Cases of mycoplasma pneumonia, a respiratory disease caused by bacteria, have been surging in Japan, hitting a record high for four consecutive weeks as of October 20, local media reported Tuesday.

The average number of cases reported by about 500 medical institutions nationwide was 2.01 per institution in the week ended on October 20, with the figure surpassing two for the first time, news agency reported quoting, citing data from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

Patient numbers have been at the highest-ever weekly total since the current reporting method was introduced in 1999.

A team of scientists has found that the presence of the APOE4 protein -- the most important genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease -- can cause healthy immune cells in the brain -- microglia -- to cause harmful inflammation and clumps of misfolded proteins.

The same microglia, in a brain without APOE4 protein, patrol for damage and clear away debris and harmful proteins.

For the study, scientists at Gladstone Institutes in the US created a "chimeric" mice model for studying Alzheimer's. The mouse model not only carries human APOE genes, but the team also transplanted human neurons producing the APOE4 protein into the brains of mice.

On removing microglia, they discovered that the APOE4 protein no longer triggered as many deposits of amyloid or tau -- two types of misfolded proteins that are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

A higher consumption of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may help ward off a variety of cancers, finds a large study of more than 250,000 people on Tuesday.

Cancer has become a global health concern, especially with increasing early onset.

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are "healthy fats" and essential for human health. These are important to the cells and are known to reduce bad cholesterol levels, keep the brain healthy, and boost mental health.

Higher levels of omega-3s showed protection against colon, stomach, and lung cancer, according to study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, showed the benefits of higher omega-3 levels against colon, stomach, and lung cancer.

In a world-first, Swiss scientists have developed 3D cell models using lip cells, an advance that can help develop new treatments for injuries and infections.

To date, models using lip cells -- which perform differently from other skin cells -- have not been available.

“The lip is a very prominent feature of our face,” said Dr Martin Degen of the University of Bern in Switzerland.

“Any defects in this tissue can be highly disfiguring. But until now, human lip cell models for developing treatments were lacking,” Degen added.

To fill the gap, the scientists successfully immortalised donated lip cells. This enabled them to develop clinically relevant lip models in the lab,

As north India reels under heavy air pollution, a new study showed that the use of solid fuels like coal, crop residue, and wood for cooking and heating can significantly raise the risk of gestational diabetes -- which occurs in pregnancy.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a common complication during pregnancy. Women with GDM are likely to be at an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, and a future risk of diabetes.

Children born also run a long-term risk of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The study led by researchers from Zunyi Medical University, in China, included 4,338 women, with a mean age of 27 years. Of these, 302 women had GDM

Infection caused by SARS-CoV-2, responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, can raise the risk for developing dyslipidemia, or high cholesterol by almost 30 per cent, finds a study.

The study, led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine involving more than 200,000 adults, showed that the abnormal lipid (fat) levels in the blood -- a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke -- may explain the rising worldwide incidences of heart problems post-pandemic.

The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, showed that older adults and people with type 2 diabetes experienced about two-fold increased risk for developing dyslipidemia.

Gaetano Santulli, Associate Professor of medicine and of molecular pharmacology at Einstein explained that SARS-CoV-2 can disrupt the function of endothelial cells -- that line the inside of blood vessels and play a critical role in regulating blood lipids.

Hormonal changes caused during pregnancy can trigger the risk of psoriasis in about 10-20 per cent of women, said health experts on Saturday.

Psoriasis is a commonly seen chronic autoimmune condition that causes skin inflammation, with thick, itchy, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk, and even the scalp. The common symptoms are red patches, rashes, scaling of the skin, dry and cracked skin, itching, and soreness.

It is caused due to an overactive immune system that causes inflammation.

A recently emerged strain of bacteria called Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis (SDSE) is leading to a concerning rise in global rates of severe invasive infections becoming resistant to key antibiotics, according to a study.

A person infected with SDSE is likely to have an infection in the skin, throat, gastrointestinal tract, and female genital tract that can range in severity from strep throat (pharyngitis) to necrotising fasciitis (flesh-eating disease).

Although SDSE is closely related to group A streptococcus (also commonly known as Streptococcus pyogenes), which has been very well studied, little is known about SDSE, said the team at the Houston Methodist Research Institute in the US.

A study of 34,000 Americans, published on Thursday, showed that Covid-19 has led to a decline in outdoor activities.

The study noted that people are spending nearly an hour less a day doing activities outside the home -- a behaviour that researchers say is a lasting consequence of the pandemic.

The team from Clemson University and University of California Los Angeles in the US reveals an overall drop since 2019 of about 51 minutes in the daily time spent on out-of-home activities. They even found an almost 12-minute reduction in time spent on daily travel, such as driving or taking public transportation.

In a paper published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Planning Association, the team documented a trend toward less and less out-of-home time stretching back to at least 2003.

Australian researchers have identified a previously unknown gene that influences the immune defence among indigenous people across Oceania, according to research published on Wednesday.

The research, which was published by The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, was the first of its kind to comprehensively map natural killer cells in Oceania's indigenous populations, news agency reported.

Natural killer cells are a type of white blood cell that play a crucial role in the body's first line of immune defence by destroying infected and diseased cells, restricting viruses from replicating in the earliest stages of infection.