Science Weekly - 7th January 2022

In the first edition of Science Weekly in 2022, we brought a handful of papers that have been published in the past two weeks. It looks like science is slowly picking up as the new year kicks off. Mothers-to-be and the ageing population will find helpful research this week.

Highlights:

• Dietary fiber improves outcomes for melanoma patients on immunotherapy
• Healthy diet in early pregnancy reduces risk of gestational diabetes
• Choline during pregnancy impacts children’s sustained attention
• World’s fastest blade runner gets no competitive advantage from prostheses, study shows
• Taking high-dose vitamin D supplements for five years did not affect the incidence of cardiovascular disease or cancer
• New target may help protect bones as we age

Dietary fiber improves outcomes for melanoma patients on immunotherapy

Melanoma patients receiving therapy that makes it easier for their immune system to kill cancer cells respond to treatment better when their diet is rich in fiber, according to a large, international research collaboration.

Source: Oregon State University

Healthy diet in early pregnancy reduces risk of gestational diabetes

A healthy, comprehensive diet that lowers the body's inflammation reduces the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus, reveals a new study.

Source: University of Turku

Choline during pregnancy impacts children’s sustained attention

Seven-year-old children performed better on a challenging task requiring sustained attention if their mothers consumed twice the recommended amount of choline during their pregnancy, a new study has found.

Source: Cornell University

World’s fastest blade runner gets no competitive advantage from prostheses, study shows

A new study provides the most comprehensive data ever collected from elite runners with bilateral leg amputations, including the world's fastest 400-meter sprinter, Blake Leeper.

Source: University of Colorado at Boulder

Taking high-dose vitamin D supplements for five years did not affect the incidence of cardiovascular disease or cancer

A trial found that taking a much higher dose of vitamin D than recommended for five years did not affect total mortality or the incidence of cardiovascular disease or cancer in older men and women.

Source: University of Eastern Finland

New target may help protect bones as we age

Drugs we take like prednisone can weaken our bones and so can aging, and scientists working to prevent both have some of the first evidence that the best target may not be the logical one. They are finding that in aging bone, the mineralocorticoid receptor, better known for its role in blood pressure regulation, is a key factor in bone health.

Source: Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University