ScienceDaily Health

Getting the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each week may offer only modest protection against heart attacks and strokes. A large study suggests that substantially greater benefits may require roughly 560 to 610 minutes a week—nearly 9 to 10 hours of brisk walking, running, cycling, or similar activity.

A protein that evolved long before the human circulatory system may help unlock stronger cancer treatments. When C3 is produced inside tumors, it blocks immune-suppressing cells and gives immunotherapy a better chance to work. Researchers were even able to recreate this effect in resistant tumors, significantly improving survival in mice.

Changing how much sweet-tasting food people eat may not change how much they crave or enjoy sweetness after all. In a six-month trial, researchers found that people assigned to high-, low-, or average-sweetness diets showed no meaningful differences in their preference for sweet foods, body weight, or markers linked to diabetes and heart disease. Many participants also drifted back toward their previous eating habits once the trial ended.

Teens who start using cannabis may experience slower growth in memory, attention, language, and processing speed. Their abilities often developed normally at first, then began leveling off while nonusers continued improving. THC appeared to be the most likely driver, especially for worsening memory.

Linus Pauling was widely mocked for claiming that vitamin C could fight cancer, especially after trials using vitamin C pills showed no benefit. Researchers now know that intravenous vitamin C reaches vastly higher concentrations and can behave more like an experimental cancer drug than an ordinary supplement. Early studies suggest it may damage vulnerable cancer cells, reduce treatment side effects, and possibly improve outcomes for some patients.

Blocking the glycine transporter SLC6A20 restored important brain signaling and improved social, communication, and repetitive behaviors in autism-related mouse models. The treatment also worked in human brain organoids and showed lasting effects in adult mice, suggesting the brain may remain more treatable later in life than previously thought.

A ten-month Antarctic experiment found that astronauts may struggle not only with loneliness but also with spending too much time around the same people. Frequent contact was linked to greater tension and mistrust, while the crew increasingly divided into cultural and language-based groups.

A new wearable patch may help people reach REM sleep faster and remain there longer without medication or surgery. In a study of 28 participants, the device shortened the time to REM by 43 minutes and extended it by about 16 minutes. Researchers also observed signs of improved stress regulation and changes in brain circuits tied to emotion.

Beginning around age 50, the brain’s memory center appears to lose many of its longtime immune cells and replace them with more inflammatory ones. This surprising shift may help explain how normal aging sets the stage for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

A long-term brain study found that common risks such as smoking, high blood pressure, heart disease, and high blood lipids were strongly linked to damage associated with vascular dementia. The findings suggest that healthier lifestyle choices could help delay dementia by reducing several harmful brain changes at once.

Genetic changes may set off a chain reaction that causes the spine’s natural shock absorbers to harden and deteriorate. Zebrafish with a faulty collagen-related gene developed mineral buildup and spinal fusion similar to human disc disease. Researchers were able to reduce the damage using an existing osteoporosis drug and by targeting fat metabolism. The discovery points to several exciting possibilities for future back pain treatments.

Tiny pollution particles from smoke, soot, and dust may worsen rheumatoid arthritis and raise the risk of painful flares, particularly after prolonged exposure. The findings suggest that avoiding poor air quality could become an important part of managing the disease.

A prescription form of THC helped many people with PTSD escape recurring trauma-related nightmares, with more than one-third reporting that the nightmares disappeared completely after ten weeks. The results could point toward a long-awaited treatment for one of PTSD’s most distressing and stubborn symptoms.

A simple change in posture may subtly affect how people feel and make decisions. Participants who sat upright reported greater feelings of pride and took more successful risks in a virtual balloon game than those who hunched over. Most did not realize researchers had influenced their posture, helping rule out the possibility that they were merely responding to expectations. The results suggest workplace ergonomics could influence more than physical comfort.

A group of brain cells called orexin neurons appears to help us keep working when reaching a reward becomes increasingly difficult. Blocking their activity weakened motivation in rats, pointing to a possible new target for understanding why people sometimes struggle to sustain goal-directed behavior.

Stanford researchers discovered immune cells in flatworms that explode within minutes, killing nearby bacteria and foreign cells before vanishing completely. Their unusually fast and localized attack could offer clues for developing targeted treatments against infections and cancer.

A specially engineered chewing gum reduced HPV by up to 93% and nearly eliminated two bacteria linked to head and neck cancer. The treatment preserved beneficial mouth bacteria, raising hopes for a safer and more affordable therapy.

Chemotherapy-surviving ovarian cancer cells may release fructose to help neighboring tumor cells loosen, escape, and spread. The discovery suggests that sugary diets and cholesterol-lowering drugs could influence cancer progression, though the effects have not yet been confirmed in patients.

Weight loss is not simply a test of willpower. The human brain evolved to protect body fat during times of scarcity, and it can treat a previously higher weight as the new normal, triggering stronger hunger, cravings, and lower energy use after weight loss. This biological “memory” helps explain why many people regain weight after dieting and why medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro can help by reducing appetite signals, although their effects may fade when treatment ends.

Low arginine levels may allow cancer cells and viruses to slip past the immune system by reducing production of a crucial cellular warning protein. In mice, arginine-rich diets led to fewer colon tumors and milder viral infections, suggesting a simple supplement could have powerful therapeutic potential.