cent more likely to have moderate to severe apnoea on Saturdays than on Wednesdays. The condition occurs when the airway repeatedly collapses during sleep, leading to breathing pauses, drops in blood oxygen, disrupted rest and daytime sleepiness. Untreated, it raises the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, dementia and accidents, due to poor sleep and subsequent tiredness. Research presented this year at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago also found it significantly increases the risk of deadly lung cancer. 'Sleep apnoea is already a major public health issue, but our findings suggest its true impact may be underestimated,' said lead author Dr Lucia Pinilla, from the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health at Flinders. 'Most clinical testing is done on a weeknight, missing the weekend effect we're now calling social apnoea.' The weekend risk was particularly high in men (21 per cent increase versus nine per cent in women) and in under-60s (24 per cent versus seven per cent in over-60s). Sleeping in for 45 minutes or more on weekends increased the odds of worse apnoea by 47 per cent, and shifting the sleep schedule by more than an hour—dubbed social jetlag—raised it by 38 per cent. Professor Danny Eckert, Director of FHMRI Sleep Health and senior author, said: 'We don't yet know exactly why, but alcohol use, lighter sleep and less consistent use of OSA therapies likely play a role.' He recommends maintaining a regular sleep routine, using any prescribed therapy every night—even at weekends—and aiming for the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep. The weekend effect emerged alongside evidence from a second, related study showing severity also varies by season. Published in Communications Medicine, the research—led by Dr Bastien Lechat of Flinders—used the same dataset to track changes over 3.5 years across 23 countries. It found the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI)—the measure of breathing interruptions per hour—was up to 19 per cent higher in summer and winter than in spring and autumn in the northern hemisphere, and 10 to 15 per cent higher in summer versus spring in the southern hemisphere. Higher temperatures were linked to worse apnoea, with nights at 18°C on average producing a 6.4 per cent higher AHI than cooler nights at 6°C. The researchers believe several factors could be driving these peaks. Hot weather can reduce sleep duration and quality, leading to more light sleep, which is associated with more frequent apnoea events. In winter, people tend to sleep longer—particularly in the early morning—increasing time in REM sleep, a stage that occurs before and after deep sleep, when apnoea is typically worse. Sleeping longer than usual by over two hours was linked to a 5.8 per cent increase in AHI, while even shorter sleep than average caused a small rise. Behavioural changes may also play a part as other research has shown alcohol consumption, weight gain, lower physical activity, and respiratory illnesses all vary seasonally. The findings from both studies raise questions about how the condition is diagnosed and treated. Most patients have their condition assessed via a single-night sleep study, often during the week. This, the researchers warn, risks missing important variability—and underestimating severity in some patients. 'A seasonal effect that accounts for around 20 per cent of the variation in AHI is meaningful,' Dr Lechat concluded in his paper. 'Some trials [of OSA treatments] only show modest reductions in severity of 10 to 20 per cent.' If diagnosis or assessment happens in a low-severity period, he suggests, it could influence treatment decisions. The studies also suggest the long-standing practice of allowing patients to skip continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on weekends may need re-evaluation. The treatment involves wearing a mask connected to a small machine that delivers a steady stream of air to keep the airway open during sleep—and skipping it could make symptoms worse at the weekend. For those worried they might have sleep apnoea, common warning signs include loud snoring, choking or gasping during sleep, unrefreshing rest, and excessive daytime fatigue. Doctors can refer patients for diagnostic testing, which may involve in-lab polysomnography or home-based monitoring. While the observed fluctuations may not be dramatic for an individual, the authors stress that at a population level, they could have significant implications for health and safety. Even small increases in severity can raise the risk of cardiovascular events, mental health problems and accidents, especially for people who drive or operate machinery.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
‘Cute but fearsome' whale species from 26 million years ago discovered in Australia
Scientists have discovered a 'deceptively cute' but fearsome whale that roamed the seas 26 million years ago. Australian scientists at Museums Victoria identified the species from an unusually well-preserved fossil of a skull found on Victoria's Surf Coast in 2019. They found the 'fast, sharp-toothed predator' would have been about the size of a dolphin. 'It's essentially a little whale with big eyes and a mouth full of sharp, slicing teeth,' said researcher Ruairidh Duncan. 'Imagine the shark-like version of a baleen whale – small and deceptively cute, but definitely not harmless.' The skull belonged to a group of prehistoric whales known as the mammalodontids, distant smaller relatives of today's filter-feeding whales. It is the fourth mammalodontid species ever discovered, Museums Victoria said. Erich Fitzgerald, a palaeontologist who co-authored of the study, said: 'This fossil opens a window into how ancient whales grew and changed, and how evolution shaped their bodies as they adapted to life in the sea.' Victoria's Surf Coast lies on the Jan Juc Formation – a geological feature that has been the site of previous fossil discoveries dating to the Oligocene period, from between 23 and 30 million years ago. A string of rare fossils have been unearthed along the coastline, and is a renowned site for the study of early whale evolution. 'This region was once a cradle for some of the most unusual whales in history, and we're only just beginning to uncover their stories,' said Mr Fitzgerald. 'We're entering a new phase of discovery. 'This region is rewriting the story of how whales came to rule the oceans, with some surprising plot twists.' The species was named Janjucetus dullardi, a nod to Ross Dullard, a resident who stumbled across the skull in 2019. The study was published in the peer-reviewed Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
