BBlogFlow

Ending Clock Changes? Health Experts Say There's a Winner Between Standard And Daylight Saving Time - ScienceAlert

·3d ago
Source: ScienceAlert
Read the original article

This story deserves to be shared

Send it to someone who'd care, or post it on your networks.

Facebook Twitter Email

Keeping the clocks on summer time all year means lighter evenings, but it also delays winter sunrise by an hour on the clock. People getting up early for work or school spend more of the morning in darkness. A new Canadian analysis concludes that permanent standard time is the better choice for health if seasonal clock changes are abolished, because it preserves earlier access to morning light. British Columbia adopted permanent daylight saving time in March. Alberta and the Northwest Territories have also adopted year-round daylight saving time and will skip the November clock change. In the US, the House passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent on July 14, and it was referred to a Senate committee the following day. Psychiatrist Raymond Lam of the University of British Columbia and his colleagues assessed the health consequences of the two options: standard time, usually observed in winter, and daylight saving time, which runs an hour ahead. Sleep and circadian rhythms researcher Ralph Mistlberger of Simon Fraser University co-authored the peer-reviewed analysis, which reviewed published research on biological rhythms, sleep, mood, education, and economic effects.

This article is an excerpt. To read the full content, visit the original source. ScienceAlert

Reactions

0 comments

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Facebook Twitter

Related articles

Bioengineer.org | Switching HIV drugs or adding zoledronic acid rebuilds bone lost to tenofovir - European AIDS Treatment Group

Bioengineer.org news storyFor millions of people living with HIV, antiretroviral therapy has transformed a once-fatal infection into a manageable chronic condition. Yet the very drugs that suppress the virus can carry quiet costs, and one of the most insidious is bone loss. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, or TDF, has been a cornerstone of HIV treatment worldwide for two decades, prized for its potency, durability, and low cost. But a growing body of evidence has linked TDF exposure to measurable reductions in bone mineral density, raising an increasingly urgent clinical question: once bone has been lost on a TDF-based regimen, can it be recovered? A new prospective cohort study, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, offers some of the most detailed longitudinal evidence to date that the answer, for many patients, is yes. The research team enrolled 223 virologically suppressed men living with HIV who had low bone mineral density while taking TDF-based antiretroviral therapy.

European AIDS Treatment Group·

A New Injection Makes Fat Cells Self-Destruct, And Might Prevent GLP-1 Weight Regain - ScienceAlert

The new treatment kills off a sub-group of fat cells. (Jian Fan/iStockphoto/Getty Images) Early clinical trials into a new fat reduction treatment have reported promising results, and the treatment takes a more unusual approach: Rather than shrinking fat cells, as most weight loss strategies do, it safely and naturally kills them off. The drug here is CBL-514, which is administered via injection. As well as proving effective at reducing subcutaneous fat (just below the skin), there's evidence it can also reduce visceral fat (stored deeper around the organs). According to the team behind the trials, CBL-514 and its unconventional strategy have the potential to reduce fat in key areas of the body – with further benefits that come with weight loss likely to follow. "We expect that patients will be pleased by the cosmetic effects, such as the flatter stomach that can come with subcutaneous fat loss," says endocrinologist Timothy Garvey, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who headed up the trial.

ScienceAlert·

Bioengineer.org | Viral blips during HIV therapy are common and rarely signal treatment failure, Swedish study finds - European AIDS Treatment Group

Bioengineer.org news storyFor people living with HIV, modern antiretroviral therapy can suppress the virus to levels below what standard laboratory tests can detect. Yet some patients on long-term treatment experience a curious phenomenon: a single test result showing a small, transient amount of virus in the blood, followed by an immediate return to undetectable levels. These events, known as viral blips, have puzzled clinicians and researchers for years, raising questions about whether they represent harmless statistical noise, brief bursts of viral production from hidden reservoirs, or early warnings of impending treatment failure. A new nationwide Swedish study, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, offers one of the most comprehensive answers to date. Drawing on the Swedish national InfCareHIV cohort, researchers analyzed data from 4,210 treatment-naïve adults who began antiretroviral therapy from 1 January 2007 onward, with follow-up data extracted through 30 September 2020. The median observation time was 5.5 years, with some individuals followed for as long as 13.7 years.

European AIDS Treatment Group·