Our ideal non-pandemic stories of 2020

2020 has been hard, and COVID-19 has dominated our headlines for substantially of the yr. But absent from the pandemic, the earth of wellness and medication has continued to deliver fresh research, new therapies for outdated disorders, and surprising developments that will have an affect on our wellbeing up coming calendar year.

To seize this, and supply relief to our viewers from the wall-to-wall COVID-19 coverage, Medical Information These days launched a typical attribute referred to as The Restoration Place — a weekly roundup of stories that are in no way linked to COVID-19.

This week’s Recovery Space characteristics 10 of the most common, interesting, and major news content we released in 2020. We hope you take pleasure in our choice, and we search forward to bringing you the newest professional medical news and evidence-backed details through 2021.

Until eventually then, the MNT staff would like to want you a pleased getaway and a balanced New Year!

Table of Contents

1. Honeybee venom kills aggressive breast most cancers cells

In September, we described on what Prof. Peter Klinken, the chief scientist of Western Australia, named “another amazing case in point of where by compounds in nature can be employed to deal with human ailments.”

Experts have uncovered that the active ingredient of honeybee venom fast kills two types of hard-to-address breast most cancers cells. How it does this might also make it handy in blend with existing chemotherapy medications.

Study much more right here.

2. 2nd human being treated of HIV many thanks to stem mobile transplant

In March of this 12 months, MNT noted on only the next circumstance of a human being getting fixed of HIV pursuing a stem mobile transplant.

The first case was in 2007, when a man or woman with HIV who afterwards made acute myeloid leukemia obtained treatment employing a transplant of stem cells from a donor who was virtually immune to HIV. This stem cell transplant not only handled the patient’s leukemia, but it also remedied their HIV infection.

In the newest circumstance, the human being obtained a transplant with stem cells that did not specific the CCR5 gene, which provides a protein that allows the virus enter cells. Following the transplant, medical doctors later confirmed that the patient’s HIV viral load remained undetectable in blood samples.

Understand more listed here.

3. Could AI exchange the finger prick blood sugar take a look at?

2020 was marked by many developments in the environment of well being technological know-how, with artificial intelligence (AI), machine finding out, and even smartphones discovering new health care purposes.

In January, MNT covered a study that applied AI to detect changes in blood sugar by examining the heartbeat. The authors of the analyze hoped that this process could exchange finger prick tests and also enable real-time checking of blood sugar levels. This could, for example, drastically shorten the amount of time that a man or woman with diabetes activities hypoglycemia.

Learn more right here.

4. Overall body temperature: What is the new typical?

Our write-up on a analyze that discovered regular human physique temperature drops by .03°C each and every ten years captivated around 2.7 million views this calendar year.

Summing up the results, Dr. Julie Parsonnet, a professor of medicine, wellbeing research, and coverage, and the senior creator of the review, explained, “[O]ur temperature’s not what folks think it is.”

In the short article, we looked at the historical past of measuring overall body temperature, no matter whether or not the impact is down to variations in how we evaluate temperature, and what physiological adjustments might explain it.

Find out additional here.

5. Means to reduce excess weight is not affected by age

It is never ever too late to maintain a average pounds, according to new analysis coated by MNT earlier this month.

United Kingdom scientists analyzed how a lot bodyweight persons misplaced after taking part in an weight problems system. Those people in the about-60 age group misplaced an ordinary of 7.3% of their human body fat, though the members in the below-60 age group misplaced 6.9%.

“Age should really be no barrier to life-style administration of being overweight,” concludes the direct researcher. Our report proved preferred this 7 days, with virtually 30,000 sessions to date.

Find out extra listed here.

6. Really high dosages of vitamin D may delay frailty in old age

With approximately 300,000 reader periods considering the fact that Oct, our report on the probable gains of significant doses of vitamin D was a single of our most well known posts this calendar year.

MNT lined exploration indicating that reduced degrees of vitamin D may perhaps be a aspect in determining the severity of COVID-19 in people today. Nevertheless, its job in the class of the condition continues to be unclear.

This new post experiences on a examine in mice. The review implies that a dosage of vitamin D five times the latest advisable amount for older grownups could sluggish the development of frailty. Researchers now require to confirm that these an sum of vitamin D is both of those risk-free and successful in humans too.

Find out a lot more here.

7. Health supplement may possibly assistance melt away fat very long after training

The human microbiome has highlighted in a lot of articles all through 2020 – so a lot of that previously this 12 months, we introduced a unique source covering all you need to know about the microbiome.

In this post from January, we seemed at a new hunger suppressant created by stabilizing and strengthening the outcome of a molecule produced obviously by intestine bacteria.

Scientists in the U.K. identified that the suppressant decreases the urge to take in large calorie meals. It may perhaps also aid maximize the price of reasonable workout for pounds decline, even without a improve in diet regime.

Master far more below.

8. Eating dried fruit joined to improved total diet and wellbeing

This recent story on the health added benefits of unsweetened dried fruit attracted all around 40,000 visitor classes.

Researchers found that the study contributors who ate important quantities of dried fruit tended to have a much better diet program, a reduced entire body mass index, a smaller sized waistline circumference, and reduced systolic blood tension than people who did not.

That said, these persons also eaten more energy on the days on which they ate dried fruit. On the other hand, they compensated for this by expending far more power.

The analyze also suggests that eating dried fruit tends to improve whole fruit intake fairly than change other sorts of fruit. So, encouraging folks to try to eat a lot more dried fruit ought to raise overall fruit intake.

Understand a lot more below.

9. Health care myths: Vegetarian and vegan eating plans

Vegetarian and vegan diets have been specifically well known in 2020, but are they normally healthful? Is body weight decline guaranteed? Do vegans and vegetarians get adequate nutrition from the food stuff they consume, or are supplements generally necessary?

This post immediately emerged as one of 2020’s most common, with in excess of 162,000 sessions in the 5 days since its publication. Look out for more Medical Myths from MNT‘s Senior News Editor, Tim Newman, in 2021.

Discover a lot more in this article.

10. In Dialogue: Two HIV diagnoses and the big difference a decade will make

MNT launched a new HIV and AIDS hub on Entire world AIDS Working day, December 1. It is a in depth resource gathering the newest facts on the transmission, indications, and cure of HIV.

It also functions this In Conversation report by Dr. Yella Hewings-Martin. Dr. Hewings-Martin spoke to Prof. Robert Garofalo and Christopher, who each reside with HIV but who received their diagnoses about a ten years aside. They talked over their ordeals, how treatment for people today residing with HIV has changed, and the obstacles that keep on being to this day.

In a first for MNT, we also presented the conversation as a podcast, as perfectly as a Highlight video that handles the highlights.

Master extra right here.

We hope this gives a style of the tales that we deal with at MNT. We will be again with a new variety upcoming yr.

Coming soon: A sneak preview of what’s in our drafts folder

We publish hundreds of new stories and features each thirty day period. Right here are some impending articles that might pique our readers’ fascination: