Nature Hub

      From - BBC World News Edited by -Amal Udawatta Getty Images When many people struggled to eat a healthy diet, odd-tasting oils were touted as a fix-all. It turns out one of them did indeed pack a vitamin punch. These days, the words "cod liver oil" are vaguely sepia-tinged. They conjure up an image of a murky spoonful of something, brandished by a school nurse or a Dickensian headmaster. So many remedies from the 18th and 19th Centuries have not stood the test of time. We no longer, for instance,  routinely give crying babies opiates . Syrup of figs and  castor oil are no longer considered cure-alls , though they take care of constipation perhaps a little too well. And when was the last time you stopped by the chemist's for  brimstone and treacle ? But cod liver oil is one of those rare remedies from the age of snake oil and patent medicine that actually had something to it. Made from heating the livers of codfish and catching the oil that leaks out, ...

 From - Knowable Magazine By - Ute Eberle Edited by - Amal Udawatta The stories have become horribly familiar. Houses so overrun by bed bugs that the bloodsucking insects pile an  inch deep  on the floor. An airport  shutting down gates for deep cleaning  after the parasites were spotted brazenly crawling around. Fear and loathing during Fashion Week 2023 in Paris, with bed bug detection dogs working overtime when the insects turned up in movie theaters and trains. For reasons that almost certainly have to do with global travel and poor pest management, bed bugs have resurfaced with a vengeance in 50 countries since the late 1990s. But recently, the resurgence has brought an added twist. When exterminators swarm out to hunt these pests, they might encounter not just one but two different kinds of bugs. Besides the common bed bug,  Cimex lectularius , which has always made its home in the Northern Hemisphere, there are now sightings of its cousin, the tropic...

  By James Gallagher Health and science correspondent, BBC, Edited by- Amal Udawatta, , IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES Relics of ancient viruses - that have spent millions of years hiding inside human DNA - help the body fight cancer, say scientists. The study by the Francis Crick Institute showed the dormant remnants of these old viruses are woken up when cancerous cells spiral out of control. This unintentionally helps the immune system target and attack the tumour. The team wants to harness the discovery to design vaccines that can boost cancer treatment, or even prevent it. The researchers had noticed a connection between better survival from lung cancer and a part of the immune system, called B-cells, clustering around tumours. IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES Image caption, B-cells, a part of the immune system, produce masses of antibodies that can help to attack invaders B-cells are the part of our body that manufactures antibodies and are better known for their role in fighting off i...

  By Charley Adams BBC News, Eddited by  Amal Udawatta, IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES A ban on laughing gas will not stop people using it and will drive it into criminal hands, say experts. The government has defended its plans to tackle anti-social behaviour, including making the possession of nitrous oxide a criminal offence. The Drug Science scientific charity says a blanket ban "is completely disproportionate" and "would likely deliver more harm than good". The £160m plan will also address homelessness, begging and graffiti. Laughing gas users risk spine damage, say doctors Laughing gas should not be banned, review says Unveiling his plans to clamp down on anti-social behaviour on Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said there was a need for a "zero-tolerance" approach and stressed the importance of "immediate justice". Speaking at a boxing club in Chelmsford, Essex, Mr Sunak said he wanted to deal with a small minority of people who were being d...