UF Health Podcasts

Envy the fruit bat. They can eat twice their body weight in sugary fruit without spiking blood sugar endangering their health. In fact, you’ll see a unicorn in the wild before you find a fruit bat with diabetes.

We humans aren’t so lucky. Unlike our batty friends, we must watch what we eat. Those of us with diabetes avoid sugary treats.

The bats have evolved to accommodate their diet. A world of chocolate bars and high-carb food is a relatively modern trend. We humans can’t wait a hundred million years for a natural adaptation to fix that. So, scientists look to the fruit bat.

What’s going on in their tiny pancreases, the insulin-producing organ that regulates blood sugar?

Scientists at the University of California found that the fruit bat pancreas boasts extra insulin-producing cells compared with their insect-eating brethren. They also discovered other tiny genetic differences that allow fruit bats to process an immense amount of sugar.

A better understanding of how sugar metabolism works in this quirky species could help researchers find ways to treat people with diabetes or prediabetes. Could that knowledge one day lead to a cure?

More than 37 million Americans have diabetes, and 1 in 3 Americans are prediabetic. It’s the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S.

One other thing about those fruit bats. They don’t need a dentist. They can eat all the sugar they want without getting cavities. Their saliva is thought to play a role in that.

But don’t let bat envy eat you alive. After all, when was the last time you had to sleep upside down in a cave?

Veterinary oncology today makes use of increasingly sophisticated tools and methods for treating cancer in pets. In addition to surgery and medical therapy, or chemotherapy, radiation oncology is a veterinary specialty that entails the use of controlled radiation to treat certain types of cancer. On this show, Dr. Marilia Takada, a clinical assistant professor and veterinary radiation oncology specialist, will discuss what radiation therapy is, how it works and types of cancer it’s used most frequently to treat. She’ll also discuss why radiation therapy is often used in conjunction with other therapies to ensure the best possible patient outcomes.

Home is where the heart is — and where most of us would rather be when we don’t feel well.

Now, a new study from researchers in England suggests that finding ways to care for older folks at home is in everyone’s best interest.

For older adults, frailty can be a silent, creeping condition that makes it harder to bounce back from health problems, leading to more hospital visits and higher care needs.

A new service, designed to support those becoming frail, could change the game, reducing emergency hospital admissions by over one-third while saving money.

The tailored, home-based intervention included six personalized visits from a support worker, who helped identify specific needs to maintain independence and well-being.

The support offered home exercise programs, nutritional support, enhanced mental well-being and boosted social connections. Researchers tested the service with 388 people over age 65 who were classified as “mildly frail” across three regions of the United Kingdom. One group received the service, the other continued as usual.

The results were compelling. Those who received tailored support had a 35% reduction in unplanned hospital admissions, which saved the U.K. health care system an average of $756 per person over the year.

There were improvements in well-being, psychological distress and frailty scores. Although the service didn’t increase independence in self-care, it showed significant benefits in maintaining health and reducing hospital strain.

Now, the program can’t promise to slow the effects of aging forever — but there’s much to be said for aging in place with grace, and in your own home.

Starting college — and being away from home — can be stressful.

Heck, just being a college student can cause anxiety. Especially if you’re missing more than just your two-legged family.

Researchers at Washington State University recruited 145 first-year students for the study, all of whom had left pets back home. The group was randomly halved. One group was granted access to a therapy-dog lounge on campus where they could drop in for up to two hours at a time seven times during the semester. The other was a control group assigned to a dog-lounge waitlist.

If you’re a dog lover, it might not surprise you that the students given dog-lounge access reported far less stress, worry and depression than those who were waitlisted. They showed increased self-compassion, which is linked to better emotional regulation and well-being.

In addition, the students who got dog time saw only a slight increase in stress over the course of the semester compared with the waitlisted students.

Notably, the research team previously established that even brief interactions with therapy dogs lowers cortisol, a hormone that plays a key role in the body’s stress response.

The recent study’s goal was to see how well a less-structured program that gave students more say in how they interacted with the dogs might work. The researchers said their findings suggest that similar, informal dog-lounge programs could help students on any campus.

But they didn’t give the friendly pooches all the credit for lowered stress — interacting with the dog handlers and other students likely helped, too.

Still, we all know never to discount the power of cold noses and warm hearts.

We all know the clouds of noxious fumes coming out of our vehicle tailpipes are a health hazard. Another part of your car, however, might produce an even more dangerous hazard to the lungs.

The brakes.

British researchers found in a recent study that the particles released by brakes might actually be more of a health threat than diesel exhaust. And while exhaust is the focus of anti-pollution efforts, brake dust is mostly unregulated.

Don’t think this is a minor annoyance. Researchers found that most particles produced by traffic in urban areas come from vehicle brakes.

The scientists found that some common, copper-rich brake pads cause more stress and damage in lung cells than diesel fumes. The copper accumulates in the cells, can trigger an inflammatory response and is thought to be the main driver of the danger.

Another risk is that the copper can lead cells to behave as if they’re starved for oxygen when they are not. This can lead to cancer and debilitating lung scarring.

Ironically, electric vehicles might exacerbate the problem. That’s because their batteries make them heavier than many gas-guzzlers. This produces more brake dust as the brakes work harder to slow the car.

So, scientists say, a manufacturer would be inaccurate when describing an electric model as being “zero-emission.”

A few states restrict the amount of copper allowed in brake pads, including California and Washington. The restrictions, however, were enacted solely to protect fish and aquatic species. The worry was that the copper would wash off roadways and into waterways.

Nonetheless, it’s now clear these laws protect fish and human alike.

Blink once if you can hear this. Blink twice if you want to know what your blinking says about your health.

All of us blink on average 14 to 17 times every minute, according to the Cleveland Clinic. That means if you were to sleep 8 hours at night, you would blink somewhere between 13,000 and 16,000 times a day.

Blinking serves several purposes. It keeps the surface of our cornea clean and protects our eyes from approaching objects.

However, a change in your blinking habits might point to a health problem. Slow or infrequent blinking can be an early sign of Parkinson’s disease. Several studies have found that the rate of a spontaneous blink aligns with the activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. The lower our dopamine level, the more we fixate on one object and the less we blink.

Conversely, increased blinking indicates sleepiness. Those who are suffering from pain or experiencing very bright lights blink more frequently.

Excessive blinking often occurs when our body attempts to overcompensate for dry eye disease, such as Sjogren’s [show-grins] syndrome. Dry eye disease is common for those who use screens at work.

Experts encourage you to adopt a “blind working” technique to give your eyes a break.

Blind working involves closing your eyes during brief breaks in your workday, such as during a telephone call or waiting for a program to load on your computer. This approach combats the effects of heightened screen time, which is known to damage the glands that keep our eyes healthy.

After all, life goes by in the blink of an eye — or two — so be sure to protect them.

Scientists around the world who hope to avert the next pandemic have a plan.

A team of 25 international scientists wants to do so by conserving natural areas and protecting biodiversity. They believe this might be a better strategy than containing a pathogen already circulating in humans.

In short, they want to keep animal populations fed and safe to limit their contact with humans and, consequently, their ability to transfer pathogens to us.

Pandemics begin when disease-harboring animals, such as bats, come in proximity to people, livestock or other critters. Viruses that have spread to humans via bats include several varieties of the coronavirus, Nipah [knee-pah], Hendra and, likely, Ebola. The consequences can be deadly.

The international team of researchers, led by Cornell University, devised its strategy after two scientific papers in 2022 examined how the fatal Hendra virus moved from bats to horses to people. The research found that when bats lose their natural habitats and winter food sources, their large populations fracture into smaller groups that migrate to agricultural and urban areas.

And when bats become stressed, whether by not getting enough to eat or being forced to leave their roost, they shed more virus in their urine. When the food supply returns, so do the bats, and they stop shedding virus.

The team of scientists calls for protecting lands that buffer bats from people. This could ensure they have enough food and that humans and animals in contact with bat populations have sufficient protection.

If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, just imagine the payoff in avoiding another pandemic.

Join us for a critical conversation about keeping your pets safe and out of the emergency room! Dr. Adesola Odunayo, a clinical associate professor of emergency and critical care at UF, will share important insights into preventable pet emergencies that every animal owner needs to know. From common household hazards to unexpected risks that can quickly turn into life-threatening situations, Dr. Odunayo will provide practical, actionable advice to help pet owners recognize, avoid, and respond to potential medical dangers. Whether you’re a new pet parent or a seasoned animal lover, this show promises to arm you with the knowledge to protect your furry family members and potentially save their lives.

Falls become a very big deal as we age. Older adults often lose bone and muscle mass. That means a tumble is more likely to result in a broken bone. And worldwide, falls are the second-leading cause of death for those 65 and older.

A new study from Brazilian researchers suggests there is a better way to evaluate this risk in older adults.

Doctors typically evaluate if someone is more apt to fall by having them hold one of four positions for 10 seconds each. These positions include putting one foot directly in front of the other. A second test asks them to stand balanced on just one foot.

The other two positions are standing with your feet parallel or standing with one foot slightly in front of the other.

Ten seconds, however, isn’t enough time. Researchers found that, among the 153 people they studied ages 60 to 89, a longer time interval is required to catch early, subtle warning signs of fall risk. At least 23 seconds, they note, is ideal.

Additionally, scientists say only two positions are needed in the evaluation — the heel-to-toe and single-leg stances.

For every extra second beyond 23 that study participants could maintain the positions, their fall risk for the next six months dropped 5%.

It’s easy enough to test yourself, if you’ve got a friend and a stopwatch — that is, if you feel reasonably stable in the first place. Be careful. You don’t want to topple over and hurt yourself testing whether you’re at risk of, well, toppling over and hurting yourself.

If you can’t stay upright for 23 seconds, it wouldn’t hurt to let your doctor know. It might hurt if you don’t.

Thanks to the world’s largest ancient human gene bank — which includes bones and teeth from nearly 5,000 humans who lived across western Europe and Asia as long as 34,000 years ago — it’s no longer a mystery.

A United Kingdom-led research team traced the spread of multiple sclerosis, or MS, from its origins in what is now Ukraine, southwest Russia and west Kazakhstan to northwestern Europe.

The disease walked its way across the land, traveling along with the Yamnaya [Yum-nye-uh] people, who with their sheep, cattle and newfangled wheeled wagons were a population-defining migration.

Europeans today are a genetic mixture of three ancestral populations: hunter-gatherers, first farmers and what had been considered an unknown “Ancient North Eurasian population” from the east. Those were the Yamnayans.

The Yamnayans carried with them the genetic variants associated with a risk of developing MS. In their case,  the genes were a blessing, likely shielding them from infections they might otherwise have caught from their herded animals.

The researchers analyzed data from a new gene bank of ancient DNA, created in the past five years.

The gene bank is the first of its kind in the world. The tested bones and teeth are in museums that span from Europe to western Asia. The researchers hope to glean more from the relics about the roots of autism, bipolar disorder, ADHD,  depression and schizophrenia.

So spare a moment, if you will, for our hunter-gatherer, iron-tool wielding and even our marauding Viking ancestors. What they left behind may help us all.