Science Weekly - 18th Sep 2020

This week we have just over a handful of papers but the topics are pretty interesting. There is something for the geek trainer, for clients with endocrine issue, pre-natal females, the ageing population and those with eating disorders.

The highlights:
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• Healthy diet and exercise during pregnancy could lead to healthier children
• ​Ghrelin may be an effective treatment for age-related muscle loss
• ​People with anorexia and body dysmorphic disorder show brain similarities, differences
• ​Better material for wearable biosensors
• ​Time-restricted feeding improves health without altering the body's core clock
• ​A ferry protein in the pancreas protects it from the stress induced by a high-fat diet

Healthy diet and exercise during pregnancy could lead to healthier children

New research shows improving the lifestyle of women with obesity during pregnancy could mean long-term cardiovascular benefits for their children.

Source King's College London

Ghrelin may be an effective treatment for age-related muscle loss

The hormone, ghrelin, may help protect the elderly population from muscle loss, according to a new study. The study found that administering a particular form of ghrelin to older mice helped to restore muscle mass and strength. As muscle-related diseases are a serious health concern in the elderly population, these findings suggest a potential new treatment strategy for muscle loss to enable the aging population to remain fit and healthy.

Source: European Society of Endocrinology

People with anorexia and body dysmorphic disorder show brain similarities, differences

Key patterns of brain function are more pronounced with more severe symptoms
​A new study shows partially overlapping patterns of brain function in people with anorexia nervosa and those with body dysmorphic disorder, a related psychiatric condition characterized by misperception that particular physical characteristics are defective.

Source: University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences

Better material for wearable biosensors

Researchers have used electrospinning to make porous silicone that allows sweat to evaporate.

Source: Binghamton University

Time-restricted feeding improves health without altering the body's core clock

For the first time, scientists have studied the early effects of time-restricted feeding on the daily periodic oscillations of metabolites and genes in muscle, and metabolites in blood. The findings find that time-restricted feeding does not influence the muscle's core clock, and opens the door to more research on how these observed changes improve health.

Source: University of Copenhagen The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

A ferry protein in the pancreas protects it from the stress induced by a high-fat diet

Scientists have now uncovered a key mechanism by which pancreatic function is maintained in response to a high-fat diet. A protein present in pancreatic insulin-producing cells protects them from damage under the stress induced by a high-fat diet. As the world increases its intake of high-fat foods and as type 2 diabetes incidence rises as a result, this protein could be a novel therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Source: Tokyo Institute of Technology