Walking to the photocopier and fidgeting at your desk are contributing more to your cardiorespiratory fitness than you might think.
Researchers have found that both the duration and intensity of incidental physical activities (IPA) are associated with cardiorespiratory fitness. The intensity of the activity seems to be particularly important, with a cumulative 30-minute increase in moderate physical activity throughout the day offering significant benefits for fitness and long-term health.
Were dinosaurs slow and lumbering, or quick and agile?
It depends largely on whether they were cold- or warm-blooded.
When dinosaurs were first discovered in the mid-19th century, paleontologists thought they were plodding beasts that relied on their environment to keep warm, like modern-day reptiles.
But research during the last few decades suggests that they were faster creatures, nimble like the velociraptors or T. rex depicted in the movie Jurassic Park, requiring warmer, regulated body temperatures.
British researchers have identified specific resistance mutations for two classes of p7 inhibitor, which may explain their lack of effectiveness in clinical trials combined with current standard of care. Study results support the role of p7 inhibitor combinations as potential components of future HCV-specific therapies and are available in the July issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
Montreal, June 28, 2011 —Canadians aren't the only people concerned with weather, eh? A new study from McGill and Concordia universities observed pedestrians in nine cities around the world and found people are less likely to walk when temperatures dip below zero, when there's too much rain or too much snow. Published in the journal Environment and Behavior, the study was conducted over 170 days from late fall to early summer.
New research confirms that a variant on the patatin-like phospholipase-3 (PNPLA3) gene increases risk of steatosis and fibrosis progression in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). The PNPLA3 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs 738409 may represent an important genetic predictor and potential therapeutic target in chronic HCV liver damage. Study details are published in the July issue of Hepatology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
Bird species in rainforest fragments in Brazil that were isolated by deforestation disappeared then reappeared over a quarter-century, according to research results published today in the journal PLoS ONE.
Scientists thought many of the birds had gone extinct.
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and conducted in cooperation with Projeto Dinâmica Biológica de Fragmentos Florestais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Manaus, Brazil.
Targeted multi-drug treatments for hepatitis C patients that could stop the virus in its tracks have come a step closer, thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds, UK.
The study by Dr Stephen Griffin and colleagues, published in the journal Hepatology, reveals how two prototype small molecule drugs, known as p7 inhibitors, can each attack different parts of the hepatitis C virus. Their findings suggest that p7 inhibitors could be a powerful way of suppressing hepatitis C, when used together with the latest generation of 'direct-acting' drugs.
Physical exercise has a positive effect on the formation of cells in the intervertebral discs. This is shown by a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS), which is currently taking place in Gothenburg.
Use of vitamin D supplements during pregnancy has long been a matter of concern but now researchers writing in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research report that even a high supplementation amount in healthy pregnant women was safe and effective in raising circulating vitamin D to a level thought by some to be optimal. The study also found no adverse effects of vitamin D supplementation, even at the highest amount, in women or their newborns.
Children and adolescents who eat candy tend to weigh less than their non-consuming counterparts, according to a new study published in Food & Nutrition Research, a peer-reviewed journal.
This is potentially important news given the current state of the childhood obesity epidemic. But lead researcher Carol O'Neil, PhD, MPH, LDN, RD, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, wants to ensure the study is put into perspective.
Researchers from the University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology have found that certain neotropical stream ecosystems rely almost entirely on a single fish species known as the banded tetra for the critical nutrient phosphorus. In a paper recently published in the journal Ecology, the researchers, led by Gaston E. "Chip" Small, explain why this particular species plays such a crucial role—and why these stream systems are vulnerable as a result.
LOS ANGELES (June 27, 2011) – A simple item found in almost every medicine cabinet – a cotton swab -- may be a key tool in the fight against post-surgical wound infections.
CSIRO research has revealed that the tremendous diversity of ladybird beetle species is linked to their ability to produce larvae which, with impunity, poach members of 'herds' of tiny, soft-bodied scale insects from under the noses of the aggressive ants that tend them.Reconstructing the evolutionary history of ladybird beetles (family Coccinellidae), the researchers found that the ladybirds' first major evolutionary shift was from feeding on hard-bodied ("armoured") scale insects to soft-bodied scale insects.