UF Health Podcasts

When it comes to aging, it hits hard for everyone — men, women, and fruit flies. A new study from researchers in California explored how these tiny insects, with a lifespan of just two months, can help scientists understand the cognitive decline associated with aging.

Researchers found that a protein called filamentous actin, or F-actin, builds up in the brains of aging fruit flies, disrupting a crucial cellular cleanup process. This glitch in the system leads to an accumulation of cellular waste, impairing brain function and contributing to cognitive decline. By tweaking specific genes in the flies’ neurons, scientists were able to prevent F-actin buildup. That boosted cellular recycling, extending the flies’ healthy lifespan by about 30% … which, granted, for a critter who lives about sixty days, isn’t much.

Interestingly, the researchers noted that fruit flies on a restricted diet not only lived longer, but also had less F-actin in their brains. Similarly, when treated with a drug known to promote longevity, there was a noticeable reduction in F-actin. These findings point to a significant link: F-actin appears to interfere with the body’s cellular garbage disposal system, leading to the decline of brain health.

Like most studies in these tiny insects, we have a ways to go before we can apply their findings to humans — although it adds yet another avenue for future research on cognitive health as we grow older.

And, on the upside: While we may have no cure, our slide into old age (and all of its associated problems and annoyances) still happens at a slower pace than that of a fruit fly.

If you love those naughty high-carb foods that are high in sugar and bad for your heart, now you’ve got someone to blame.

Ancient pre-humans.

A recent study in the journal Science offers a reminder that so-called good carbs were a dietary staple that helped our ancestors survive in a harsh world. It also serves as a reminder of the kinds of carbs that won’t clog your arteries.

Scientists found that present-day humans have a rich variety of a gene called AMY1. They say the more AMY1 genes you have, the more carbohydrates your body can digest.

An analysis of ancient DNA also showed that these carbohydrate-friendly genes emerged long before the advent of modern society’s so-called “bad carbs.” Think chocolate, ice cream, and pasta.

In fact, the study traced the gene back at least 800,000 years in our evolutionary lineage, long before homo sapiens emerged from the African savannah. The duplication of these genes so long ago supports the idea that they helped humans digest wild grains.

Humans transitioned from being exclusively hunters and gatherers to farmers starting roughly 10,000 years ago. That transition was eased by this ancestral genetic foundation.

Not all carbs are unhealthy. Good carbohydrates are unprocessed foods that keep body sugar and weight low. They’re rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber and include legumes, starchy vegetables, millet, and oats.

Processed foods high in carbs, however, can lead to diabetes or heart disease.

The study provides insight into the role of genetics in shaping the modern diet and a lesson that the past is prologue — except that our ancestors would have been hard-pressed to find a donut shop.

It’s not just mothers who should be screened for postpartum depression. New dads are also at risk and should also be checked.

That’s the upshot of a study by researchers at the University of Illinois-Chicago. After interviewing and screening new fathers, 30% of them were found to have symptoms of postpartum depression. While that figure might seem intuitive, the researchers said it serves to underscore the importance of self-care for new dads.

New fathers can find themselves heavily stressed, often trying to juggle work, parental, and marital responsibilities. And, the researchers noted, men are often not doing well — but no one is asking them about it.

The study arose from earlier research looking at how lower-income women of color didn’t prioritize their own health care after having a child. While studying that dynamic, the researchers began chatting with new fathers to see how they were doing. In some cases, the answers were troubling.

Sometimes, the researchers noted, even reaching out to new dads isn’t as easy as it is for depressed moms. Believing that well-baby visits aren’t the only place to reach dads, the researchers also started talking to fathers-to-be during obstetrician visits.

Screening new dads could also have a spinoff effect: Talking to new dads about their mental health is important because it can also impact their partner’s health.

In fact, the researchers said, a woman is more likely to get postpartum depression if she has a depressed partner. Meanwhile, other studies have pegged the depression rate of new fathers at 8% to 13%.

So, new dads, take note: Staying mentally healthy can help you and your whole family.

You’ve probably heard the old saw that “curiosity killed the cat.”

In the case of one Florida feline, however, his curious nature

led to a worthwhile discovery that might help human health.

Meet Pepper, a black cat owned by John Lednicky [Led-nick-ee], a research professor at the University of Florida. Pepper — paws and claws and all — helped UF researchers discover the first jeilongvirus [jay-long-virus] in the United States.

Pepper killed a mouse earlier this year and brought it to Lednicky as a “trophy,” as cats often do. The professor, wondering if the mouse might carry mule deerpox, took it to his lab for testing.

It was found to be positive for jeilongvirus, which previously had not been seen in the U.S. Before then, it was known to exist in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America.

Most humans have little direct contact with jeilongviruses’ main hosts, wild rats and mice. Similar viruses can be deadly, but there is no record of the virus sickening humans.

Jeilongviruses are part of a viral family called paramyxoviruses [para-mikes-oh-viruses], some of which include germs that make us sick, like the ones that cause measles and mumps.

Since the discovery, the researchers have grown the jeilongvirus in the lab, where they have been studying its traits. The next step is to see if the virus has affected humans in Florida. The researchers believe the virus is a candiate for a “spillover,” which is when a virus jumps from animals to humans.

Pepper developed no symptoms after his exposure to the virus-carrying mouse, and his hunting prowess became a gift to public health research.

Who said cats only make biscuits?

Your parents likely repeated this old adage: Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

At the very least, going to bed at a reasonable time after dark may be a good thing. And researchers from Australia are pointing out the drawbacks to living life in opposition of our natural circadian rhythms.

The study parsed 13 million hours of data, collected from light sensors worn by nearly 89,000 participants ages 40 to 69 across the United Kingdom. Data was gathered using wrist sensors that measured light patterns, and the National Health Service monitored how many participants died over an eight-year period.

In short? The team found that exposure to bright nights and dark days, such as those experienced by graveyard-shift workers, is linked to a higher risk of premature death.

Specifically, the team found that those who were exposed to high levels of light at night had a 21% to 34% increase in premature mortality, while those exposed to high levels of daylight had a 17% to 34% lower risk of dying during the study period.

Research suggests that little good comes of disrupting circadian rhythms. Light exposure at night disrupts us partly by weakening the signal in our brains that controls our bodies’ circadian rhythms. Animals also die earlier when they face circadian disruption.

Repeated disruption of those natural rhythms can lead to a variety of unpleasant health problems, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and mental health issues. Not to mention crankiness.

But make your load lighter by eating right, exercising and sleeping when it’s dark as often as you can.

It’s a good day to be a beef lover. If your aim is to build muscle, that is.

Despite the growing popularity of meat alternatives, a new study suggests that meat-based protein is more effective at stimulating muscle growth compared with plant-based alternatives.

Researchers from the University of Arkansas and the University of South Carolina wanted to know if soy-based meat alternatives had the same effect on muscle-building as animal meat.

They split 24 healthy adults between ages 18 and 40 into three groups. One group ate a 4-ounce beef patty, and the second group ate a 4-ounce plant-based patty made from soy protein concentrate. The third group ate two of the 4-ounce soy burgers.

The researchers then measured how efficiently each burger stimulated muscle protein synthesis using traceable molecules in the body. Muscle protein synthesis is a process the body uses to build and repair muscle.

They found that the beef patty stimulated more muscle protein synthesis than the single soy-based burger. Those who ate two soy burgers eventually saw a similar increase in muscle protein synthesis, but they had to consumer 183 more calories to do so.

Both meat-based and soy-based foods are complete proteins, meaning they have all nine amino acids the body needs. However, researchers said muscle uses the amino acids in beef more efficiently since they reach the bloodstream more quickly and at a higher concentration.

Don’t throw out all your plant-based patties just yet. Meat alternatives can still be a viable source of protein for muscle-building. But if your goal is to bulk up those biceps, beef might be your best bet.

Kids will be kids, and that means broken bones can and will happen — sometimes in the most unexpected ways.

For those recovering from spinal surgery, the process can be lengthy — and precarious, as patients try to circumvent infection and regain mobility. A key hiccup? The ever-present risk of a herniated disc.

Believe it or not, slap fighting is a thing, a relatively new sport with its own fanbase. Televised competitions are common. Don’t mistake a slap, however, as a harmless alternative to damage seen in other contact sports.

Think your child’s bad mood is just an unavoidable phase? Perhaps give some thought to limiting their screen time.