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Before receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy, transgender adolescents are more likely to have at least one atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk factor compared to cisgender (same gender as at birth) adolescents.After one year of gender-affirming hormone therapy, fewer adolescent transgender females had at least one ASCVD risk factor, and transgender males were more likely to have one risk factor, compared to their ASCVD results when the study began.

High violent crime rates in Chicago were associated with high levels of physical inactivity and obesity in adults in Black and Hispanic communities, yet this was not the case in white communities.As the violent crime rate increased, the prevalence of physical inactivity and obesity also increased, even after accounting for family income, grocery store availability, public park spaces and walkability.

Social isolation and loneliness were each associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women.The risk of cardiovascular disease events in the women increased 29% when the effect of social isolation and loneliness were combined.Researchers suggest assessing social isolation and loneliness, even with a brief questionnaire, should be incorporated into standard care practice.

A family history of dementia is among the strongest risk factors for dementia, which is a condition characterized by cognitive decline.By making healthy lifestyle behaviors a routine part of their lives, even people with a family history of dementia can notably reduce their risk.

A study of almost 6,000 adults ages 45 and older found that Black adults who ranked within the top 25% of all participants for consumption of ultra-processed food were 55% more likely to have high blood pressure compared to white adults who consumed a similar amount of ultra-processed foods.Men and adults who had less education, lower household income and lower levels of physical activity were the most likely to consume ultra-processed foods.

Taking more steps per day, either all at once or in shorter spurts, may help you live longer.The benefits of more daily steps occurred with both uninterrupted bouts of steps (10 minutes or longer) and short spurts such as climbing stairs.

Early-onset menopause (before the age of 40) was independently associated with higher long-term risk of developing coronary heart disease among both Black and white women.Black women were three times more likely to experience premature natural menopause.Women who underwent surgical menopause were not included in this study.

Nationwide, death rates from cardiovascular disease have declined over the past few decades.A new county-by-county analysis reveals that despite the overall improvement, the counties with the lowest and highest death rates have, for the most part, maintained those rankings.The researchers found that societal differences in structural, social and health characteristics continue to impact death rates.

A common factor called "decision acuity" underpins diverse decision-making abilities in adolescents and young adults, suggests a study appearing May 20th in the journal Neuron. A large set of behavioral and neuroimaging data revealed that decision acuity is stable over time, distinct from IQ, and reduced in individuals with low general social functioning.

Swifts aren't called "swifts" for nothing. They're known for being among the fastest migrating small birds around. When they aren't breeding, common swifts stay in the air most of the time--up to 10 months of the year. Scientists had thought they travel about 500 kilometers per day on average. Now, new evidence reported in the journal iScience on May 20 shows that's a conservative estimate.

Biologist Sasha Mendjan at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna and his team have used human pluripotent stem cells to grow sesame-seed-sized heart models, called cardioids, that spontaneously self-organize to develop a hollow chamber without the need of experimental scaffolds. This advance, which allows for the creation of some of the most realistic heart organoids to date, appears on May 20th in the journal Cell.

The international journal Risk Analysis has published a timely special issue for May 2021, "Global Systemic Risk and Resilience for Novel Coronavirus and COVID-19." Featuring 11 papers written for this issue over the past year, the collection represents a sampling of insights and viewpoints from scholars across risk sciences and resilience analytics to guide decision-making and operations related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In research published today in Nature Communications, a team of engineers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and clinicians from Massachusetts General Hospital developed a deep learning algorithm that can help assess a patient's risk of cardiovascular disease with the same low-dose computerized tomography (CT) scan used to screen for lung cancer. This approach paves the way for more efficient, more cost-effective, and lower radiation diagnoses, without requiring patients to undergo a second CT scan.

Damage to nerve fibers in the central nervous system -- brain, spinal cord, or optic nerve -- often results in lifelong and severe disabilities, such as paraplegia or blindness. Although we are aware of various reasons why nerves fail to regenerate, their treatment has not yet led to any significant clinical successes. A research team from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) has made a discovery that could partly explain the problem and open possibilities for developing new therapeutic approaches.

In a study reported in the Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology researchers from Okayama University show that long hours in front of the television in children under 3 years of age lead to increased eyesight concerns during later years.

Researchers from Russia and Germany have created a genome-wide atlas of developmental alternative splicing changes of seven organs in six mammal species and chicken.

Study lead, Research Associate of the Neurobiology Lab Marat Minlebaev explains, "Our brain is a complex mechanism, and it's important to understand how it works. If we understand how our brain functions, we can put forth new treatment methodologies or prevent pathologies, both congenital and acquired."

Researchers have discovered a new coronavirus, found in a child with pneumonia in Malaysia in 2018, that appears to have jumped from dog to human. If confirmed as a pathogen, the novel canine-like coronavirus could represent the eighth unique coronavirus known to cause disease in humans. The discovery also suggests coronaviruses are being transmitted from animals to humans more commonly than was previously thought.

Researchers in China, Japan, and Singapore were able to resume research much quicker than their counterparts in the US and Europe after the first covid lockdowns, results of a new international survey suggest.

Two experimental drug approaches that target vulnerabilities in cancer cell metabolism may extend survival and enhance the effectiveness of standard chemotherapies for a highly aggressive type of pediatric brain cancer. The findings were reported by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers in two published studies.