News by Subject Biology

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have developed a new data mapping method which improves the quality of dietary data collected by short frequency questionnaires (SFQs), thereby improving the capacity to identify diet-disease relationships.

New research from King's College London and UCL challenges the idea that a child's weight largely reflects the way their parents feed them. Instead, parents appear to adopt feeding styles in response to their children's natural body weight, which is largely genetically influenced.

Patients with type-2 diabetes, taking metformin, should have their vitamin B12 levels assessed more regularly to avoid irreversible nerve damage, according to a new study presented at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Glasgow. The study findings suggest that earlier detection of vitamin B12 deficiency through routine screening of all metformin-treated, type-2 diabetes patients could reduce their risk of developing irreversible, painful and potentially disabling nerve damage.

Low-protein high-carbohydrate diets may be the key to longevity, and healthy brain ageing in particular, according to a new mice study from the University of Sydney.

Good nutrition in early life may protect against stress-induced changes in brain development in young mice, according to data presented at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Glasgow. The study findings suggests that a nutrient-rich diet may have protective effects on brain development in young mice exposed to early-life stress, which reduces their risk of learning and memory issues in later life.

Roughly half of Americans say the average person faces a serious health risk from food additives over their lifetime, while the other half believes the average person is exposed to potentially threatening additives in such small amounts that there is no serious risk.

Women that underwent extreme physical training and completed a transantarctic expedition did not show any more negative health effects than would be expected in men, according to a study presented at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Glasgow. The study is the first to suggest that women are not more susceptible to the negative effects of physical exertion and, that with appropriate training and preparation, can be as resilient as men in undertaking arduous physical activity.