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Category Archives: Wellness Live
AI vs superbugs: UK invests millions to tackle drug-resistant infections
The UK turns to artificial intelligence (AI) to reverse the rising numbers of infections that shrug off antibiotics.
A surprising CBD advance calms pain without side effects
Many people use CBD-infused oils and lotions believing they offer an easy and relatively low-risk way to ease discomfort. However, scientists still have a limited understanding of how CBD actually interacts with the nervous system.
The popularity of cannabis-based products has risen sharply over the past ten years. One major reason is the 2018 federal decision to remove hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, which allowed hemp-derived CBD to be legally sold and widely distributed. As a result, CBD is now commonly available in oils, creams, and cosmetic items. It is widely accepted that CBD does not cause a ‘high’, but its effects within the human brain and body remain poorly understood. At this time, the Food and Drug Administration only approves CBD as an additional treatment for certain types of epilepsy, and it advises against its use during pregnancy.
“We need to understand more about this compound, what mechanisms it interacts with in the brain, its impact on the body, and whether it is a potentially safer solution for treating the chronic pain epidemic,” said Kuan Hong Wang, PhD, professor of Neuroscience and member of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester. Working with researchers at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, Wang’s lab recently showed in mice that they could deliver CBD directly to the brain to relieve neuropathic pain without producing harmful side effects. These results were published in Cell Chemical Biology.
A New Way to Deliver CBD to the Brain
The main obstacle for researchers was the blood-brain barrier, a protective system that shields the brain from harmful substances. While essential for brain health, this barrier significantly limits how much CBD can enter the brain, especially because CBD does not dissolve well in water. As a result, very little of the CBD taken in its usual oil form reaches the brain.
To address this challenge, staff scientist Jingyu Feng, PhD, the study’s first author, helped create a specialized delivery method called inclusion-complex-enhanced nano-micelle formulation, or CBD-IN. This approach encloses CBD molecules within water-soluble nano-micelles, which are considered safe for use in foods and medicines.
Tests in mice showed that CBD-IN triggered pain relief within half an hour. Importantly, the mice did not experience the common side effects often linked to conventional pain medications, such as problems with balance, movement, or memory. “The pain relief also lasted through repeated use,” said Feng. “We did not see its effect wear off over time.”
How CBD-IN Affects the Nervous System
With the help of imaging tools and genetic mapping, the researchers found that CBD-IN reduces excessive nerve activity in areas of the brain and spinal cord involved in processing touch and pain. This effect only appeared in regions experiencing abnormal activation, such as after a nerve injury. Healthy neurons were unaffected.
Another unexpected result was that CBD-IN did not rely on the well-known cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) typically involved when THC or other cannabis compounds act in the body. “Instead, CBD-IN seems to influence broader electrical and calcium signaling in nerve cells, offering a new way to control nerve hyperactivity without triggering the ‘high’ or dependency risks associated with traditional cannabinoids or opioids,” Feng said.
Potential for Treating Chronic Pain and Other Brain Disorders
“The broader implication of this research is that nanotechnology can make natural compounds like CBD more effective and precise,” said Wang, co-senior author of the study. “By enhancing brain delivery and targeting only disease-related neural overactivity, this strategy could open new doors for treating chronic pain and possibly other neurological disorders, such as epilepsy or neurodegenerative diseases, where abnormal nerve activity plays a central role.”
This work was carried out through a collaboration involving the University of Rochester, Harvard Medical School, and Boston Children’s Hospital. Additional contributors include Jessica Page, PhD, and Leeyup Chung, PhD, both co-first authors, and Zhigang He, PhD, co-senior author, from Harvard Medical School. Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health and the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience.
Chronic pain may dramatically raise your blood pressure
- Chronic pain appears to play a meaningful role in raising the risk of developing high blood pressure.
- How long the pain lasts and where it occurs both influence that risk, and part of the connection is explained by depression and inflammation.
- Researchers say the results underscore how important effective pain management can be for preventing and controlling high blood pressure, a major driver of cardiovascular disease and death.
Chronic Pain Linked to Rising Blood Pressure Risk
Chronic pain in adults may raise the likelihood of developing high blood pressure, and factors such as where the pain is located, how widespread it is, and whether a person also has depression appear to play important roles. These findings come from new research published today (November 17) in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.
An evaluation of health information from more than 200,000 adults in the U.S. showed that individuals who experienced chronic pain throughout their bodies had a higher chance of developing high blood pressure compared to those reporting no pain, short-term discomfort, or pain limited to one region.
“The more widespread their pain, the higher their risk of developing high blood pressure,” said lead study author Jill Pell, M.D., C.B.E., the Henry Mechan Professor of Public Health at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom. “Part of the explanation for this finding was that having chronic pain made people more likely to have depression, and then having depression made people more likely to develop high blood pressure. This suggests that early detection and treatment of depression, among people with pain, may help to reduce their risk of developing high blood pressure.”
Understanding High Blood Pressure and Its Dangers
High blood pressure and hypertension occur when blood presses too strongly against vessel walls, increasing the chance of heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure, including stage one or stage two hypertension (blood pressure readings from 130/80 mm Hg to 140/90 mm Hg or higher), affects nearly half of adults in the U.S. It is also the leading cause of death nationally and worldwide, according to the 2025 joint American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guideline endorsed by 11 other organizations.
Earlier studies show that chronic musculoskeletal pain — pain in the hip, knee, back or neck/shoulder that lasts for at least three months — is the most common form of long-term pain in the general population. The new study examined how the presence, type, and distribution of pain across the body relate to later high blood pressure.
Inflammation and depression are already recognized as contributing factors for high blood pressure; however, Pell noted that no previous research had evaluated how much these elements might explain the connection between long-lasting pain and future hypertension.
How Researchers Collected and Measured Pain Data
Participants completed a baseline questionnaire describing whether they had experienced pain in the previous month that interfered with daily activities. They identified whether the pain occurred in the head, face, neck/shoulder, back, stomach/abdomen, hip, knee or across the entire body. Those reporting pain also indicated whether symptoms had persisted for more than three months.
Depression was assessed through a questionnaire asking about depressed mood, disinterest, restlessness or lethargy during the previous two weeks. Inflammation was measured using blood tests for C-reactive protein (CRP).
Key Findings After Long-Term Follow-Up
After an average follow-up period of 13.5 years, the results showed:
- Nearly 10% of all participants developed high blood pressure.
- Compared to people without pain, those with chronic widespread pain faced the greatest increase in risk (75% higher), while short-term pain was associated with a 10% higher risk and chronic pain in a single location was tied to a 20% higher risk.
- When looking at pain locations, chronic widespread pain was linked to a 74% higher risk of high blood pressure; chronic abdominal pain to a 43% higher risk; chronic headaches to a 22% higher risk; chronic neck/shoulder pain to a 19% higher risk; chronic hip pain to a 17% higher risk; and chronic back pain to a 16% higher risk.
- Depression (11.3% of participants) and inflammation (0.4% of participants) explained 11.7% of the connection between chronic pain and high blood pressure.
“When providing care for people with pain, health care workers need to be aware that they are at higher risk of developing high blood pressure, either directly or via depression. Recognizing pain could help detect and treat these additional conditions early,” Pell said.
Expert Perspective on Pain, Inflammation and Hypertension
Daniel W. Jones, M.D., FAHA, chair of the 2025 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology High Blood Pressure Guideline and dean and professor emeritus of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson, Mississippi, said, “It is well known that experiencing pain can raise blood pressure in the short term, however, we have known less about how chronic pain affects blood pressure. This study adds to that understanding, finding a correlation between the number of chronic pain sites and that the association may be mediated by inflammation and depression.”
Jones, who was not involved in the study, recommended further research using randomized controlled trials to explore how different pain management strategies influence blood pressure. He highlighted the importance of understanding how Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen may raise blood pressure.
“Chronic pain needs to be managed within the context of the patients’ blood pressure, especially in consideration of the use of pain medication that may adversely affect blood pressure,” said Jones.
Study Limitations and Participant Characteristics
The researchers noted that the study population mainly consisted of middle-aged or older white adults of British origin, which means the findings may not apply to people of other racial or ethnic backgrounds or younger age groups. Pain levels were self-reported, and the study relied on clinical diagnostic coding, a single pain assessment, and two blood pressure measurements.
How the Study Was Designed
Study details, background and design:
- The analysis used data from the UK Biobank, a large population-based project that recruited more than 500,000 adults ages 40-69 between 2006 and 2010. Participants lived in England, Scotland and Wales.
- This study focused on 206,963 adults. The average age was 54 years; 61.7% were women, and 96.7% were white adults.
- Overall, 35.2% of participants reported chronic musculoskeletal pain; 62.2% reported chronic pain at one body site; 34.9% had chronic pain at two to three musculoskeletal sites; and 3.2% reported pain at four sites.
- Compared with participants without pain, those reporting pain were more often women, had less healthy lifestyle patterns, larger waist circumference, higher body mass index (BMI), more long-term health issues, and were more likely to live in areas with higher unemployment, lower home and car ownership, and more overcrowding.
- Researchers adjusted for factors associated with both pain and high blood pressure, including self-reported smoking status, alcohol intake, physical activity, sedentary time, sleep duration, and fruit and vegetable consumption.
- Data from the UK Biobank was gathered through a touch-screen questionnaire, interview, physical measurements (height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure), and blood samples for cholesterol and blood sugar (hemoglobin A1c).
- Hospital records were used to identify high blood pressure using standard International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Problems and diagnostic codes (ICD-10 codes).
- The follow-up period was measured from baseline until one of these events occurred: a diagnosis of high blood pressure, the participant’s death, or the end of available follow-up records. The first of these events marked the end of follow-up for each participant.
Bake Off winner and Strictly star John Whaite reveals steroid addiction
The Strictly runner-up says he began taking steroids because he was unhappy with his body.
CRISPR unlocks a new way to defeat resistant lung cancer
Researchers at ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute have demonstrated that turning off the NRF2 gene with CRISPR technology can make lung cancer cells responsive to chemotherapy again. By blocking this gene, the treatment restores how tumors react to common cancer drugs and slows their growth. The study was published on November 14 in the journal Molecular Therapy Oncology.
This advance builds on more than ten years of work at the Gene Editing Institute, where scientists have closely investigated NRF2 and its role in therapy resistance. Their findings showed consistent results in both laboratory tests using human lung cancer cell lines and in animal studies designed to mirror real tumor behavior.
“We’ve seen compelling evidence at every stage of research,” said Kelly Banas, Ph.D., lead author of the study and associate director of research at the Gene Editing Institute. “It’s a strong foundation for taking the next step toward clinical trials.”
Expanding the Impact Beyond One Cancer Type
The study focused on lung squamous cell carcinoma, a fast-growing form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that represents 20% to 30% of all lung cancer cases, according to the American Cancer Society. More than 190,000 people in the U.S. are expected to receive a lung cancer diagnosis in 2025.
Although the work concentrated on this specific disease, the findings point to broader applications. NRF2 overactivity plays a major role in chemotherapy resistance in several solid tumors, including cancers of the liver, esophagus and head and neck. These results indicate that CRISPR approaches aimed at NRF2 could eventually help restore drug sensitivity across multiple treatment-resistant cancers.
“This is a significant step toward overcoming one of the biggest challenges in cancer therapy — drug resistance,” Banas said. “By targeting a key transcription factor that drives resistance, we’ve shown that gene editing can re-sensitize tumors to standard treatment. We’re hopeful that in clinical trials and beyond, this is what will allow chemotherapy to improve outcomes for patients and could enable them to remain healthier during the entirety of their treatment regimen.”
Pinpointing a Mutation That Shields Tumors
The team focused on a tumor-specific mutation in the NRF2 gene known as R34G. NRF2 serves as a master controller of how cells respond to stress, and when it becomes overly active, cancer cells are better able to survive chemotherapy.
To counter this, researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 to engineer lung cancer cells carrying the R34G mutation and then knocked out the NRF2 gene. This change restored the cells’ responsiveness to widely used chemotherapy drugs such as carboplatin and paclitaxel. In animal models, tumors treated directly with CRISPR to remove NRF2 grew more slowly and responded more effectively to chemotherapy.
“This work brings transformational change to how we think about treating resistant cancers,” said Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., senior author of the study and executive director of the Gene Editing Institute. “Instead of developing entirely new drugs, we are using gene editing to make existing ones effective again.”
Significant Benefits Even With Partial Gene Editing
One of the most notable findings was that editing only 20% to 40% of tumor cells was enough to enhance chemotherapy response and reduce tumor size. This insight is important for clinical treatment, since altering every cancer cell in a tumor may not be possible.
For mouse studies, the researchers delivered CRISPR using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), a non-viral system that offers efficiency while limiting the risk of unwanted genetic changes. Sequencing showed that the edits were highly targeted to the mutated NRF2 gene, with very few unintended modifications elsewhere in the genome.
“The power of this CRISPR therapy lies in its precision. It’s like an arrow that hits only the bullseye,” said Banas. “This level of specificity with minimal unanticipated genomic side effects offers real hope for the cancer patients who could one day receive this treatment.”
Ask A GP: Is ‘Nordic Walking’ Better Than 10,000 Steps?
Amidst what can sometimes feel like a barrage of exercise advice, the NHS says that the benefits of a simple walk often go “overlooked”.
The movement, after all, is linked to better heart, brain, and mental health.
And, some posit, “Nordic walking” may be even better for you than the “regular” kind.
It’s been associated with higher calorie expenditure and less joint pain than going for a normal stroll, while some research suggests it may even ease chronic fatigue.
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Here, we spoke to Dr Giuseppe Aragona, GP and medical adviser for Prescription Doctor, about why “Nordic walking” seems to be so good for us – and how it stacks up against the oft-repeated 10,000 steps rule.
What is “Nordic walking” and is it better than 10,000 steps?
Nordic walking involves using two poles to propel yourself as you walk. It was first popularised in the ’90s by skiers, hoping to build their strength off-season.
Because it involves the use of your torso and arms, it engages more of your muscles (up to 90% vs regular walking’s 50-ish %, Harvard Health said).
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“In many ways,” Dr Aragona told HuffPost UK, “it offers advantages over simply aiming for 10,000 steps a day”, provided you move enough to meet fitness recommendations.
After all, she explained, the figure “was never based on robust medical evidence; rather, it emerged as a marketing concept in the 1960s.
“What we now know is that meaningful health benefits can be achieved with far fewer steps, and that the quality and intensity of movement matter just as much as the number of steps taken.”
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Nordic walking may be a more vigorous activity, the GP continued, because it gets more of your body moving.
“Studies suggest it can increase energy expenditure by around 20% compared with ordinary walking at the same speed, so people often achieve a moderate-intensity workout more quickly,” she stated.
“For most adults, around 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week is the recommended target, and Nordic walking is an excellent way to meet that… Nordic walking can make each step ‘count’ a little more towards cardiovascular fitness.”
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Who might benefit most from “Nordic walking”?
Dr Aragona explained that the technique is an excellent choice for those suffering from joint pain, “including those with mild-to-moderate osteoarthritis”.
That’s because “The poles act almost like a support system, distributing some of the body weight through the arms and reducing the load going through the hips, knees, and ankles. This can make walking more comfortable and allow people to walk further or more confidently than they might otherwise manage.”
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Additionally, Nordic walking encourages better posture and a longer stride – both of which the GP says can reduce stiffness.
And the added stability and balance the poles offer “can reduce the fear of falling and allow [people] to remain active, important for joint health in the long run”.
The sport, which is often associated with older people, can “be an excellent full-body workout for any age group,” as “It strengthens the core, improves coordination, and provides a cardiovascular boost without the higher impact of running,” Dr Aragona shared.
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“Younger adults who find walking ‘too easy’ often enjoy the increased challenge and pace they can achieve with poles,” she ended.
“It can also be ideal for people recovering from injury, those who want a low-impact form of cross-training, or anyone looking for an outdoor activity that improves fitness and strength simultaneously.”
Green Surge Continues As Party Rakes In Record-Breaking Donations Amid Soaring Popularity
The Green Party has raked in £4 million in donations since Zack Polanski became leader, it has emerged.
The huge windfall – which is almost as much as the party usually raises in a year – comes as the Greens enjoy a huge surge in popularity.
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A poll earlier this month put the party ahead of Labour for the first time
Membership numbers have risen to more than 150,000, with 78,000 signing up last month alone – leading to the huge boost in the party’s coffers.
Left-winger Polanski was only elected the Green Party leader in September, but since then its rise has been meteoric.
He said last week that the Greens are “now the real opposition in British politics”.
“The only party able to hold this failing Labour government to account while also taking the fight to Reform,” he said. “This isn’t a protest vote; it’s a movement. And we’re only just getting started.”
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The boost to the party’s war chest will allow them to spend far more money campaigning ahead of next May’s elections in Scotland, Wales and England.
Richard Wilson, the Greens’ head of finance, told The Times that the sudden influx of cash will allow the party to spend money on things it could not afford previously.
He said: “For the first half of this year, I’ve been spreading the message that our money is extremely tight and we have to be really, really controlled and disciplined.
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“I’ve spent a lot of time saying no to things and I was getting in the habit of being unpopular, because I was saying no all the time to some quite important and essential pressing matters.”
But following Polanski’s election as leader, Wilson said his message had changed.
“I started saying no less emphatically,” he said. “And then at a certain point, I started saying yes, and now I’m saying, ‘please, you need to start thinking seriously about how to spend all this money that we’ve got’. So I’m actually urging them to come up with good ideas.”
The boost to the Greens’ financial firepower is potentially bad news for Labour, who are believed to have already lost millions of voters to the party since last year’s general election.
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A poll for Savanta last week showed that the Greens now lead Labour among 18 to 25-year-olds in a dramatic turnaround on a year ago.
Chris Hopkins, the pollster’s political research director, told HuffPost UK: “While other age groups are perhaps more likely to turn to Reform, among younger adults it seems to be the Greens that benefit.
“This support for the Greens is far more pronounced among young women, and the younger ages in our cohort, but does perhaps point to the issue Labour now face: they are bleeding voters of all ages to all sides, and a strategy to win them all back is an impossible needle to thread.”
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Will The Beast In Me Get A Season 2? What We Know About The Netflix Show’s Future
This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s The Beast In Me.
Critics may not be unanimously sold on Netflix’s new thriller The Beast In Me, but that certainly hasn’t stopped people from bingeing the series in their droves.
Released on the platform last week, the eight-part mystery drama stars Homeland’s Claire Danes as a woman who begins to grow suspicious about her new next door neighbour, portrayed by Matthew Rhys.
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At the time of writing, The Beast In Me was number one on Netflix’s list of most-watched shows in the UK, with those who’ve already binged it pondering whether the story could continue in some capacity.
With that in mind, we’ve got good news and bad news for fans of The Beast In Me hoping for more from the show…
So, will there be a season 2 of The Beast In Me on Netflix?
First, the bad. The Beast In Me is billed on Netflix as a “limited series”, and as anyone who’s now binge-watched all eight episodes will know, the story is a self-contained one that clearly wasn’t created with the intention of continuing the story.
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However, that doesn’t necessarily mean there couldn’t be more from the drama in the future, as Netflix shows like Beef and Monster were originally conceived as one-offs, only to be brought back when they proved popular with viewers.
So, given that The Beast In Me has already soared to the top of Netflix’s most-watched chart, it’s definitely not beyond the realm of possibility that the team behind it might look at bringing it back.
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In fact, it’s something showrunner Howard Gordon has already expressed interest in…
What has the team behind The Beast In Me said about a possible season 2?
Asked about the possibility of more episodes in the future, Gordon told TV Insider: “The short answer is, I would say, sure […] I think there probably is a story there.”
But while – spoiler alert – Matthew Rhys would not be back for any future episodes, the showrunner also told TheWrap: “To the extent that Aggie is a writer who has been delivered to this next stage of her life, whatever that stage is… if there is a story, there might be more.”
He also teased: “I am tempted by the character of her grifter father in some way. We’ll see how the show does and if an idea comes. But I think they’d be open to more.”
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Who else stars in the cast of The Beast In Me?
Besides Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys, the show features an impressive array of stars including…
- Brittany Snow
- Natalie Morales
- Deirdre O’Connell
- David Lyons
- Tim Guinee
- Hettienne Park
- Bubba Weiler
- Aleyse Shannon
- Julie Ann Emery
- Will Brill
- Kate Burton
- Bill Irwin
- Leila George
Find out more about where you might have seen the stars of The Beast In Me before here.
The Beast In Me is now streaming on Netflix.
Pauline Quirke’s family on her dementia: ‘She’s still funny and recognises us’
The family of the Birds of a Feather actress say “she’s still funny, she’s talking, she’s happy”.
