Dentists also saw improvements in patients’ cholesterol and fatty acid levels, both associated with heart health

If a looming root canal treatment is putting a dampener on the week, take heart: having the procedure can drive health benefits that are felt throughout the body, according to research.

Patients who were successfully treated for root canal infections saw their blood sugar levels fall significantly over two years, suggesting that ridding the body of the problematic bacteria could help protect against type 2 diabetes.

Dentists also saw improvements in patients’ blood cholesterol and fatty acid levels, both of which are associated with heart health. Yet more benefits were seen around inflammation, a driver for cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions.

Nearly 1 in 30 clinical trials were interrupted by funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health, affecting more than 74,000 patients and research into cancer, infectious disease and more, according to a newly published paper.

Clinical trials are the best way for researchers to study how medical interventions affect a patient population, doctors say.

"The types of trials that are affected are among the most rigorous way that we generate scientific evidence: randomized clinical trials," said Dr. Anupam B. Jena, a study author and professor at Harvard Medical School. "It would be one thing if studies affected by terminated grants focused on less rigorous or important forms of research, but clinical trials are important, gold-standard in terms of evidence generation, time-intensive, and costly. Those are the last types of studies we would want to stop mid-stream."

Women under 50 who have a diet high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) stand a greater risk of having abnormal growths in their bowel that can lead to cancer, research suggests.

Ultra-processed foods are typically defined as industrially produced products that are often ready-to-eat, contain little in the way of whole foods, fibre and vitamins, and are typically high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and food additives.

While the concept is not without controversy, not least around whether all UPFs are unhealthy, studies have suggested such foods are associated with a host of health problems, from higher risk of heart disease to early death.

Dr Andrew Chan, the lead author of the study based at Massachusetts General hospital in the US, said the study was prompted by an effort to understand what was driving rising rates of bowel cancer in younger people.

Researchers say they believe they've documented the first known death from alpha-gal syndrome

a red meat allergy caused by tick bites.

The findings, by researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The report says a 47-year-old airplane pilot in New Jersey fell ill four hours after eating a hamburger at a barbecue in 2024. The man's son found him unconscious on the floor of a bathroom surrounded by vomit. The man was declared dead at a hospital. The autopsy cited a "sudden unexplained death."

Two weeks before he died, the man had become ill several hours after eating a steak dinner, waking up with abdominal discomfort, writhing in pain, having diarrhea and vomiting. "I thought I was going to die," he told his son. But the man and his wife decided not to consult a doctor, saying they weren't sure how to explain what had happened.

Marketing or celebrity-led treatments for toddlers and upwards described as ‘ridiculous’ and lacking in skin benefit

Dermatologists have criticised an actor’s new skincare brand, calling it “dystopian” for creating face masks for four-year-olds, warning that the beauty industry is now expanding its reach from teenagers to toddlers.

It comes as a growing number of brands are moving into the children’s, teenage and young adult skincare market. In October, the first skincare brand developed for under-14s, Ever-eden, launched in the US. Superdrug has just created a range for those aged between 13 and 28.

A number of brands have surged in popularity among very young social-media users, creating a phenomenon known as “Sephora kids”. These children share videos showcasing beauty products from Drunk Elephant, Bubble, Sol de Janeiro and similar brands.

Heya,

I'm very noise sensitive, which is mainly an issue at night when I try to sleep.
I've been told I should get custom-made earplugs, as those over-the-counter don't really do anything for me.

Does anyone have experience with this? As I'm having trouble finding good resources.
I also live in a country without good quality products of just about anything, so I've been thinking of getting like the shape of my ear scanned here, and then sending it to a place in Europe that would create these earplugs for me.

Thanks for any help!

Researchers say they finally understand the connection between the autoimmune disease and Epstein-Barr virus.

One of the most common viruses in the world could be the cause of lupus, an autoimmune disease with wide-ranging symptoms, according to a study published Wednesday.

Until now, lupus was somewhat mysterious: No single root cause of the disease had been found, and there is no designated treatment for it. 

The research, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, suggests that Epstein-Barr virus — which 95% of people acquire at some point in life — could cause lupus by driving the body to attack its own healthy cells.

Poor diet, inactivity and obesity believed to have caused hypertension for millions of under-19s around the world

The rate of children and teenagers living with high blood pressure globally has nearly doubled because of a toxic combination of unhealthy diets, mass inactivity and soaring levels of obesity, according to the largest review of its kind.

Experts said 114 million children who have developed hypertension even before reaching adulthood were facing potentially deadly and lifelong harm, including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and a myriad of serious health complications.

The prevalence of high blood pressure in children and teenagers under 19 has increased to 6.2%, rising from 3.2% in the space of just 20 years. The findings, based on a meta analysis of data from 96 studies involving more than 400,000 children across 21 countries, were published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal.

More Americans are injecting themselves with unapproved chemicals that are pitched as ways to build muscle, rejuvenate skin and extend life, the latest example of the nation’s fascination with alternative therapies and wellness hacks.

Behind the trend is the surging popularity of GLP-1 weight loss medications, a class of so-called peptides approved to help users quickly shed pounds.

But the peptides being promoted by influencers, celebrities and wellness gurus are different: Many have never been approved for human use and much of their purported evidence comes from studies in rats and other animals. Several peptides, such as BPC-157 and TB-500, are banned by international sports authorities as doping substances.

Exclusive: ‘Deep-rooted injustices’ affect billions of people due to location of wells, pipelines and other infrastructure

A quarter of the world’s population lives within three miles (5km) of operational fossil fuel projects, potentially threatening the health of more than 2 billion people as well as critical ecosystems, according to first-of-its-kind research.

A damning new report by Amnesty International, shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that more than 18,300 oil, gas and coal sites are currently distributed across 170 countries worldwide, occupying a vast area of the Earth’s surface.

Proximity to drilling wells, processing plants, pipelines and other fossil fuel facilities elevates the risk of cancer, respiratory conditions, heart disease, premature birth and death, as well as posing grave threats to water supplies and air quality, and degrades land.

Baby formula maker ByHeart is recalling all of its products amid an outbreak of infant botulism likely tied to its powdered formula.

Since August, 15 cases have been reported across 12 states, nearly all among babies between 16 days and around 5 months old, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

After the FDA announced Saturday that it was investigating the outbreak and its link to ByHeart's organic Whole Nutrition Infant Formula, the company recalled two lots of the product. ByHeart then expanded the recall Tuesday to include all batches of the formula, both in cans and "anywhere packs" — small, sealed pouches.