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Earth is exceeding ‘safe operating space for humanity’, study says

The planet’s climate, biodiversity, land, freshwater, nutrient pollution and “novel” chemicals are all out of place, according to a new scientific paper.

Earth is exceeding its “safe operating space for humanity” in six of nine key measurements of its health, and two of the remaining three are heading in the wrong direction, a new study has said.

The planet’s climate, biodiversity, land, freshwater, nutrient pollution and “novel” chemicals (human-made compounds like microplastics and nuclear waste) are all off-kilter, according to a group of international scientists.

Only the acidity of the oceans, the health of the air and the ozone layer are within the boundaries considered safe, and both ocean and air pollution are heading in the wrong direction, the study in the journal Science Advances found.

“We are in very bad shape,” said study co-author Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

“We show in this analysis that the planet is losing resilience and the patient is sick.”

In 2009, Professor Rockstrom and other researchers created nine different broad boundary areas and used scientific measurements to judge Earth’s overall health.

The paper revealed on Wednesday was an update from 2015 and it added a sixth factor to the unsafe category.

Water went from “barely safe” to the “out-of-bounds” category because of worsening river run-off, better measurements and understanding of the problem, Professor Rockstrom said.

These boundaries “determine the fate of the planet”, he said, adding that nine factors have been “scientifically well established” by numerous outside studies.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/earth-is-exceeding-safe-operating-space-for-humanity-study-says-12960795

Simple mouthwash can detect early warning signs of heart disease: study

Discovering your risk of heart disease is just a rinse away.

A new study published in Frontiers in Oral Health suggests that a simple mouthwash could determine a person’s chances of developing heart disease.

“We are starting to see more relationships between oral health and risk of cardiovascular disease,” Ker-Yung Hong, first author of the study, now studying dentistry at the University of Western Ontario, said in a media release. “If we are seeing that oral health may have an impact on the risk of developing cardiovascular disease even in young healthy individuals, this holistic approach can be implemented earlier on.”

Since gum inflammation leads to a gum disease called periodontitis, which is linked to cardiovascular disease, scientists believe they can identify early warning signs of heart disease with just a saliva sample.

Periodontitis is a common but preventable gum infection that damages the soft tissue around the teeth, according to Mayo Clinic.

Scientists at Mount Royal University in Canada tested a simple oral rinse to see if signals for cardiovascular disease can be linked to levels of white blood cells — an indicator of gum inflammation — in healthy adults.

“Even in young healthy adults, low levels of oral inflammatory load may have an impact on cardiovascular health — one of the leading causes of death in North America,” Dr. Trevor King of Mount Royal University, corresponding author of the study, said.

Researchers analyzed 28 non-smokers between the ages of 18 and 30 with no comorbidities — when more than one condition is in a person at the same time — or medications that could affect cardiovascular health, as well as no recorded history of periodontal disease.

A new study suggests that a simple mouthwash could determine a person’s chances of developing heart disease.
Getty Images/iStockphoto

Participants were instructed to fast for six hours, besides drinking water, before coming into the lab. Upon arriving at the lab, they rinsed their mouth with water before rinsing with saline, which was collected for examination.

They then laid down for 10 minutes for an electrocardiogram, a test used to evaluate the heart, then remained lying down for an additional 10 minutes so their blood pressure, flow-mediated dilation (a measure of how well arteries can dilate to allow for higher blood flow) and pulse-wave velocity (measures the stiffness of arteries) could be recorded.

The team found that high levels of white blood cells were associated with compromised flow-mediated dilation, an early sign of poor arterial health — suggesting a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Higher levels of white blood cells could have a greater effect on vascular (endothelial) dysfunction, a type of coronary artery disease that narrows arteries, according to Cleveland Clinic. Levels found in the study were not considered “clinically significant.”

Source: https://nypost.com/2023/08/18/this-mouthwash-can-detect-early-heart-disease-signs-study/

16.5MILLION Americans at risk of stroke from EXERCISING too hard

16.5MILLION Americans at risk of stroke from EXERCISING too hard, study suggests

Indian scientists created a model for how blockages affected arteries in the neck
They found high blood flow in those that were partially blocked raised stroke risk

Millions of Americans are at risk of a stroke if they exercise too hard, a study suggests.

Researchers found people with carotid artery stenosis, estimated to affect five percent of the country, are at risk of suffering sudden clots in the brain from simple activities like a brisk walk, swimming or even Zumba.

During strenuous exercise, plaque in major arteries can become dislodged and travel to the brain where it blocks a blood vessel — causing a stroke.

It suggests that as many as 16.5million Americans may want to refrain from going all-out while they work out.

Carotid artery stenosis is a condition where plaques build up in the carotid arteries, narrowing the space that blood travels through.

These arteries run through the neck and are responsible for getting blood, containing vital nutrients and oxygen, to the brain and parts of the face.

Sudden rises in blood pressure, such as those during exercises, can cause plaques to be dislodged – which could trigger a stroke.

The number of Americans with carotid artery stenosis has surged over the last two decades, figures suggest.

In the early 2000s, it was estimated that about two million Americans had the condition. But now the Cleveland Clinic says about five percent of all adults have the condition — or 16.5million people.

Being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for the condition, scientists say. A sedentary lifestyle, diabetes or smoking also raises someone’s risk.

In the study, published this week in the journal Physics of Fluids, scientists built a computer simulation of one of the carotid arteries.

Source : https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/us-health-weekend-features-project/article-12216019/16-5MILLION-Americans-risk-stroke-EXERCISING-hard-study-suggests.html?ito=native_share_article-top