Excess fat accumulation in the liver can contribute to the development and progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), highlighting the need for new approaches to manage the condition. Now, researchers have found that hyodeoxycholic acid (HDCA), a bile acid, can reduce liver fat in mice while also identifying the biological pathways involved. The findings suggest that HDCA could help inform the development of new approaches to managing MASLD.

A simple change in when people eat may offer a promising new approach for Huntington’s disease, according to research led by Oregon Health & Science University.

In a 12-week pilot study, researchers found that people with early-stage Huntington’s disease were able to safely follow a form of intermittent fasting known as time-restricted eating, limiting food consumption to a six-to-eight-hour window each day. Participants avoided unintended weight loss and showed improvements in measures of disease severity; in a blood biomarker linked to nerve cell damage; and in cellular energy production.

University of Warwick scientists have found that a sensor in our nerve endings that detects warm temperatures also plays a direct role in switching on chronic pain signals, a discovery that could lead to better treatments for conditions that affect millions of people.

Nanodiamonds are tiny diamond particles that usually measure mere millionths of a millimeter. They are extremely hard, stable, and heat-resistant and highly adaptable for various purposes in medicine, new materials, catalysis, and energy technology. By compressing plastic with lasers, researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of Rostock are now able to systematically produce high-purity, ultra-small diamonds of narrow size distribution. This is impossible to achieve with conventional methods such as explosions. As a scalable technology, laser compression offers great potential for improved, clean and sustainable production of ultra-small nanodiamonds.

Ateneo de Manila University study finds sari-sari stores quietly fill medicine-access gaps in remote communities, while exposing the limits of informal care.