Peanut allergy is among the most common, and deadliest, allergy in the US.

Read the back of any food label, and there is a good chance that you will find a notice on it saying that the ingredients of the product were processed in a factory with peanuts. This isn’t normally a problem, unless you happen to be allergic to them.

Some people are so sensitive to this type of snack food that they can go into immediate anaphylactic shock from just the powdery residue of a peanut touching their lips. And unlike other types of allergies, it doesn’t get better over time. So the recent discovery of a cure for peanut allergies is a big deal for those who have suffered from the condition for years.

Probiotics Are the Key

When children with peanut allergies were given a special blend of probiotics that contained a small amount of peanuts mixed in, over 80% of them no longer had an allergic reaction to them. So the treatment acted in a similar way to how immunizations defend the body from diseases. But the most amazing part is that the resistance to peanuts didn’t wear off afterward. When the children were checked four years later, they were still able to eat peanuts without the usual shortness of breath, swelling, and difficulty swallowing that they would normally struggle with.

To be sure of the accuracy of the study, researchers did double-blind testing. And they varied the amount of peanuts that each child ate. This allowed them to see if higher amounts of peanuts could possibly trigger a reaction.

Since the results of this medical research were so impressive, there is a chance that it could be used to help people suffering from other types of allergies too. However, further testing is still needed to know if the results are truly permanent. The data was only collected for four years. So only time will tell if the children in the study will become re-sensitized to peanuts.

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Scientists are testing the efficiency of micromotors in treating stomach bacterial infections.

A team of scientists is using tiny, autonomous vehicles or micromotors to test the delivery of drugs to try and clear bacterial infections in the stomach.

University of California, San Diego, Moores Cancer Center Department of Nanoengineering researchers led this new study. They have been conducting trials on mice to tests the utility of their autonomous vehicles.

Micromotors to be Used to Fight Stomach Infections

The micromotors produced by the team are no wider than a human hair and are autonomous. These tiny vehicles were used to clear stomach bacterial infections by delivering the necessary drugs.

The tiny robots were constructed with a magnesium core, which then reacts with the gastric acid after being swallowed. After no more than 20 minutes, the micromotors should release a stream of hydrogen bubbles. These propel the tiny vehicles and send them where they need to go.

The antibiotics released by the vehicles are set to be released as the stomach’s level of acidity diminishes thanks to oxygen. This ensures the medicine’s effectiveness. The micromotors are biodegradable, so they do not require removal or extraction.

For their study, the team tested the Helicobacter pylori bacteria. It then used the clarithromycin as its model antibiotic. The tiny robots were then used over a period of five days in treating the affected mice.

According to results, having them administer the medicine resulted in a noticeable reduction of the stomach bacteria levels. Also, no side-effects or adverse reactions of the stomach function were recorded.

The research team stated that the standard stomach PH level was restored in 24 hours.

Researchers believe that these tiny vehicles show real promise for future treatments. Ones that make use of them in treating bacterial infections and also diseases.

“There is still a long way to go, but we are on a fantastic voyage,” stated Joseph Wang, a professor and nanoengineer.

The team released their study results in a paper in the journal Nature Communications.

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The increase in the drinking habits of Americans can have dire consequences in the future of healthcare

On Wednesday, a study published in JAMA Psychiatry reported that almost 30 million adults in the U.S engage in binge drinking at least once a week. An almost same number reported alcohol abuse or dependency. The study highlights a trend that could have great implications for the costs of the U.S’s future healthcare.

The Rise in Numbers Includes All Demographics

The study shows that there has been a decrease in the numbers of young adults who drink. However, binge drinking in adults increased significantly and encompasses all demographics. What stood out the most were older Americans, citizens of lower incomes and education and minorities. Lead researcher from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Bridget Grant said that such jumps have not been seen in the last three or four decades.

A survey in 2001 first recorded the increase in alcohol drinking. A follow-up survey in 2012 resulted in an even bigger increase in risky drinking habits. The 2001 survey noted that 9.7% of adults engage in heavy drinking. The follow-up reported a 12.6%. This means that the limits set by the government of four drinks for women per day and five for men were exceeded at least once a week. The new study shows that women engaged more in binge drinking than men.

Alchohol abuse or dependence is roughly coming up to the same percentage. The 2001 survey reported 8.5% of responders admitting such behavior while the follow-up survey reported 12.7%. The surveys all featured standard questions regarding drinking habits and the difficulty of giving up these habits.

So far there is no certain explanation for the increase. The economic stress that followed the Great Recession might be a factor. At the same time, taxes on alcohol have been reduced and alcohol is available in any restaurant or retail store. Alcohol abuse can have dire consequences on health, including the risk of drunk-driving deaths and alcohol related violence.

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Scientists implanted stem cells in a specific brain region to see if it could slow down aging.

A team of researchers found evidence that a particular brain region, the hypothalamus, might be involved in the aging process through the presence of neural stem cells. As these were noted to disappear with time, the scientists implanted stem cells to see if this could help expand the lifespan.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx scientists led by Dongsheng Cai, a molecular pharmacologist, are behind this new study. Back in 2013, the team detected that the hypothalamus could be playing a role in aging. They also concluded that reducing the inflammation in the brains of the mice might also help extend the animals’ lives.

Implanted Stem Cells to Help Extend the Lifespan?

Cai and his team conducted a follow-up study. Through it, they tried to pinpoint the exact stem cells involved in the aging process. According to the study, these could be the neural stem cells, which help generate replacements for damaged or dead cells.

The study, which was conducted on mice, noted that neural stem cells start disappearing as the animal is middle aged (around ten months old). They are also seemingly completely gone as the mouse reached old age (two years old).

To analyze if neural stem cells are actually involved in the aging process, the team carried out two separate tests. In one of them, they disrupted these cells in a group of mice. These rodents were then noted to be aging faster than normal, and to live less than the others.

“There was a decline in learning and memory, coordination, muscle mass, endurance, and skin thickness,” explained Cai.

The researchers also tested the opposite. They implanted stem cells into the hypothalamus of another group of mice. Follow-ups showed that these animals lived significantly longer than the others. For example, their lifespan was 15 percent longer than that of the control group of mice.

Although the technique and the results have been described as being “totally novel and quite unexpected”, this does not guarantee them as being applicable to humans as well.

It remains to be determined through follow-up research if this is similar or the same in people, as they are more complex. Now, the researchers will be looking to conduct a trial study on the matter.

Research findings are available in the Nature journal.

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