Stroke ‘links’ to antibiotics
TAKING antibiotics over the age of 40 raises the risk of heart attack or stroke by a third, a study suggests.
The drugs erase “good” bacteria in the digestive system that protect against viruses and other organisms that cause disease, Harvard TH Chan School in Boston found.
Lead author Prof Lu Qi said: “Antibiotic use is the most critical factor in altering the balance of microorganisms in the gut.”
Researchers have tracked the health of 36,000 nurses since 1976.
A caracal prowls the Namib desert in southern Africa A sloth hangs on in a forest in Brazil
A mother Nubian ibex and her kids stand atop cliffs in the Israeli desert
An ocelot watches birds in Peru Two bull hippos fight for space in Katavi National Park in Tanzania
ACURIOUS orangutan in Malaysia nestles in a cameraman’s bag and gazes into the lens. It is one of the stunning images captured during filming for a new show starring TV survivalist Bear Grylls.
Exploring the six brutal environments of mountains, oceans, grasslands, jungles, deserts and the poles, Bear reveals how wildlife has had to adjust to life in extreme habitats.
The 44-year-old says: “As a kid growing up, I used to be glued to
the natural history shows but it was always a spectacle of, ‘Wow, this is beautiful’. The reality of surviving in some of these harsh places is that it’s really tough.
“The things that matter – resilience, adaptability, resourcefulness, intelligence, community – these animals are showing it in a huge amount.
“They’re all learning to work together. They’re having to be clever and communicate.
“We’re seeing seals fight off sharks. We’re seeing polar bears learning to hunt whales. We’re seeing jaguars learning to hunt in the water for crocodiles.
“You’d think, ‘That’s science fiction. That doesn’t really happen’.” National Geographic’s Hostile Planet, created by the award-winning makers of Planet Earth II and Blue Planet, is a thrilling watch.
In its opening episode, viewers will see a snow leopard that hasn’t eaten in days hurl itself at an ibex before the pair tumble off a mountain’s edge.
In Greenland, barnacle geese chicks, which hatched 48 hours ago, try to find food by throwing themselves off 400ft cliffs.
Animals endure punishing weather, competition for food, predators and climate change.
Scaling a snowy mountain, Bear says: “It’s brutal, cold, desolate, hard to breathe. But for