A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB), published by Elsevier, found that adolescents reported TikTok food content cued their desire to eat or try foods, while acknowledging that parents could play a protective role by helping them disengage from the platform and fostering critical conversations about food, bodies, influencers, and online health information. Participants frequently described TikTok food content as prompting hunger, cravings, and interest in trying new foods, while parental involvement could interrupt exposure to food-related content.

A new study from researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) has uncovered a previously unknown consequence of viral infection: too much RNA inside a cell can disrupt its ability to produce energy.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found that when excess RNA builds up inside cells during poxvirus infection, it can impair mitochondria — the structures responsible for generating most of a cell’s energy — reducing the cell’s ability to function normally.

Researchers at the University of Osaka discovered that people who reach extreme old age have an unusual immune system. Around the age of 100, they develop large numbers of rare immune cells that resemble those seen in people fighting cancer, allowing them to remain highly active in their supercentenarian years. The findings suggest that the immune system can adapt with age and may help protect some people from disease to support exceptional longevity.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that gut bacteria can convert dietary nitrate and iron into protective molecules that may reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The study, published in Cell, reveals a new way in which the gut microbiota helps protect vital bodily functions.