Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh just developed an HIV detector. Their work can take scientists one step closer to finding the cure for this condition as this new detector is both very sensitive and extremely efficient. The findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine.

The scientists mentioned that this test can accurately show how much of the HIV virus remains in the body of a patient after he or she underwent conventional therapy. This can help people slow the spread of the disease, even when the HIV virus is not active. The name of the HIV detector is TZA. It detects a gene that is only active when self-replicating HIV is present.

Dr. Phalguni Gupta, the senior author of the study, announced the discovery. He mentioned that this is going to help both patients and doctors. Researchers who try to find ways to eradicate latent reservoirs of the HIV virus can also be helped by this new detector as it is very sensitive and it can tell doctors if a person has any virus left in their bloodstream.

“Globally, there are substantial efforts to cure people of HIV by finding ways to eradicate this latent reservoir of virus that stubbornly persists in patients, despite our best therapies,” Gupta

The HIV virus infects vital cells that help the body protect itself against other infections. HIV leads to a lower number of immune cells which makes the body more susceptible to infections. Recent HIV therapies help patients keep the virus under control. Despite this fact, the virus is still capable of hiding in immune cells and reappear after some time.

This new HIV detector shows the results in just one week. In comparison, other HIV tests like Q-VOA show the virus in more than 2 weeks. The new HIV detector is also less expensive than other tests. This new method requires a smaller amount of cells and blood which makes it safe for children. It also detects the virus when it is not active.

The researchers discovered that the TZA can detect even the smallest HIV virus samples. They also observed that HIV patients that were considered to be cured actually have around 70 times larger dormant virus.

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STATES CHRONICLE -Vaccination is very important, especially for small children who have a higher risk of diseases. In Germany, a new law could fine parents who don’t vaccinate their children when necessary. This law could be introduced to lower the risk of diseases.

Hermann Gröhe, the health minister, mentioned that this law is necessary. Germany doesn’t want to make vaccination obligatory. Officials just want to make sure that parents seek medical advice on vaccination. If this law is approved, kindergartners staff need to report all parents who can’t prove that they have taken their children to a medical consultation.

The law, that could be adopted next month, is going to affect the children whose parents failed to seek vaccination advice. These kids can even be expelled from their kindergartens and their parents could be fined. The Bundersrat (upper house of German Parliament) mentioned that forcing the staff from kindergartens to report parents could breach data protection laws.

In other European countries, vaccination is mandatory. Parents are obligated to vaccinate their children against 12 common illnesses including polio, hepatitis B, and measles. The same law was adopted in Italy last week after the country was affected by a devastating measles outbreak.

The main factor that caused the European measles epidemic was the low rate of vaccination. In the area where the rate was lower, the number of measles cases exponentially increased. In Germany, more than 410 measles cases were reported since the beginning of the year. Last year, there were only 325 cases for the whole year.

In Europe, the most cases of measles were reported in 7 countries which include Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Switzerland, Romania, Italy, and France. The most affected countries are Romania and Italy. To avoid the epidemic from spreading even more, parents should vaccinate their children before they enroll them in school or other public institutions. Also, WHO mentioned that all people should receive a second measles jab.

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STATES CHRONICLE – A new study published in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience discovered that fathers are influenced by the gender of their toddler. Those who have daughters exhibit a different behavior and have different brain responses than those who have sons. It seems that they pay more attention to the child’s needs if she is a girl.

Fathers are more open to emotions when it comes to their daughters

Researchers discovered that fathers tend to be more attentive if they have daughters. They are more open to expressing their emotions, as well as engaging in a gentler playtime, including singing and storytelling. When it comes to boys, they are a bit tougher, since they think their sons should grow up less sensitive.

Jennifer Mascaro, the lead author of the study and a professor at Emory University, said that fathers of girls were more likely to respond when their child cried out than fathers of boys. Also, they use a different kind of language.

Fathers use more analytic words with their daughters, which might drive them to earn academic success in the future. On the other hand, they might be a little hard on boys by using achievement-driven language, which should determine them to be more competitive. Therefore, it seems that they are more likely to accept the girls’ feelings than the boys’ feelings.

Unconscious cognitive differences between toddler gender

Besides the different behavior, men also had a different cognitive response regarding their children’s feelings. Brain scans showed that they were more responsive to happy facial expressions on their daughters. The activated areas of the brain were related to visual processing, emotion regulation, and reward.

Researchers explained that that this behavior is not intentional. All these reactions come unconsciously, as they want their children to fit certain social standards. Anthropologist James Rilling explained the phenomenon.

“These biases (…) actually reflect deliberate and altruistically motivated efforts to shape children’s behavior in line with social expectations of adult gender roles that fathers feel may benefit their children.”

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STATES CHRONICLE – A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience warns people that chronic sleep deprivation is much more dangerous that they could have expected. Extreme feelings of exhaustion might be caused by an impairment in one’s brain capacity, which might be a direct cause of sleep deprivation. The study suggests that lack of sleep might actually make the brain eat itself.

Performing brain scans on mice to see how they react to sleep deprivation

For the research, scientists looked at how mice brains reacted when they had a normal sleep patterns, when they awoke spontaneously, and when they suffered sleep deprivation and chronic sleep deprivation.

By using an advanced software, they analyzed the processes and synapses which took place in the frontal cortex of the mice. This technique is called block-face scanning. When looking at the mice with an irregular sleep pattern, they noticed that certain cells were more active than others. These cells, called astrocytes, were found to break down parts of the brain.

More precisely, sleep loss caused these astrocytes to consume entire portion of synapses. Researchers explained that this might be the brain’s way to get rid of ‘debris’ and keep itself clean. Besides, sleep loss also influences other cells as well.

Sleep deprivation activates microglial cells

Microglial cells are also responsible with ‘cleaning’ the brain. They look for unnecessary cells or damaged neurons which are no longer needed in the brain and get rid of them. These represent around 15 percent of all brain cells and are also found in the spinal cord.

Researchers noticed how chronic sleep deprivation (meaning around five days of staying awake) activated the microglial cells. This is quite worrying, since even a small level of activation in these cells can lead to the occurrence of brain disorders. For instance, prolonged activation of the microglial cells is present in patients with Alzheimer’s.

Therefore, long-term sleep deprivation might lead to serious damage to the brain. If people spend too many nights without sleep, they are in danger of losing vital cells from their brain and then gradually lose their cognitive capacity.
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A new study conducted by scientists at Stanford University shows that fitness trackers can be good at measuring heart rate, but don’t measure burned calories accurately. Since this trend became more and more popular among people who work out, researchers warn them not to rely on these devices to to settle for a diet.

To conduct this study, scientists monitored 60 participants who tested 7 fitness trackers. The fitness trackers that were tested included Fitbit Surge, Microsoft Band, Apple Watch, MIP Alpha 2, Basis Peak, PulseOn, and Samsung Gear S2. The volunteers were asked to perform several types of exercise, including running, cycling, and walking.

Measuring Burned Calories

Researchers noticed that 6 out of 7 fitness trackers were great at measuring heart rate, showing an error rate smaller than 5 percent. Samsung Gear S2 was the only one with a rate of almost 7 percent. When it came to measuring burned calories, the devices showed a high error rate. The rate exceeded 20 percent, which is extremely inaccurate. PulseOn displayed the highest inaccuracy.

This is problematic, especially for those who use fitness trackers to lose weight. These people can be misled by the high number of burned calories and eat more than they should. Therefore, people are advised to consider the limitations of fitness trackers.

Don’t Base your Diet on Consumed Calories

People also need to be aware of the fact that everybody burn calories differently. For instance, walking 10,000 steps can burn from 400 to 800 calories. The number of burned calories depends on the weight and height of the person who performs the exercises. Therefore, don’t base your diet on the results from your fitness tracker.

Fitness tracker producers should be more transparent when it comes to their algorithms, and be aware that not all bodies work the same. However, such devices still have a positive effect on people. They are motivated by these fitness devices to do more and more physical activity.

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STATES CHRONICLE – A new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests sleeping less than six hours at night may be linked to the development of heart disease. The risk of death from cardiovascular causes is higher in people suffering from metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Poor sleep and metabolic disease are a deadly combination

The study warns people exposed to more cardiovascular risks to get enough sleep. If they rest for less than six hours, their risk of dying from a stroke or heart attack is double than that of people with a lower blood pressure or with a quicker glucose metabolism. If they spend enough time sleeping, the risk diminishes visibly.

This research is different from others on the subject, as it does not question participants on their sleep habits. Scientists selected 1,344 people with an average age of 49 and asked them to spend one night in a laboratory. There, they measured their sleep duration and how it influences the risk of death according to their cardiovascular history.

The risk gets higher if a person doesn’t get enough rest

Around 39.2 percent of the participants had at least one risk factor of the three present in the metabolic syndrome, together with high cholesterol and triglycerides. They were supervised for a period of 16.6 years, during which 22 percent of the participants died.

People with risk factors were more likely to die of heart disease that those without risks even if they slept for more than six hours, namely the risk was 1.49 times bigger. However, if they suffer from sleep deprivation, the risk gets 2.1 times bigger.

Therefore, researchers advise people who suffer from such problems to seek medical help to improve their sleep patterns. Even though the study was merely observation, there is a clear link between poor rest and cardiovascular deaths, so people should take this issue into consideration.
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STATES CHRONICLE – A recent report published in the journal Pediatrics revises the guidelines concerning fruit juice consumption in infants and children. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that babies younger than 1 should keep away from juice. Instead, they should drink more water and milk, and eat whole fruits rather than drink their juice.

Fruit juice might lead to teeth problems and childhood obesity

Until now, the guidelines advised parents to start giving fruit juice to their babies starting with six months of age. However, researchers discovered that introducing the children so quickly with the juice puts them at risk of developing childhood obesity and tooth decay.

Pediatricians say that, one children get to taste fruit juice, they get used to the sugar and refuse to drink water. Also, parents should not offer their kids juice in sippy cups. Most of them tend to keep the cups in their mouths all day, thus consuming more calories than it is advisable. Also, this is not good for the teeth either.

New guidelines concerning juice consumption

Therefore, pediatricians revised the fruit juice guidelines for the first time since 2001. This beverage is a good source of vitamin C, calcium, and an additional source of water. The drink has always been regarded as healthy, but it might come with some harmful effects as well.

Fruit juice is rich in calories, but it lacks fiber and protein. Since these substances are absent, children might gain either too much weight, or not enough. Also, their teeth might have to suffer. Therefore, juice consumed in inappropriate quantities is bad.

Children have always been the top juice drinkers, but parents need to know how much they should be allowed to consume. The most recent guidelines are the following. Children younger than 1 should not drink fruit juice at all. Between 1 and 3 years, 4 ounces are recommended.

Children aged between 4 and 6 should drink between 4 and 6 ounces, while children older than 7 should only drink 1 cup, or 8 ounces of juice. This is less than the previous guidelines indicated. Fruit juice does not necessarily lead to further problems, but it is a risk factor and it should not be consumed excessively.
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STATES CHRONICLE – Chagas disease is one of the top five neglected parasitic infections, as it is a severe condition that spreads quickly. A new study, published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, found that Trypanosoma cruzi, the virus which causes Chagas disease, is more deadly than previously reported.

Chagas Disease: The Neglected Condition

A group of researchers from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, monitored around 8,000 people who donated blood between 1996 and 2000. They observed how more than 2,800 donors had Chagas disease when they donated blood. The other 5,684 tested negative for the condition. Afterwards, scientists monitored the records of the ill patients for the next 14 years.

They also cross-referenced their records with death certificates from the Brazil National Information System. They saw how, during the 14 years of monitoring, more than 5.5 percent of the Chagas-positive patients died. In comparison, only 1.7 percent of the patients that tested negative for Chagas disease died.

During chronic stages, the disease can cause intestinal complications and cardiac abnormalities. Therefore, researchers were able to note Chagas as a cause for cardiac-related deaths. Results prove people who contracted the disease are 18 times more likely to develop heart disease.

“The fact that Chagas disease was not reported as an underlying or associated cause of death on the death certificate of 42% of seropositive donors that died due to cardiac causes demonstrates under ascertainment of Chagas disease pathogenesis, highlighting its status as a neglected tropical disease,” the researchers write.

Kissing Bugs

Kissing bugs (triatomine bugs) are the ones which spread the T. Cruzi virus, causing Chagas disease. They are called kissing bugs because they bite sleeping people on their eyes or lips. The virus is transmitted through their feces, which they leave near the bite. Sometimes, this virus might not even cause any symptoms.

Despite being asymptomatic, the disease can result in death. There is no vaccine for Chagas, so the only solution is to decline the kissing bug population to stop the spread of the condition. Scientists are currently looking for effective ways to kill the bugs.

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STATES CHRONICLE – A family from Oregon lived some terrifying moments when they saw their daughter suffer temporary paralysis after she got bitten by a tick. They caught everything on video, which then went viral on Facebook. The family wanted to make it public to raise awareness on the dangers of tick bites.

Video of girl experiencing sudden paralysis goes viral

The Lewis family watched their daughter Evelyn how she was struggling to stand and, when she tried to make a few steps, she went limp. Next morning, they helplessly watched her how she couldn’t move her legs, and her arms were almost paralyzed, too. At that moment, they decided to rush the little girl to the hospital.

Fortunately, doctors immediately found what was wrong. They discovered an American dog tick attached to the girl’s hair. Doctors removed it, and the girl’s condition had started improving immediately. Next day, she was even able to start walking again.

The warm season brought ticks back

The danger of tick bites is real, especially during warmer seasons. Higher temperatures brought ticks back to life, and they are now widespread in various areas of the United States. Bites might happen quick, so people are advised to be careful where they let their kids play. For instance, Evelyn got bitten only after 30 minutes of playing outside.

Doctors say people should remove the ticks from their skin immediately, by using a tweezer. Then, they should identify it and know what risks they have been exposed to. There are various complications caused by ticks, such as Colorado tick fever, Lyme disease, or many other illnesses.

Tick bite-induced paralysis occurs pretty rarely, and it should subside 24 hours after it has been removed. The video of Evelyn should work as a warning for people to be careful with these insects, and also know what to look for if they experience sudden paralysis.
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STATES CHRONICLE – Last month, a teenager from Richland County, South Carolina, suffered a sudden cardiac event induced by the ingestion of too much caffeine. Davis Allen Cripe, aged 16, drank a latte, soda, and energy drink in two hours. The same morning at high school, he collapsed on the floor of his classroom and later died.

Too much caffeine led to arrhythmia

Until May 15^th, nobody knew why the boy died. Then, the results of the investigation came out and revealed that drinking too much caffeine led to him suffering a fatal cardiac event. The morning of the incident, Davis drank a large Mountain Dew, a McDonald’s latte, and an energy drink, all within two hours.

All these drinks contained a significant quantity of caffeine, which was ingested in a much too short timespan. This led to an arrhythmia which then triggered the fatal cardiac event. Everybody was left speechless, as the boy was not aware of suffering from any previous heart conditions.

Regulate your caffeine consumption

Davis’ parents suffered a great loss, describing their son as a great kid with a heart of gold and an amazing personality. His father, Sean Cripe, held a press conference on Monday and warned all parents to pay attention to their children, as death might sometimes come from unexpected causes.

“We worry about their safety, their health, especially once they start driving, but it wasn’t a car crash that took his life, instead it was an energy drink.”

He also advised parents to supervise the caffeine consumption of their children, and teenagers to stop drinking such beverages. Highly caffeinated drinks, as well as energy drinks, are dangerous and bring only apparent benefits.

Many people have problems in managing their daily caffeine intake, as most of them consume too much of the substance. Experts recommend people not to drink more than three of four cups of coffee a day, which translates as 400 milligrams of caffeine. Consuming more than that can put your life in danger.
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