Date & Issue

January 2024

Week 4

General Health 👽

Your gut flora is also now responsible for kidney stones

Working as a doctor in urology really taught me men can experience pain close to that of childbirth (here’s the evidence). Kidney stones are the culprit. This study found changes in all three microbiomes (gut, urinary and saliva) were linked to kidney stone formation. This genuinely reminded me to take my probiotics this morning.

A new class of antibiotics discovered after 60 years through AI

Antibiotic resistance (responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019) is a pressing issue; we’ve had 60 years of trial and error with no avail. However, AI is proving successful. The explainable AI platform has detected a new class of antibiotics to fight against multi-drug-resistant pathogens. If you know me, you know I love AI, so this is excellent news.

Study: plastic water bottles contain 240,000 detectable nanoplastics

Nanoplastics are far worse than microplastics; they are smaller and, therefore, can easily enter the bloodstream and seep into organs.

Mind & Brain 🧠

Guayusa tea and Lion’s Mane boost cognitive performance, study finds

I’m a sucker for caffeine; recently, having titrated down my reliance on coffee, I’ve been looking for alternative stimulants. Yerba mate, as recommended by Dr Andrew Huberman, has been a game changer working on calls and night shifts. However, I’ve just bought a bag of Guayusa loose-leaf to add to the mix. Let’s see how this goes.

Smoking found to shrink your… brain

Smoking shrinks the brain, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine. The findings help explain why smokers are at high risk of age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease.

Irregular sleep may increase your risk of dementia

The study involved 88,094 people with an average age of 62 in the United Kingdom. They were followed for an average of seven years. After adjusting for age, sex and genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease, researchers found that those with the most irregular sleep were 53% more likely to develop dementia than people in the middle group.

Longevity & Ageing ⏳

Study shows flies that eat less live longer (at ANY age)

While human trials have shown evidence of the beneficial effects of eating less on health, especially in healthy obese individuals, studies examining effects on lifespan have been unrealistic for humans. Fruit flies fed a high-sugar, high-protein, high-calorie diet that mimics the processed modern diet have metabolic changes similar to obese humans. Switching these obese flies to a low-calorie diet, even very late in life, can dramatically change their metabolism and extend their lives.

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