Giro da Saúde: mosquito in the vaccine; early childhood memories; is beer good?

If you missed last week’s health and science news, don’t worry: here at Canaltech, we have summarized the top five news of the period for you. And among the highlights, we have the discontinuation of the use of masks, issues related to the health effects of beer and even childhood memories.

Last Monday (11), César Fernandes, president of the Brazilian Medical Association (AMB) announced that he is against the deliberation of the use of masks in Brazil. According to him, it is still too early to stop using the protection item against covid-19 and it is necessary to be aware and analyze it on a case-by-case basis. The comment came in the face of many cities easing the use of masks in open and closed places.

For the doctor, there is no problem where there is distance between people, taking into account the high percentage of Brazilians with complete vaccination. However, in crowded scenarios like football stadiums on match day, it’s still not time to ditch the item, even if it’s an outdoor event. After all, people are very close to each other.

You probably remember flashes of his early years, but he certainly cannot access memories of when he was crawling, starting to talk, or even his first toys. For experts on the subject, human beings usually only remember what happened after they were three years old. Anything remitted before that age is treated as “confabulation”—when alleged memories surface, even in detail, of a fact that the person has only heard about.

Significant events, such as changes or chaotic events in the family, also tend to date memory. But what happens is that our brain, as it grows and matures, goes through a “recycling” procedure, needing to “delete” memories to make room for learning and new memories. Thus, the data flow does not interfere with the stimuli obtained previously, so as not to interfere with them and not interfere with perception and decision-making.

An unusual case came to light in the press last week: an entire batch of Moderna vaccines against covid-19 had to be recalled, after health officials identified a foreign body inside one of the vials. What was? A mosquito! The event took place in Malaga, Spain, where the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps) announced the recall of the batch, still on April 8. And it was last Monday (11) that Norwegian authorities identified that the foreign body was really a mosquito.

Without giving details, Moderna issued the following statement: “The batch is being recalled due to a foreign body found in a vial of the batch manufactured at the company’s contract manufacturing facility.” The doses contained in that bottle, however, were not applied.

We know that drinking without moderation can cause a series of damage to health, especially the liver and cardiovascular system. But beer, one of the most traditionally appreciated alcoholic beverages in the world, does not live only on harm: science also recognizes the positive points of “barley juice”.

A study published in the journal The American Journal of the Medical Sciences points out that, without exaggerating the dose, beer contributes to the daily intake of nutrients, since it has B vitamins, phosphorus, folate and niacin, in addition to significant proteins and fibers. This also makes the drink a significant dietary source of silicon, a mineral that can help prevent osteoporosis. In fact, according to the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, those who drink beer three to four times a week are less likely to develop diabetes than those who never drink beer.

And the list doesn’t stop there: consumed in moderation, beer can still contribute to preventing cardiovascular diseases and has anti-inflammatory potential from hops.

A recent finding, released by Australian researchers at the University of Newcastle, shows that some biological markers found in routine blood tests can indicate mental health problems. According to the scientists involved in the research, which evaluated genetic, biochemical and psychiatric data from more than one million people, the novelty may shed light on the causes of various mental disorders and disorders and their possible treatments.

Biomarkers such as cholesterol, liver enzymes and vitamins, for example, can be directly affected by unhealthy lifestyles, unhealthy diets, and even excessive medication. However, there are still no studies on biomarkers directly associated with mental health. To do the research, the Australian scientists examined measurable genetic influences on the blood of volunteers, which resulted in a huge volume of data.

The volume of this data then allowed the analysis of small changes in the subjects’ DNA sequence (called “variants”) and their relationship to mental health problems. These same variants were then compared with levels of specific blood biomarkers. A variant in a gene, for example, can increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and, at the same time, be linked to a decrease in the levels of a particular vitamin in the blood.

Now, new studies will need to be conducted for science to correlate exactly what links the findings of routine exams to mental health problems, and if this discovery is made, it should move to the next step: the promotion of new types of treatment.

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