A team of scientists claims that fungi are at their most nutritious when grilled or microwaved.

A team of Spanish researchers set out to determine the best and healthiest of cooking fungi. To do so, they put to the test four standard methods. Then, they compared their results on four different types of mushrooms.

Research results were released in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. Its tests were carried out on the four most commonly eaten types of fungi at a worldwide level. Namely, they tested the shiitake, white button, oyster, and king oyster mushrooms. These were either grilled, deep fried, microwaved or boiled.

Fungi Should be Grilled or Microwaved to Maintain their Nutritional Value

The team determined that you can make the most out of a mushroom’s nutritional value by choosing to the shortest preparation times. Mushrooms are both rich in fiber, antioxidants, and protein content and low in fat and calories. So their cooking method is quite important as it may result in either a partial, total, or nonexistent loss of nutritional properties.

The Spanish researchers compared the fungi’s antioxidant levels in cooked and raw mushrooms. Which revealed that boiling them in large quantities of water enhanced their betaglucans fraction but decreased their antioxidant value.

Fried mushrooms were noted to suffer the highest losses in both protein and carbohydrate content, while their fat and energy levels rose.

Grilling and microwaving were noted to have the best cooking results. These methods resulted in the highest antioxidant activity values while also sustaining the least losses. The team considers that these results could be based on the fact that such methods require fewer liquids. These can reduce the final, cooked product’s nutritional value and properties.

 “[..] the adequate selection of the culinary method is a key factor to preserve the nutritional profile of this highly consumed food,” stated Irene Roncero, one of the study authors.

The team also found that using some oil also helped bring out the fungi fatty acid while also maintaining a low-calorie content. But only in a small quantity, and olive oil seems to have the best effects.

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A new study went to discover the reasons why bed bugs are becoming harder to kill.

A new study went to discover the reasons why bed bugs are becoming harder to kill. According to this research, these have seemingly become more resistant to most common insecticides used to terminate them.

Research results were released earlier this week in The Journal of Economic Entomology. The study team found bed bugs have started showing a lower susceptibility to most pesticides, especially to the two most common ones. These latter are known to contain bifenthrin and chlorfenapyr.

This Is The First Study To Point Out The Increased Pesticide Resistance Of The Bed Bugs

In order to confirm their theory, the research team tested 10 bedbug species. These were collected from across several states including Virginia, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Ohio. They were also gathered from Indiana and Washington DC. Then, the researchers subjected the collected specimens to a pesticide treatment.

Also, the team used a strain known to be susceptible to these insecticides as a control group. As such, they compared the impact of bifenthrin and chlorfenapyr on the two groups. The study went to verify how long it took before their effects started to kick in.

As it is, research noted that killing the collected specimens required a higher concentration of insecticides when compared to the control group. The bugs in this latter group died three days after being exposed to bifenthrin. It also took seven days before their exposure to chlorfenapyr killed them.

However, both these time frames were stretched out in the case of the 10 test populations. These took longer to perish after being exposed to the same quantity of such pesticides. Nonetheless, the research team pointed out as follows.

These ‘pesky insects’ are not unstoppable. “[…], both bifenthrin and chlorfenapyr should be integrated with other methods used for bed bug elimination in order to preserve their efficiency in the long term.”

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A new study believes to have found a new way of ameliorating Parkinson symptoms.

A new study believes to have found a way of ameliorating Parkinson symptoms. The research team considers that it may be able to do so by injecting a modified virus into a specific brain part. By doing so, they should be able to reprogram cells in order to help treat the disease.

People who have Parkinson’s disease have trouble controlling their movements. According to research, this happens as some of their dopamine-producing neurons start dying off. Dopamine is seen as a brain signaling chemical.

Now, this latest study proposes a new way of replacing such neurons. Research was carried out by a team of Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden scientists. They published their results in a paper in the Nature Biotechnology journal.

The research team, led by Ernest Arenas, tested its new method in lab tests on mice. These latter had already lost their brain’s dopamine neurons.

Parkinson Symptoms Could Reportedly Be Reduced, Even Treated, With Help From This New Method

The researchers stated that they injected the study mice with a specifically modified virus. This latter was engineered so as to carry 4 exact genes. These were used for reprogramming astrocytes which are also seen as the support cells of the brain. They were then turned into dopamine-producing neurons. Some 5 weeks later, the researchers started seeing an improvement in the way in which the mice moved.

“They walked better, and their gait showed less asymmetry than controls”. This is according to Arenas, the study lead.

The research team stated that the effects of its virus were only localized in the specific injection area. They did not notice astrocytes turning into dopamine-producing neurons in any other brain region. Also, they did not observe any adverse reactions nor did they see signs of tumors or other such counter effects.

As it is, the team stated that it would have to improve the technique and carry out careful safety checks before even trying such a technique on humans. Nonetheless, preliminary tests found that it may potentially be useful in humans as well.

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Leptospirosis, the fatal disease, is a bacterial infection that was transmitted through rat urine.

Health officials are warning pet owners about a rat-borne fatal disease. In New Jersey, more and more dogs are affected by leptospirosis. This fatal disease is a bacterial infection that was transmitted through rat urine. The officials mentioned that more than 10 dogs are being treated in New Jersey.

This infection can be deadly if it’s not caught early. Two dogs already died due to the fatal disease. The others are in critical condition. Health officials stated that dogs can get infected if they drink puddle water. This is why pet owners should be alert at all times in order to stop their dogs from drinking street water.

When the pet owners observe any symptoms they should get the dog to the veterinarian. If the fatal disease is caught early it can be treated. When the condition is in an advanced stage, antibiotics don’t have the same effect. The bacterial infection causes organ failure in the final stage.

This disease can be dangerous for people too. A man died from this condition in February. Other two people got sick. Health officials mentioned that, at the moment, there are no cases of human leptospirosis. The only way to get infected is to come into contact with rat urine. People who work around these animals should be extra careful.

Pet owners should look for symptoms like loss of appetite, urination problems, and fever. If their dog suffers from any of these problems, they should take it to the doctor immediately. Once the dog receives antibiotics it will start to feel better.

“Once it gets into the bloodstream it starts to cause inflammation inside of blood vessels in various organs, one of the more common things to occur is kidney failure” specialist Benjamin Davidson said.

Pet owners should know that there is a vaccine available that can prevent this disease. They should take the dog to the veterinarian in order to give them the preventive vaccine for this fatal condition. Doctors believe that the numbers of cases of leptospirosis are beginning to rise due to the fact that it is hotter outside and people are starting to take their pets out for a walk.

What is your opinion about this fatal disease? Have you heard about it?

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