Science

Researchers at Jeju National University College of Medicine in South Korea have found that high levels of night lighting are associated with accelerated age-related degeneration of the yellow spot, which is the main cause of vision loss in the elderly. This is reported in a paper published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Researchers analysed data from more than 126,000 Koreans aged 50 and older. About 4,100 people were diagnosed with macular degeneration. The locations where these people lived were compared to satellite images showing light levels at night.

It turned out that older people living in urban areas with the highest levels of artificial outdoor light were 2.17 times more likely to develop macular degeneration than those living in areas with the lowest levels of artificial light. Areas with low levels of nighttime artificial light had a 12 per cent increased risk.

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Scientists from the Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo and the University of Cambridge have discovered a new cause of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The results of the study are published in the journal The Lancet Microbe.

Experts compared more than 700 blood samples infected with E. coli with nearly 5,000 samples of bacteria with sequenced genomes to determine the factors behind the spread of antibiotic-resistant E. coli.

It was shown that increased use of antibiotics does lead to an increase in the number of resistant microbes. However, this depends on the type of broad-spectrum antibiotics used. In addition, the genetic makeup of the bacteria plays an important role, which may affect the success of resistance genes. Thus, it is impossible to predict what the effect of the widespread use of the same antibiotic will be in different regions of the earth.

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Researchers at Southern University in California have found that young people who experienced high levels of stress from adolescence to adulthood are more likely to have high blood pressure, obesity and other cardiometabolic risk factors. The results of the study are published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).

Specialists analysed medical information obtained during a health study of 276 children in Southern California. The indicators were assessed at the age of 13, as well as at the age of 24. The participants were divided into four groups: consistently high stress over time, decreasing stress over time, increasing stress over time and consistently low stress over time.

It turned out that high levels of stress from adolescence onwards increased the risk of poorer vascular health, levels of total body fat and fat around the abdomen, and the risk of obesity compared to those who felt less stressed over time. Adults also had worse vascular health and higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adulthood.

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An international team of scientists with the help of the American telescope “James Webb” discovered the oldest black hole ever observed. This was reported in the University of Cambridge, leading the study.

It is specified that the object in the galaxy GN-z11 dates back to the time of the origin of the universe. It is assumed that the black hole was formed 400 million years after the big bang – more than 13 billion years ago. Its mass is several million times that of the Sun.

Lead author of the study, Professor Roberto Maiolino called the discovery “a giant leap forward”. According to scientists, the finding will change existing ideas about how black holes form and evolve. In particular, the size of this black hole suggests that such objects can absorb matter at a rate five times greater than what was thought possible.

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Scientists at McGill University in Canada have uncovered the cause of a rare genetic skeletal disease called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia. The results of the study have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Experts have shown that a defect in a certain gene encoding the MGP protein can cause a disorder affecting the structure of connective tissues. MGP, which is an inhibitor of mineralisation of the extracellular matrix, is found in blood vessels and cartilage, but in its absence, Keitel syndrome develops, in which soft connective tissues begin to calcify.

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