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One of the long-standing medical mysteries is the diagnosis of diabetes in majority of patients suffering from high blood pressure. The reason for this had been unknown. But now, an international team of universities have made a breakthrough. The research, published online in 'Circulation Research', involved contributions from collaborating scientists in Brazil, Germany, Lithuania, and Serbia, as well as the UK and New Zealand. The important new discovery has shown that a small protein cell glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) couples the body's control of blood sugar and blood pressure. Professor Julian Paton, a senior author, and director of Manaaki Manawa, The Centre for Heart Research at the University of Auckland, said: "We've known for a long time that hypertension and diabetes are inextricably linked and have finally discovered the reason, which will now inform new treatment strategies." GLP-1 is released from the wall of the gut after eating and acts to stimulate insulin from the pancreas to control blood sugar levels. This was known but what has now been unearthed is that GLP-1 also stimulates a small sensory organ called the carotid body located in the neck.

A new, independent search engine has launched called Vitaminology which enables the search, discovery and comparison of vitamins and supplements to empower consumers to make more informed choices and find the right products for their personal health goals and requirements. The company has set out to reduce confusion in this market through choice and high-quality information as well as access to one-to-one consultations with accredited nutritional therapists. By offering the complete package of advice, resources and products Vitaminology helps people to lead healthier lives. Mike Murphy, who is chief nutritionist for Vitaminology, comments, "This innovative platform has a powerful comparison and filtering feature that helps to simplify the choices available for consumers so they can make better self-care decisions. This is supported by access to video consultations with nutritional therapists as well as a comprehensive library of ingredient profiles, articles clustered around health conditions and unique recipes to support wellness."

The University of Queensland researchers have contributed to the discovery of three new genes, thus opening the opportunity for targeted treatments of motor neuron disease (MND) as these genes increase the risk of MND. The study is published in Nature Genetics.

Singaporean scientists have succeeded in growing 'mini brains' though for research purpose, which is being considered as a big leap forward in advance human brain study. The discovery will help advance study and newer treatments in parkinson's and other ageing-related brain diseases.

Immuneering has entered into an agreement to expand its existing relationship with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) for the use of Immuneering's proprietary computational biology methods to identify biological insights that would help in the discovery and development of medicines.

A male contraceptive pill that has been talked about for decades may soon become a reality!

A male contraceptive pill that has been talked about for decades may soon become a reality!

Germany based drug discovery firm Evotec has entered into a research collaboration and licensing deal with Swiss biopharmaceutical firm Debiopharm Group to research and develop new cancer treatments

Medical aid schemes are not something entirely new to the people of South Africa, and in actual fact, one or more medical aid companies can trace their history back through the decades.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Germany and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands have discovered new blood biomarkers that could indicate a mortality risk in elderly people.