What the scientists are saying…
Nuclear fusion breakthrough
The dream of a world with virtually unlimited supplies of low-carbon, lowradiation energy came a step closer to reality last week, when a European team of scientists revealed that they had made a “major breakthrough” in their attempts to recreate nuclear fusion – the process that powers the stars. As part of the Joint European Torus (JET) experiment in Oxfordshire, researchers generated 59 megajoules of heat during a five-second burst of nuclear fusion. That is just enough to boil about 60 kettles, but it is twice the amount of energy previously produced, back in 1997. “We’ve demonstrated that we can create a mini star... and hold it there for five seconds and get high performance, which really takes us into a new realm,” said one scientist. The experiment was limited by the size of the machine, reports New Scientist: five seconds is the most JET’s copper-wire magnets can manage. But it acted as a proof of concept, and suggests that a far more powerful machine being built in the south of France should achieve its considerably more ambitious goals, when it opens in 2025.
A warning to paracetamol users
People who regularly use paracetamol could be at a higher risk of heart disease and strokes, a randomised control trial has suggested. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh gave 110 volunteers with a history of high blood pressure one gram of paracetamol four times a day, for two weeks – a dose often prescribed to patients with chronic pain. The patients then took a placebo for another two weeks. The results during the paracetamol period showed a “small but meaningful” rise in their blood pressure – an increase that could raise the risk of heart disease or stroke by about 20%. The authors of the study, published in the journal Circulation, stressed that occasional paracetamol use was not a cause for concern, but advised that doctors treating chronic pain with the drug should opt for the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time, and “keep a closer eye” on patients with high blood pressure.
Sleep longer to lose weight
Sleeping for an hour more every night could help overweight people shed excess pounds, a small clinical trial has suggested. Researchers at the University of Chicago recruited 80 overweight adults who normally slept for less than six-and-a-half hours a night. Half of them were given “sleep hygiene” counselling to help them sleep longer, and on average they got an extra 72 minutes of shut-eye each night. The rest received no counselling and continued sleeping as normal. The study, published in the journal JAMA, found that participants who had been helped to extend their sleep ate significantly less than those in the control group, equivalent to about 270 fewer calories a day. Sustained over three years, this reduction could lead people to lose around 12kg, the researchers said. “Many people are working hard to find ways to decrease their caloric intake to lose weight,” said researcher Dr Esra Tasali. “Just by sleeping more, you may be able to reduce it substantially.” The finding builds on previous studies which have shown that being sleep-deprived can affect appetite-regulating hormones such as ghrelin.
Chronic illness linked to dementia
People who have two or more chronic illnesses by the time they’re middle-aged are more than twice as likely to develop dementia, a study has found. Researchers at University College London and the University of Paris examined data on 10,000 people who enrolled in a long-term study in the mid 1980s. During the 32-year follow-up, 639 of them were diagnosed with dementia. The researchers found that the patients who had two or more chronic conditions – including diabetes and arthritis – by the age of 55 were two-and-a-half times more likely to have got dementia than those with no chronic conditions. Having multi-morbidities between the ages of 60 and 65 was also linked to a 1.5-fold higher risk. The more severe the illnesses, the stronger the link, and for every five years younger a person was when multi-morbidity occurred, up to the age of 70, the risk of dementia stepped up by 18%. “These findings highlight the role of prevention and management of chronic diseases over the course of adulthood to mitigate adverse outcomes in old age,” said the study’s authors.