Researchers from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre have identified three specific molecules that accurately indicate insulin resistance, or pre-diabetes - a major predictor of metabolic syndrome, the collection of medical conditions that include abdominal obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels. The finding, from a study undertaken in mice, could make earlier detection of pre-diabetes in humans much easier for doctors and allow for more personalised and effective treatments for patients in the future.

Researchers from the University of Montréal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) and the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) at the University of Calgary have discovered a medication that could make it possible to treat individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. An article published today in JCI Insight concludes that pimozide was found to be safe and over the short term, preliminary data shows that it could stabilize the progression of ALS.

Researchers at Dartmouth, Stanford University, and IBM Research, conducted a critical review of existing literature to determine whether social media big data can be used to understand communication and behavioral patterns related to prescription drug abuse. Their study found that with proper research methods and attention to privacy and ethical issues, social media big data can reveal important information concerning drug abuse, such as user-reported side effects, drug cravings, emotional states, and risky behaviors.

A small percentage of sudden cardiac arrest events are related to sexual activity, but survival rates in those cases remain low, according to a research letter published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2017. Despite these sexual activity related SCA events being witnessed by a partner, bystander CPR was performed in only one-third of cases.

Mushrooms may contain unusually high amounts of two antioxidants that some scientists suggest could help fight aging and bolster health, according to a team of Penn State researchers. In a study, researchers found that mushrooms have high amounts of the ergothioneine and glutathione, both important antioxidants, said Robert Beelman, professor emeritus of food science and director of the Penn State Center for Plant and Mushroom Products for Health.

New DNA is generated in human cells from tiny building blocks called nucleotides produced by an enzyme called RNR. Until now, we have not fully understood how exactly the RNR rhythm and the presence of right amount of nucleotides are aligned with the pace of DNA replication. Now, researchers from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen have mapped the flow and regulation of nucleotides.

Colon cancer, Crohn's, and other diseases of the gut could be better treated - or even prevented - thanks to a new link between inflammation and a common cellular process, established by the University of Warwick. Led by Dr Ioannis Nezis at Warwick's School of Life Sciences, new research demonstrates that autophagy - an essential process whereby cells break down and recycle harmful or damaged elements within themselves to keep our bodies healthy - causes tissue inflammation when dysfunctional, which in turn leaves us susceptible to harmful diseases, particularly in the gut.