Calcium News and Research

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Calcium, the most abundant mineral in the body, is found in some foods, added to others, available as a dietary supplement, and present in some medicines (such as antacids). Calcium is required for muscle contraction, blood vessel expansion and contraction, secretion of hormones and enzymes, and transmitting impulses throughout the nervous system. The body strives to maintain constant concentrations of calcium in blood, muscle, and intercellular fluids, though less than <1% of total body calcium is needed to support these functions.

The remaining 99% of the body's calcium supply is stored in the bones and teeth where it supports their structure. Bone itself undergoes continuous remodeling, with constant resorption and deposition of calcium into new bone. The balance between bone resorption and deposition changes with age. Bone formation exceeds resorption in growing children, whereas in early and middle adulthood both processes are relatively equal. In aging adults, particularly among postmenopausal women, bone breakdown exceeds formation, resulting in bone loss that increases the risk of osteoporosis over time.

Research offers new clues into why cognitive functions become impaired with age

Research at the University of Leicester is offering new clues into how and why cognitive functions such as memory and learning become impaired with age. A paper published recently in a specialist neuroscience journal shows that a crucial factor is calcium levels in specific cells in the brain.

9 Aug 2019

New 'bone in a dish' could help explore fundamental disease processes

Researchers in Oregon have engineered a material that replicates human bone tissue with an unprecedented level of precision, from its microscopic crystal structure to its biological activity.

6 Aug 2019

Researchers use paper-based structures to mimic layered nature of aortic valves

Paper is at the heart of an experimental device developed by Rice University bioengineers to study heart disease.

6 Aug 2019

Questionnaire-based algorithm predicts preeclampsia risk in pregnant woman

Research presented today at the 71st AACC Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo shows that a questionnaire-based algorithm predicts the risk of a pregnant woman developing preeclampsia.

6 Aug 2019

Alzheimers may be linked to genes that code formation of contacts between neurons

A team of neurobiologists from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University published an article on their study of the causes of Alzheimer's disease and suggested therapy methods.

2 Aug 2019

Plastic ingestion can have a significant negative impact on healthy seabirds

An IMAS-led study of seabirds that had ingested plastic debris has revealed a range of non-lethal impacts on their health and physiology.

30 Jul 2019

Check with your doctor before putting your child on a vegan diet, say experts

The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) has released new guidelines on toddler nutrition in response to an increasing number of children being raised vegan.

29 Jul 2019

Anti-arrhythmic agents linked to increased risk of falls

Anti-arrhythmic drugs, particularly those used to treat atrial fibrillation, could increase the risk of fall-related injuries, a new study found.

29 Jul 2019

UC Davis researchers identify how diabetes increases risk of vascular diseases

A team of UC Davis Health scientists and physicians has identified a cellular connection between diabetes and one of its major complications - blood vessel narrowing that increases risks of several serious health conditions, including heart disease and stroke.

25 Jul 2019

Scientists develop 3D printed pill that samples bacteria found in the gut

The gut microbiome is made up of trillions of living microbes, and more than a thousand species of bacteria. It has been known that the gut plays major roles in the body’s health. A team of university engineers may have developed a way to study and collect samples of microbes living in the gut.

25 Jul 2019

Scientists find surprising insight into Legionnaires’ disease

The incidence of Legionnaires' disease has increased in the past two decades. The natural habitat of Legionella is freshwater biotopes, where they mainly reproduce in amoebae.

24 Jul 2019

Folic acid supplementation mitigates risk of neural tube defects linked to HIV drug

Dolutegravir is a preferred medication for treating HIV infection, but it recently has been linked to a 6- to 9-fold increase in the risk for neural tube defects among babies born to mothers receiving the drug during early gestation.

24 Jul 2019

Mosquitoes change their hunting routines in response to host cues

Scientists have found that mosquitoes are changing their hunting routines in response to host cues. For example, in Africa, mosquitoes now recognize when people emerge from bednets in the morning and have begun hunting more often during the day than at night.

23 Jul 2019

Researchers identify toxin responsible for Legionella growth

A team of scientists led by EMBL group leader Sagar Bhogaraju and Ivan Dikic of Goethe University, Frankfurt, discovered that the toxin SidJ in Legionella bacteria enforces a unique modification on human proteins and helps legionella grow inside human cells.

22 Jul 2019

Study examines role of plastic exposure in irregular heart rhythms, arrhythmias

Calling an ambulance during an emergency, emailing a breaking news or journal article before a 5 p.m. deadline and maintaining conditions during the fifth week of a 6-week lab study, without altering the light or temperature, requires electricity and translates into time, money and lives

22 Jul 2019

Study shows how high glucose damages the vascular system

Diabetes, which is marked by increased glucose levels in the body, eventually leads to certain complications, including cardiovascular disease. Now, a new study shows a cellular connection between diabetes and blood vessel narrowing that boosts one’s risk of chronic and potentially fatal health conditions, including stroke and heart disease.

22 Jul 2019

Research opens possibility of developing single-dose gene therapy for inherited arrhythmias

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital report creating the first human tissue model of an inherited heart arrhythmia, replicating two patients' abnormal heart rhythms in a dish, and then suppressing the arrhythmia with gene therapy in a mouse model.

17 Jul 2019

Empa researchers aim to fight unwanted biofilms

Some of us who are hospitalized are feeling worse rather than better. On average, seven percent of all patients in industrial countries are affected by "nosocomial" infections. In intensive care units, the risk increases even more. This can result in serious illnesses and life-threatening blood poisoning.

17 Jul 2019

Research finds link between air pollution and coronary heart disease in China

New research from the University at Buffalo provides pathophysiologic evidence of the effect of air pollution on cardiovascular disease in China. The findings also suggests that China may need to revise its standard for one type of pollutant.

14 Jul 2019

Review provides new recommendations to manage menopausal symptoms after breast cancer

A large proportion of the world's estimated 9.3 million breast cancer survivors experience menopausal symptoms or clinical manifestations of estrogen deficiency.

10 Jul 2019