For the first time, engineers have demonstrated an electronic device to closely monitor beating heart cells without affecting their behavior. A collaboration between the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Women’s Medical University and RIKEN in Japan produced a functional sample of heart cells with a soft nanomesh sensor in direct contact with the tissue. This device could aid study of other cells, organs and medicines. It also paves the way for future embedded medical devices.

A new neurostimulator developed by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, can listen to and stimulate electric current in the brain at the same time, potentially delivering fine-tuned treatments to patients with diseases like epilepsy and Parkinson’s.

While completing a full marathon is a goal for many amateur runners, new research shows a shorter endurance race might put less strain on the heart.

To gauge stress on the heart among 63 amateur runners after they had run either a full marathon, a half marathon or a 10km race, the researchers assessed levels of certain proteins that are tied to heart issues.

Risk of cardiac events

People who ran a full marathon had much higher levels of these proteins than those in the other two groups, according to the study published in the journal Circulation.

However, there was little difference between the three groups in 10-year risk for cardiovascular events – an average of about 3%.

“We typically assume that marathon runners are healthy individuals, without risk factors that might predispose them to a cardiac event during or after a race,” lead investigator Juan Del Coso said in a journal news release.

“But with the growing popularity of long-endurance races, the exponential increase in the number of participants, and the lack of appropriate training in some cohorts of amateur runners, our findings suggest that running shorter endurance races might reduce the strain” on the heart, said Del Coso. He is director of the exercise physiology laboratory at Camilo Jose Cela University, in Madrid, Spain.

The number of people in the study was not large enough to fully assess differences in 10-year cardiovascular risk, but the researchers said they plan to examine this in a larger group of runners.

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Pot’s increasing potency could make it more likely that toking will interfere with users’ lives, a new study argues.

Compared to pot of the 1990s, today’s marijuana contains significantly higher levels of THC, the chemical compound that causes intoxication, the research team notes.

Increased addictive potential

This added punch may be associated with an higher risk of cannabis use disorder, researchers from the University of Michigan and Brown University conclude.

They said the THC concentration of pot confiscated by the US Drug Enforcement Agency has increased steadily from 3.5% in 1994 up to 12.3% in 2012.

Meanwhile, average risk of developing cannabis use disorder increased by about 40% with every one percentage point increase in national pot potency, they found.

“It definitely is a signal that potency of cannabis,” said senior author Brian Hicks, an associate professor with the University of Michigan Addiction Center. And there are no laws regarding potency, he added.

States with legal marijuana might want to hone their laws to make THC levels in pot products clearer for consumers, just as alcohol levels are displayed on liquor bottles, the researchers said. Currently, 10 states and Washington, D.C., allow recreational marijuana use and many more states allow medical use.

“We really need to look at the idea of regulating potency levels, and examining how potency relates to things you’d care about, like ability to drive and addiction potential,” Hicks said.

Inability to cut down

“Levels have really gone up the last five years,” particularly in pot products such as edibles and concentrates, he added.

NORML, an advocacy group for marijuana legalisation, took issue with the findings, however.

Some prior studies have suggested that cannabis use disorder rates in the United States are actually declining, not rising, NORML deputy director Paul Armentano said. And he added, “Cannabis lacks the dependence liability associated with many other controlled substances, including those that are legal.”

In the new study, Hicks and his colleagues compared federal statistics on pot potency with data gathered on participants in the Michigan Longitudinal Study. That’s an ongoing research project focused on families at increased risk for substance abuse disorders.

They specifically looked for symptoms related to cannabis use disorder, a condition recognised by the American Psychiatric Association. These symptoms might include an inability to cut down or control cannabis use, failing to meet obligations due to pot use, or using the drug even in physically hazardous situations, Hicks said.

The researchers found that regular pot users who first tried marijuana when national average THC levels held at 4.9% had almost twice the increased risk of developing symptoms of cannabis use disorder within a year.

But those who started regularly using pot when national average THC levels were 12.3% had a 4.8 times higher risk of cannabis use disorder.

Consistent principle

The study is “one of the first to show increased risk of progression to cannabis use disorder with higher potency marijuana,” said Dr Scott Krakower, assistant unit chief of psychiatry with Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York.

It’s no surprise that the more potent pot is, the higher the risk that it can lead to problematic use, said Dr Harshal Kirane, director of addiction services at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City. Both New York experts were not involved with the study.

“A consistent principle of the biology underlying addictive behaviour is that the potency of a substance usually correlates with its addictive potential,” Kirane said.

However, at this time the United States doesn’t have the knowledge to accurately set standard THC levels, he continued.

“The actual evidence base for what constitutes a reasonably safe level of THC remains unknown,” Kirane said. “In the same vigour by which we’re pushing these products, we need to fund and support research efforts to adequately characterise the health risks involved in THC use and consumption.”

Hicks agreed that future research needs to focus on practical matters relating to THC levels in pot, much as alcohol research helped policy makers eventually come up with legal blood alcohol levels that indicate inebriation.

Major health consequences

Right now, Kirane said the question, “how do we come to terms with a healthy relationship to cannabis in the same way we continue to struggle with having a healthy relationship with alcohol?” is the bigger conversation for society.

“It’s a legal substance, but it has the potential for major health consequences,” Kirane said.

NORML’s Armentano said pot’s risk for dependence needs to be kept in perspective.

“According to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, cannabis’ risk of causing dependence is far lower than that of alcohol, opiates, or tobacco,” he said.

“At worst, cannabis’ dependence impacts about one in 10 users – a figure that is on par with anxiolytics [anti-anxiety drugs] such as Valium or Xanax, and is just slightly more prevalent than the percentage of Americans dependent upon caffeine,” Armentano said.

The new study appears in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

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Living in a neighbourhood with lots of greenery just might protect your heart.

“Our study shows that living in a neighbourhood dense with trees, bushes and other green vegetation may be good for the health of your heart and blood vessels,” said study author Aruni Bhatnagar, director of the University of Louisville’s Diabetes and Obesity Center.

Lower levels of stress

For the study, Bhatnagar and his colleagues looked at the effect of neighbourhood green space over five years among people who were seen at the University of Louisville’s outpatient cardiology clinic.

Most of the participants were at risk for developing cardiovascular disease. During that time, the researchers collected blood and urine samples from 408 people of varying ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic levels.

They assessed these samples for markers of blood vessel injury and the risk for cardiovascular disease. They also measured the density of the green space and levels of air pollution where the participants lived.

Bhatnagar’s team found that in neighbourhoods with more vegetation, people had lower levels of epinephrine in their urine, which indicates lower levels of stress.

The investigators also found lower levels of F2-isoprostane in the participants’ urine, which indicates less oxidative stress and better health. The study also showed that folks from greener spaces had greater ability to repair blood vessels.

Unrecognised environmental influence

The association with epinephrine was greater among women, people who had not previously had a heart attack, and those not taking beta blockers, which are drugs that reduce blood pressure and the heart’s workload.

The findings were independent of age, sex, ethnicity, smoking habits, economic conditions, use of statins and exposure to roads, the researchers said.

But the study did not prove that greenery caused heart risks to drop; it only observed an association.

The report was published online in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

“Indeed, increasing the amount of vegetation in a neighbourhood may be an unrecognised environmental influence on cardiovascular health and a potentially significant public health intervention,” Bhatnagar said in a journal news release.

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Good sleep routines can help children get the rest they need, researchers say.

For the new report, investigators reviewed 44 studies from 16 countries in North America, Europe and Asia. The studies included a total nearly 300 000 children, aged four months to 18 years.

Limiting technology use

“Good sleep hygiene gives children the best chances of getting adequate, healthy sleep every day. And healthy sleep is critical in promoting children’s growth and development,” said review leader Wendy Hall. She’s a nursing professor and sleep expert at the University of British Columbia, in Canada.

“Research tells us that kids who don’t get enough sleep on a consistent basis are more likely to have problems at school and develop more slowly than their peers who are getting enough sleep,” she added in a university news release.

“We found good-to-strong endorsement of certain sleep hygiene practices for younger kids and school-age kids: regular bedtimes; reading before bed; having a quiet bedroom; and self-soothing – where you give them opportunities to go to sleep and go back to sleep on their own if they wake up in the middle of the night,” Hall said.

A regular bedtime is also beneficial for older kids, according to the findings published online recently in the journal Paediatric Respiratory Reviews.

The study also revealed the importance of limiting technology use just before bedtime or during the night when kids are supposed to be sleeping.

“One big problem with school-age children is it can take them a long time to get to sleep, so avoiding activities like playing video games or watching exciting movies before bedtime was important,” Hall said.

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Self-confessed cheese addict Tim Samuels discovered his favourite food needs a health warning.

If only we could keep our bodies young, healthy and energetic, even as we attain the wisdom of our years. New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science suggests this dream could be at least partly obtainable in the future. The results of this research, led by Prof. Valery Krizhanovsky and Dr. Yossi Ovadya in the Molecular Cell Biology Department, were recently published in Nature Communications.

Some transgender people get free fertility treatment but it’s not the same for everyone who’s transitioning.

If you love rice, you might be wondering how you can make it part of healthy meals. Whether you’re trying to drop pounds or stay at a healthy weight, some adjustments will let you keep it on the menu.

Rice belongs to the grain family. While grains are an important part of your overall diet, standard white rice isn’t a nutritious choice – it’s not a whole grain. What’s more, it’s a food that has 200 calories per cup, so you want to make sure that you maximise nutrients as well as flavour.

Turn rice into a meal

First, opt for brown rice, the whole-grain form, as often as possible. White rice has gone through a process that removes its fibre and many of its nutrients, including protein, iron and some B vitamins.

There are many types – and colours – of whole grain rice to sample, including brown basmati, red rice, purple Thai and Chinese black rice. Popular Wehani rice is a whole grain, reddish-brown American hybrid of basmati and brown rices. Note that wild rice is another tasty choice, though technically it’s not a rice, but rather a semi-aquatic grass. It makes a great medley when mixed with brown rice.

Also experiment with different ways to turn rice into a meal rather than a side dish. For lunch or a cold supper, load a whole-wheat pita pocket with cooked and cooled rice and chopped vegetables and top with a light vinaigrette.

Or try a cold rice salad for a to-go meal. For your protein, add in chunks of turkey, chicken, tofu or nuts, then blend in a handful of dried raisins or cranberries and a sprinkling of seasonings.

You can even get creative and make homemade sushi rolls at home. Use avocado and cucumber if you’re not a fan of raw fish.

Baked with milk, eggs, vanilla, a small amount of sweetener and cinnamon, brown rice can even make a healthy version of rice pudding for dessert or even breakfast.

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