Vitamin D can help treat damaged beta cells in pancreas that produce, store and release the hormone insulin, paving they way for a new approach to treat diabetes, scientists say. When beta cells become dysfunctional, the body cannot make insulin to control blood sugar and levels of glucose can rise to dangerous levels. Researchers from Salk Institute in the US accomplished their goal by using an unexpected source: vitamin D. Vitamin D in cells and mouse models proved beneficial in treating damaged beta cells. It also provided new insights about gene regulation that could be applied to developi ... Read More

People experiencing blurred vision or decreased colour sensitivity need to get their eyes checked as these seemingly minor problems may actually indicate retinal diseases that account for a significant share of the vision loss burden in the world, experts have warned. Retinal diseases often get underdiagnosed as people feel no pain when symptoms start showing up and the other eye often compensates for the poor eye, experts from the All India Opthalmological Society (AIOS) said at a workshop on retinal disease here. ... Read More

Mental health services are failing to adequately support students when they leave home and move to university, allowing them to fall through the gaps at a time of increased vulnerability and stressful new pressures, according to research. With suicide rates among students on the rise and a sharp increase in demand for mental health support – as much as three-fold in some institutions – universities have acknowledged in a report that current services are letting students down. The Universities UK report, Minding Our Future, states that the number of students dropping out with mental health ... Read More

UCSF researchers compared levels of the stress hormone cortisol in 338 kindergartners whose families annual incomes ranged from less than 10,000 dollar to 200,000 dollar-plus. The research team found that the average cortisol level among 113 of low-income children who lived in poor neighborhoods reached the 75th percentile. But when they looked at cortisol levels in 32 low-income children living in better-quality neighborhoods, the average was in the 45th percentile, the researchers report in the May 8, 2018, issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. ... Read More

An app developed by the Swedish government to curb drinking among university students actually led to them drink more, while a globally popular fitness app made almost no difference to the weight of those who used it, a review of the effectiveness of health apps has found.Researchers from Bond University in Queensland decided to examine which health and wellness apps, of the quarter of a million available, had been proven to actually work, in the hope that they could provide doctors with a list of evidence-based apps to suggest to patients. ... Read More

If you are into coffee, you are always on a lookout for the perfect place to enjoy it. Not only do coffee shops provide ready-to-go caffeine boosts, they also happen to be excellent entertainment venues for people-watching. ... Read More