1. New neurons proliferate in the hippocampus as we age, even into the ninth decade of life (Nature Medicine).
2. Novel protein-coding genes evolve on a de novo basis far more commonly than previously thought (Nature Ecology and Evolution).
3. Childrens long bones grow with the help of a stem cell niche with a radical clonality switch that develops in the epiphyseal growth plate (Nature).
4. 10,000 steps or less: Researchers who ran a study of nearly 17,000 women found that cut-off for mortality benefit was just 4400 (JAMA Internal Medicine).
5. Comparing the DNA of primary colorectal cancertumorsand metastases in the liver or brain revealed that for 80% of the 21 patients in the study, metastases took root early ([Nature Genetics).
6. Typhoid toxin may not be required for people infected with Salmonella Typhi to develop typhoid fever [Nature Medicine].
7. Assessing myocardial viability is not a helpful marker to predict the long-term outcome of coronary artery bypass grafting surgery [NEJM]
8. Rising BMI among people living in rural areas ― not cities ― is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic [Nature].
9. The brain microbiome: It might actually exist, and herpesvirus might play a role in Alzheimer disease, [Neuron in 2018]
10. Cardiac stem-cell therapy appears to work by stimulating the immunologic wound-healing process rather than generating new cells [Nature].
11. Even if patients with severe aortic stenosis have no symptoms, early surgery to replace the aortic valve lowers their risk for death [NEJM]
12. Could we inherit mitochondrial DNA from our fathers as well as our mothers? The answer is Yes [Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in December 2018]
13. Screen time: not so bad for kids well-being after all? (Nature Human Behaviour)
14. The morning meal may not help people lose weight, according to a meta-analysis published in the BMJ.
15. Applying evolutionary game theory to cancer therapy, as researchers did in this paper in Nature Ecology and Evolution, challenges the traditional approach of blasting tumors with the maximum tolerable dose of chemotherapy. 
16. type 2 diabetics and high Lp(a) levels was associated with a 3.5-fold higher risk for a cardiovascular event compared to having no diabetes or a low Lp(a) level (<24 nmol/L or approximately 10 mg/dL) (Jin JL et al. Diabetes Care . 2019;42:1312-1318)
17. In an observational registry study of Swedish outpatients with type 1 diabetes, those who had high plasma lipoprotein(a) [Lp (a)] levels — defined as >120 nmol/L or approximately 50 mg/dL — were more likely to have albuminuria, calcified aortic valve disease, or a composite measure of cardiovascular disease. And patients whose blood glucose level (A1C <6.9%) was well controlled had lower Lp(a) levels. (December 18 in Diabetes Care).
18. Caloric restriction can reduce insulin resistance, weight, hepatic fat, and cardiovascular risk factors, regardless of carbohydrate content. To achieve caloric restriction one can go for fasting regimens as time-restricted eating (meals consumed within a limited number of hours), alternate-day fasting, and the 5:2 eating pattern (unrestricted eating for 5 days, followed by 2 days of restricted intake).

Dr KK Aggarwal

President CMAAO and HCFI, Past National President IMA