WEIRD STUFF

Money stress linked to health risks

Financial stress leads to a greater chance of illness.

A new study from University College London (UCL) discovered that interactions between the immune, nervous and endocrine systems were worse in people experiencing sudden and ongoing money worries.

The three systems need to communicate well for the body to remain in good health and disruption has been linked to conditions varying from heart disease to depression.

The boffins explained how the body's reaction to stress is identical to that of sickness as similar pathways in the immune system are activated.

Odessa Hamilton, a PhD candidate who led the study, said: "When the immune and neuroendocrine systems function well together, homeostasis is maintained and health is preserved. But chronic stress can disrupt this biological exchange and lead to disease.

"We found that financial stress was most detrimental to biological health, although more research is needed to establish this for certain. This may be because this form of stress can invade many aspects of our lives, leading to family conflict, social exclusion, and even hunger or homelessness."

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Blood test could detect Alzheimer's

A blood test could "revolutionise" the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Research suggests that measuring levels of the p-tau217 protein in the blood could be just as accurate as painful and invasive lumbar punctures at detecting the early signs of the progressive condition.

The protein is a marker for biological changes in the brain for people with Alzheimer's - a form of dementia - and could be better than a number of other tests in development.

In a study of 786 people, the researchers were able to use the blood test to determine whether patients were likely or unlikely to have Alzheimer's.

Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at the Alzheimer's Society, said: "This study is a hugely welcome step in the right direction as it shows that blood tests can be just as accurate as more invasive and expensive tests at predicting if someone has features of Alzheimer's disease in their brain.

"Furthermore, it suggests results from these tests could be clear enough to not require further follow-up investigations for some people living with Alzheimer's disease, which could speed up the diagnosis pathway significantly in future."

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Wildlife Park move to stop parrots cursing

Staff at a British wildlife park have come up with a risky plot to stop its parrots from swearing.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Park hit the headlines back in 2020 when staff removed five African Grey parrots from display for foul-mouthed abuse of visitors.

Three more of the birds have since started to squawk expletives, which has prompted a dramatic change in tactics from park staff.

Chief executive Steve Nichols confirmed that he is about to introduce the potty-mouthed parrots to the rest of the flock to "dilute" the swearing and it is hoped they will adopt the clean language used by their counterparts.

He said: "Parrots are flock creatures. They need to be with other parrots. The bigger the flock, the happier they are.

"Even though they swear, the welfare of the birds has to come first.

"We could end up with 100 swearing parrots on our hands. Only time will tell."