A large study tracking more than 95,000 people suggests that how you sleep may be linked to your risk of developing dozens of diseases. People who spent more time in REM sleep had lower risks of 83 conditions, including dementia, heart failure, and Parkinson’s disease, while more deep sleep was associated with lower risks of conditions such as type 2 diabetes and major depression.
Children taking GLP-1 medications (such as Victoza, Saxenda, Trulicity, and Ozempic) for weight loss, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes may face an overlooked risk: nutritional deficiencies. A new study found that nearly 1 in 6 young patients developed a diagnosed deficiency within a year of starting treatment, with vitamin D deficiency affecting about 12%.
A broken rib from Scotty, the largest known T. rex skeleton, contains an extraordinary fossilized network of blood vessels formed while the dinosaur was healing. Scientists used neutron and X-ray imaging to look inside the 66-million-year-old bone without damaging it, revealing details rarely preserved in fossils.
The Cascadia subduction zone and northern San Andreas fault may sometimes rupture in rapid succession, according to evidence preserved in 3,100 years of ocean sediments. Researchers identified unusual sediment layers suggesting that earthquakes on the two systems have occurred just minutes to hours apart, including around the massive Cascadia earthquake of 1700. If such synchronization happened again, several major West Coast cities could face emergencies at nearly the same time.
A major Swedish study of 3.7 million people has found that rare TORCH infections passed from a pregnant woman to the fetus are linked to much higher risks of autism and intellectual disability later in life. Children with a congenital TORCH infection were about three times more likely to be diagnosed with autism, more than seven times more likely to have an intellectual disability, and up to 30 times more likely to have severe to profound intellectual disability.
