Category Archives: Health
Adult neurogenesis and physical activity
Contrary to what was thought some years ago, the adult central nervous system is capable of generating new neurons, some of which are integrated into functional circuits and seem to be essential for processes such as memory and learning. […]
Sunscreens, health and environment: a dangerous cocktail?
Prolonged exposure to sunlight is not recommended. Even though is really important to synthesize vitamin D which helps us absorbing calcium or phosphate and maintain a mineralized skeleton, the effects of sun´s ultraviolet radiation (mainly UVA and UVB) can be […]
The smell of Alzheimer’s
Diagnosis is one of the trickiest steps in disease management for many diseases, ranging from some types of cancer to rare diseases or neurodegenerative disorders, like Alzheimer’s for instance. Even though we have been hearing long about the disease, to […]
Child obesity and brain function
The OECD report on obesity in Spain published in 2014 (PDF) presented worrying data: 1-in-6 adults is obese and more than half are overweight, including obesity. The percentage of obesity has grown in the last years and its prevalence […]
One year or one cell division older?
Author: Gerardo Ferrer got his Ph.D. in Medicine from the University of Barcelona in 2012. Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher at the Karches Center for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Research and Center for Oncology and Cell Biology, The Feinstein […]
Do mannequins have anorexia?
Anorexia nervosa is the oldest of the eating disorders. It is a serious problem with the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric disorders. We live in a epoch strongly marked by advertising and commercial references, in which different brands use […]
Growing old together; are your bacterial partners making you old?
Over the last years, we have found out more and more about the vast amount of bacteria that live with and in us. These populations have been shown to play an important role in our health and are associated with […]
Fasting against diabetes
Diabetes is a disease typically associated with old age, especially when speaking of type 2, characterized for insulin resistance, and associated with obesity and therefore, more likely to occur in old age.
A recent couple of papers published in Cell […]
Blood test for autism diagnosis
One of the priority objectives in autism research is to have a biological marker that allows early, rapid and reliable diagnosis. In the past year there have been several important studies that identified children with autism at ages as early […]
Mediterranean diet and brain shrinkage
The Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional reference originally inspired by the dietary patterns of Greece, Southern Italy, and Spain in the 1940s and 1950s. The main components of this diet include proportionally high consumption of olive oil, legumes, unrefined […]