New Scientist - USA (2022-03-19)

19 March 2022 | New Scientist | 25

Health

AN ANTISEPTIC drug that inhibits

the growth of bacteria in urine

(pictured) may be as effective as

antibiotics in preventing recurring

urinary tract infections (UTIs).

UK guidelines recommend a

daily low-dose antibiotic to prevent

recurrent UTIs. However, long-term

use of these drugs raises the risk of

antibiotic resistance. The antiseptic

methenamine hippurate has

shown promise for UTI prevention,

but the evidence is inconclusive.

To learn more, Chris Harding at

the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals

NHS Foundation Trust in the UK and

his colleagues studied 205 women

who had, on average, six UTIs a year.

Every day for 12 months, 102 of

the participants took an antibiotic,

while the remaining 103 were

given a methenamine hippurate pill.

Over the year, those in the antibiotic

group had 0.89 UTI episodes on

average, compared with 1.38

episodes among those taking the

antiseptic (The BMJ, doi.org/hkpk).

“If we want to reduce the use of

antibiotics to combat antimicrobial

resistance, then trials like this

provide clinicians and patients

a credible non-antibiotic option

for prevention,” says Harding.

However, the long-term safety of

methenamine hippurate is unclear.

Jason Arunn Murugesu

Recurring UTIs may be

prevented with an antiseptic

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Trees protect each

other in high winds

Tightly packed cedar

trees growing in Japan

withstood the strong winds

of a typhoon that toppled

loosely packed cedars.

This may be because

crowded trees dissipate

energy by colliding with

nearby trees. The finding

may help forest managers

(Science Advances,

doi.org/gpn4cg).

Vaping need not

lead to smoking

The number of young

people in England who

vape has risen to about

5 per cent over the past

11 years. But the number

of smokers in this age

group has fallen from

30 to 25 per cent, which

suggests vaping isn’t

acting as a “gateway” that

encourages young people

to try smoking (Addiction,

doi.org/hkmp).

Static electricity to

clean solar panels

Solar panels in the desert

can be kept clean using

static electricity. Even in

low humidity, dust adsorbs

some water and becomes

a conductor. By applying

electric fields around the

solar panel, the dust can be

made to fall off the panel’s

surface (Science Advances,

doi.org/gpnvs4).

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Really brief

Palaeontology

A NEWLY identified crocodile-like

animal that lived in China 3000

years ago helps make sense of

the evolution of crocodiles and

their relatives.

Chinese researchers discovered

the animal’s bones in the 1960s

and 1970s, but they were

misidentified as a living species,

says Masaya Iijima at Clemson

University in South Carolina.

Iijima and his colleagues have now

studied four of the specimens and

determined it was a gharial, part

of the crocodilian group that also

includes crocodiles and alligators.

The team named it Hanyusuchus

sinensis (Proceedings of the Royal

Society B, doi.org/hkpr).

The Chinese gharial clarifies

a mystery about crocodilians.

Genetic evidence shows that

alligators split from the others

first, and crocodiles and gharials

separated from each other later.

That is odd because crocodiles and

alligators more closely resemble

each other than gharials. But the

Chinese gharial is intermediate

in body shape between gharials

and the other two groups.

“There was a huge gap

between the gharial and the rest

of the crocodilians,” says Iijima.

“Our specimens fit in the gap.”

Michael Marshall

Fossil gharial solves

crocodile mystery

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Biology

SOME organs and body systems

can age faster than others.

Tracking the biological age of

different parts of the body could

help doctors predict the onset

of disease more accurately.

We already knew that the

condition of cells in the body

can give someone a biological

age that is older or younger

than their age measured in years.

In other words, cell condition –

which varies depending on genetic

and lifestyle factors – determines

the pace of the ageing process.

Now, work by Brian Kennedy

at the National University of

Singapore and his colleagues

supports the idea that the various

organs and systems in the body

can age at different rates within

the same individual.

The researchers collected stool

and blood samples from about

480 people aged between 20 and

45 and measured a total of 403

biological features in each person.

They used these biomarkers to

assess the biological age of the

individual’s kidneys, liver, gut

microbiome, cardiovascular

system, immune system,

metabolic system and sex

hormone system.

They found that the biological

age of a person’s cardiovascular

system correlated the most with

their age in years, while that of

the gut microbiome showed

the weakest link.

The team also found that the

biological age of the liver could

be used to predict who had non-

alcoholic fatty liver disease – a risk

factor for type 2 diabetes – and the

condition’s severity (Cell Reports,

doi.org/gpm26t). Carissa Wong

Your organs may

age at different rates