PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

  PHYSICAL FITNESS STARTED IN CHILDHOOD TO ADOLESCENCE LINKED TO BETTER MENTAL HEALTH         A recent Finnish study has found that good physical fitness from childhood to adolescence is linked to better mental health in adolescence. These results are significant and timely, as mental health problems are currently a major societal challenge, affecting up to 25% to 30% of young people. These findings suggest that improving physical fitness from childhood can help prevent mental health problems. In a study by the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä and the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Eastern Finland, the physical fitness of 241 adolescents was followed from childhood to adolescence for eight years. The study showed that better cardiorespiratory fitness and improvements from childhood to adolescence were associated with fewer stress and depressive symptoms in adolescence. Additionally, the study found that better motor fitness from childho

  YOUNGER-LOOKING SKIN AIDED BY LIGHT THERAPY WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON A KAIST research team led by Professor Keon Jae Lee has developed a deep skin-stimulating LED mask, verified in clinical trials to improve dermis elasticity by 340%. Conventional LED masks, with their rigid design, fail to conform closely to the skin's contours. This limitation causes substantial light reflection, with up to 90% reflected over a distance of 2 cm, reducing light penetration and limiting stimulation of the deep skin layers essential for effective skin rejuvenation. To address these challenges, Professor Lee's team developed a face-conforming surface lighting micro-LED (FSLED) mask, which can provide uniform photostimulation to the dermis. The critical technology lies in the mask's ability to deliver uniform light to deep skin tissues while maintaining a conformal skin attachment. This is achieved through a 3D origami str

  POSSIBLE LIFE EXTENSION WITH WELL-KNOWN DRUGS         New research from biologists at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences reveals that mifepristone, a drug best known for ending early pregnancies, might also extend lifespan. The findings could pave the way for anti-aging treatments. Mifepristone, which is also used to treat Cushing's disease and certain cancers, has caught the attention of scientists exploring ways to promote longer, healthier lives. In a study involving fruit flies, John Tower, professor of biological sciences at USC Dornsife, compared the effects of mifepristone to rapamycin. This drug has demonstrated the ability to increase the lifespan of various animals. The study, published in the journal  Fly , showed that both drugs independently extended the lifespan of fruit flies. Interestingly, combining the two drugs does not offer additional benefits and a slightly reduced lifespan, suggesting they act through the same biological pathway. Resear

  MECHANISM OF HOW RED MEAT CONTRIBUTES TO CANCER DISCOVERED A new study uncovers the link between dietary iron and cancer progression, offering hope for targeted therapies.         Scientists at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and collaborators from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) have uncovered a critical link between the overconsumption of red meat and an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Their findings pave the way for new therapeutic approaches targeting telomerase, an enzyme implicated in cancer progression. Colorectal cancer, which affects the colon or rectum, is the third most common cancer globally and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Singapore. While it is known that both genetics and lifestyle factors, such as diet, contribute to its development, the exact mechanism linking excessive red meat consumption to cancer has remained unclear -- until now. In a study published in the journal  Cancer Discovery , the research

  RESEARCHERS SUGGEST EARLY OBESITY INTERVENTIONS TO PREVENT DISEASE COMPLICATIONS Obesity is a chronic, complex, relapsing disease defined by abnormal and/or excessive fat accumulation that presents a health risk. According to the WHO, at least 2.8 million people are estimated to die from obesity complications each year. Obesity in adults has more than doubled since 1990, and in 2022, the WHO estimates that 890 million adults had obesity. "That's 1 in 8 people on the planet," says Dr Abd Tahrani, IMI SOPHIA patient advisory board member. "We as doctors face a major challenge when determining who with obesity is most likely to develop obesity complications and who to prioritize for treatment. Precision medicine, driving breakthroughs in predicting, preventing, diagnosing, and treating many diseases, can help address these challenges," explains Dr. Carel le Roux, Professor of Metabolic Medicine from University College Dublin. In a paper from the IMI SOPHIA consor

  Tech can't replace human coaches in obesity treatment. Technology alone resulted in worse weight loss compared to tech and a telehealth coach.       A new Northwestern Medicine study shows that technology alone cannot replace the human touch in producing meaningful weight loss in obesity treatment. "Giving people technology alone for the initial phase of obesity treatment produces unacceptably worse weight loss than giving them treatment that combines technology with a human coach," said corresponding study author Bonnie Spring, director of the Center for Behavior and Health and professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The need for low-cost but effective obesity treatments delivered by technology has become urgent as the ongoing obesity epidemic exacerbates burgeoning healthcare costs. But current technology needs to be more advanced to replace human coaches, Spring said. In the new SMART study, people who initially only r