Cancer is a serious, life-long chronic disease and can hinder one's life expectancy. While there are many regions in one's body where cancer cells can develop, however lungs are a tempting place for cancer cells. This is where more than half of people with advanced cancer elsewhere in their bodies end up with lung tumors. As per the World Cancer Research Fund, there were 2,480,675 new cases of lung cancer in 2022. As per the World Health Organization, it is the most common cancer type world wide, with 1.8 million deaths annually, accounting for 19% of all cancer deaths.

However, now the researchers may know why lung is the region prone to development of cancer cells. This is because of the elevated levels of an amino acid called aspartate which appear to allow cancer cells to grow more easily inside the lungs. This was published in the journal Nature.

We found high levels of aspartate in the lungs of mice and patients with breast cancer compared to mice and patients without cancer, which suggests that aspartate may be important for lung metastasis,” lead researcher Ginevra Doglioni, a doctoral student with the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology’s Center for Cancer Biology in Belgium, said.

How was the study conducted?

New research has uncovered a potential driver behind the aggressiveness of certain lung cancers: aspartate, an amino acid the body uses to produce proteins. The findings could pave the way for better strategies to prevent lung tumors from growing or spreading, even in advanced cancer cases.

The researchers examined tumor cells from aggressive lung tumors and discovered that aspartate plays an important role in triggering the molecular pathways that underlie cancer aggressiveness. It appears to cause a chain reaction in gene activity, increasing cancer cells' ability to adapt to their surroundings and allowing for faster tumor development.

Aspartate is ordinarily present at extremely low levels in the bloodstream, but researchers discovered unusually high amounts in the lungs of mice with metastatic breast cancer. Similar patterns were seen in human lung tumor tissues, indicating a same mechanism.

Aspartate stimulates a surface protein on cancer cells, which drives the process. This activation sets off a cascade of gene signaling events, enhancing cancer cells' capacity to grow.

Understanding this mechanism provides an important insight into why the lungs are often a vulnerable site for tumor growth, particularly in cases where cancer has spread from other parts of the body.

The good news is that there are already drugs on the market that target similar mechanisms involved in this process. Researchers believe that with further studies, these existing treatments could potentially be adapted to specifically target lung cancer driven by aspartate.

This discovery could be especially beneficial in cases where cancer has metastasized, or spread, to the lungs. By targeting the processes that make the lungs more susceptible to cancer growth, doctors might be able to develop therapies that help keep the lungs cancer-free for longer.

The findings highlight the importance of ongoing cancer research and the potential to repurpose existing treatments for new uses. As the understanding of cancer biology continues to grow, these types of discoveries could lead to more effective and personalized approaches to treating and managing aggressive cancers.

World Hypertension Day is celebrated observed to draw attention and raise awareness about high blood pressure commonly referred to as hypertension and its risk. This worldwide campaign for healthy living emphasizes the risks of uncontrolled blood pressure, reminds people to check their blood pressure regularly, and encourages healthy living to stop or control the condition. High blood pressure is a leading reason for heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure, but if identified early and treated appropriately, it can save lives.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is among the most common chronic diseases worldwide—though it is still perilously underdiagnosed and undertreated. Even with decades of public health campaign and increasing medical awareness, the worldwide burden of this silent killer marches relentlessly upward. Frequently symptom-free, hypertension is a time bomb waiting to explode, when left untreated, causing life-threatening complications affecting the heart, brain, kidneys, eyes, and even sexual function.

Knowing why hypertension is so dangerous begins with comprehending its elaborate, systemic effect on the body. Let's go in-depth about how this disease operates, why it's so frequently neglected, and why it's an instigator of numerous chronic diseases.

What Is Hypertension?

Hypertension happens when the pressure in your blood vessels is consistently higher than normal—usually 140/90 mmHg or more, states the World Health Organization (WHO). The normal and healthy level is estimated to be 120/80 mmHg. Blood pressure increases when the arteries get narrow or stiff, causing the heart to work harder.

This repeated overworking can progressively result in permanent damage to essential organs. Though risky, hypertension hardly ever has obvious signs, and therefore regular screening is important.

At a global level, estimated 1.28 billion adults aged 30 to 79 years have hypertension, and most of them live in low- and middle-income nations. Alarmingly, 46% of them do not even know they have it, and just 1 in 5 keeps it under control, as per WHO statistics.

In the US alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly 47% of adults, or roughly 116 million individuals, have hypertension, yet only 24% control it well. The economic burden is just as overwhelming, with the US spending $131 billion each year on care related to hypertension.

Why Is Hypertension So Dangerous?

Hypertension is commonly referred to as the "silent killer" due to its lack of noticeable symptoms. Unchecked, it progressively damages your arteries and vital organs. This is how it progressively dismantles the body:

Cardiovascular Damage

Your heart is one of the first organs to be affected by sustained high blood pressure. Chronic high blood pressure over time leads to:

• Coronary artery disease, in which stiffened arteries constrict blood flow to the heart, causing chest pain (angina), arrhythmias, or heart attacks.
• Heart failure, as the heart muscle stiffens or weakens and cannot pump blood efficiently.
• Left ventricular hypertrophy, in which the left chamber stiffens and hypertrophies creating a risk of sudden cardiac death.
• The heart has to work harder against the higher resistance, subjecting it to constant strain usually with lethal results.

Brain Damage

A healthy brain depends on regular blood supply. Hypertension disrupts this in frightening ways:

• Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) or mini-strokes indicate blocked blood flow as a result of damaged arteries or clots.
• Stroke, a major killer and cause of disability, happens when brain blood supply is cut off.
• Vascular dementia, due to chronic impaired blood flow, affects memory and mental function.
• Even a minor increase in blood pressure can multiply the risk of stroke manifold, highlighting the need for timely intervention.

Kidney Damage

Kidneys are the body's built-in filtration system, but their operation is greatly dependent on normal blood vessels. Long-standing hypertension may cause:

• Kidney scarring and impaired filtration.
• Kidney failure with the need for dialysis or transplant.
• Aggravated damage when paired with diabetes.

Hypertension is among the top causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) world-wide, and its control is crucial to maintaining kidney function.

Vision Loss and Eye Complications

Elevated blood pressure can seriously impact the eyes by harming the tiny blood vessels in the retina:

• Hypertensive retinopathy, which can lead to bleeding, blurred vision, or blindness.
• Choroidopathy, where fluid accumulates and distorts vision.
• Optic neuropathy, where the optic nerve becomes damaged and vision is permanently impaired.
• Regular eye examinations are especially important for the hypertensive to detect such changes early.

Effect on Sexual Health

Sexual health is not spared by hypertension either:

• Male erectile dysfunction (ED) due to limited blood flow to the penis.
• Reduced libido and arousal in women, commonly involving vaginal dryness or anorgasmia.

Such complications are under-discussed but have a strong impact on quality of life as well as relationship satisfaction.

A new study in Sweden, headed by Dr. Jonas Wuopio of the Karolinska Institutet, has discovered a direct correlation between salt consumption and the development of arterial plaque regardless of blood pressure levels. The linear correlation demonstrates that the higher the salt consumption, the greater the atherosclerosis, which implies that salt can start to damage arteries well before hypertension fully develops.

This finding underscores why dietary modification—such as reducing salt—need not await a diagnosis.

Hypertension Prevention and Management Tips

Hypertension is also mostly preventable and manageable via lifestyle modifications, such as:

• Eating a balanced, low-sodium diet
• Regular exercise
• Healthy weight maintenance
• Decreasing alcohol consumption and smoking cessation
• Monitoring of blood pressure regularly

Pharmacological agents are also readily available and effective if prescribed and consistently followed.

Hypertension is not a figure, it's a complex, serious medical condition with far-reaching effects on your entire body. From heart attack and stroke to vision impairment and kidney disease, the consequences are dire and numerous but with heightened awareness, lifestyle modification, and medication, it's completely controllable.

On May 15, 2025, Japan's Sakurajima volcano erupted and sent a massive ash plume which soared 3,000 metres above the crater. This information has been confirmed by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

Ever since, the JMA has maintained a Level 3 volcanic alert, which warns people to stay away from the volcano. Ash fall is also expected in surrounding areas, including in areas Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Miyazaki.

While it is a natural disaster, however, this also impacts one's health. Let us look at how can volcanic eruption can impact one's health.

Volcanic Eruptions' Impact On Health

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), volcanoes are geographical formations where lava, small rocks, and steam are released onto the surface of the earth.

When a volcano erupts, it can release harmful particles, including volcanic gases and ash, into the air. These volcanic gases may have an adverse impact on your health, including:

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Sulfur Dioxide (So2)
• Hydrogen Chloride (HCL)
• Hydrogen Sulfide (H2s)
• Radon (Rn)
• Hydrogen Fluoride (HF)
• Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4)

How Each Toxic Gas Impacts Health

Carbon Dioxide

As per the USDA Food and Safety Inspection Service, CO2 is colorless, odorless, non-flammable gas that naturally occurs in the atmosphere. As the CDC mentions, it is also released when a volcanic eruption takes place. CO2 is considered to be minimally toxic by inhalation. The primary health effects caused by CO2 are the result of its behavior as a simple asphyxiant.

A simple asphyxiant is a gas which reduces or displaces the normal oxygen in breathing air.

Symptoms of mild CO2 exposure may include headache and drowsiness. At higher levels, rapid breathing, confusion, increased cardiac output, elevated blood pressure, and increased arrhythmias may occur. Breathing oxygen-depleted air caused by extreme CO2 concentrations can lead to death by suffocation.

Sulfur Dioxide

As per the National Park Service, Sulfur dioxide is a colorless, reactive air pollutant with a strong odor. This gas can be a threat to human, animal and plant health.

It can irritate the skin and mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. High concentrations of SO2 can also cause inflammation and irritation of the respiratory system. This can then lead to pain when taking deep breaths, coughing, throat irritation and breathing difficulties. This gas can further affect lung function, worsen asthma attacks, and exacerbate existing heart diseases.

Hydrogen Chloride

As per the CDC, hydrogen chloride is a colorless to slightly yellow gas with a pungent odor. On exposure to air, the gas forms dense white vapors due to condensation with atmospheric moisture.

Upon inhalation, the odor could irritate and affect the lungs. While it cannot be absorbed through the skin, its direct contact could irritate the skin and cause chemical burns. The ingestion could also lead to corrosive injury to the lips, mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach.

Hydrogen Sulfide

As per the US Department of Labor, hydrogen sulfide causes a wide range of health effects, especially if you breathe it and are exposed to it for a longer duration. Its exposure to very high concentrations could also lead to death.

It is a highly flammable, explosive gas, and can cause a life-threatening situation when not handled properly. Its exposure to skin can cause "blue skin" or frostbite.

Radon

As per the US Environmental Protection Agency, radon could lead to lung cancer. It is also the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.

Hydrogen Fluoride

As per the CDC, it is also a colorless gas or liquid that could cause severe damage to the body. The effects could also depend on how long one is exposed to the gas. If it is breathed in, it can irritate the eyes and respiratory tract. Breathing in a large amount could cause death from irregular heartbeat or from fluid buildup in the lungs. It can also cause rash and deep, slow-healing burns.

Sulfuric Acid

As per the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water run by the Australian Government, sulfuric acid is the world's largest volume industrial chemical. It is corrosive in nature and can severely burn the skin and eyes. It can also cause third-degree burns and blindness on contact. It can also irritate the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs.

Colorectal cancer is no longer an elderly person's disease alone. Over the last few years, a dramatic increase in early-onset colorectal cancer—defined as diagnosis at younger than 50 years old—has warned doctors and scientists globally. Sedentary behavior, unhealthy diets, and environmental toxins have long been suspected factors, but a new study has placed high-profile attention on a sneaky but ubiquitous condition as a new, worrisome contributor: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Affecting up to one in four individuals worldwide, including an estimated 80 to 100 million Americans, NAFLD frequently goes undetected until complications arise. A new population-based cohort study now associates the so-called "silent liver disease" with a greatly increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer, particularly in men and those in their 20s.

What Is NAFLD and Why Is It a Concern?

NAFLD (Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) is defined by the build-up of excess fat in the liver that is not related to alcohol use. It is usually asymptomatic, progressing over a long period of time with a possible end point of liver inflammation, fibrosis, or cirrhosis. More recently, it has been linked to systemic inflammation, which scientists now suspect can initiate changes outside the liver—as in, in the colon.

Lifestyle factors like diets rich in sugar and saturated fats, obesity, and metabolic disorders are leading causes of NAFLD. As the worldwide epidemic of these risk factors spreads, NAFLD has become an epidemic of our times—and now, a potential cause of early colorectal cancer.

South Korean researchers conducted a large-scale, population-based cohort study to examine the relationship between NAFLD and risk of colorectal cancer among young adults. The study used health records from more than 4.6 million individuals between the ages of 20 and 49, and followed participants for longer than nine years via the Korean National Health Insurance Service.

NAFLD status was identified by the Fatty Liver Index (FLI)—a clinically validated diagnostic measure. Patients were assigned to three groups:

• No NAFLD (FLI < 30)
• Borderline NAFLD (FLI 30–59)
• NAFLD (FLI ≥ 60)

During the follow-up period, 2,733 people developed early-onset colorectal cancer.

The research discovered that people with NAFLD were 24% more likely to get early-onset colorectal cancer than those with no liver fat. Even study participants who had borderline NAFLD experienced a 12% higher risk.

Moreover, the researchers observed a dose–response relationship: the more severe the fatty liver, the higher the risk of cancer. The association was especially strong in:

• Males
• Young adults aged 20–29
• Those without diabetes

This population-based finding emphasizes the necessity for targeted early screening and prevention measures, particularly in these high-risk groups.

How NAFLD is Linked to Colorectal Cancer?

NAFLD doesn't only impact liver health, it induces systemic alterations that could account for its association with colorectal cancer:

• Persistent liver inflammation releases cytokines—immune signaling proteins that have the potential to encourage cancer cell proliferation.
• DNA damage in colon cells could be a consequence of liver inflammation being carried systemically.
• NAFLD influences bile acid production, which subsequently could disrupt the gut microbiome—a recognized risk factor for colorectal cancer.

The research discovered a specific rise in tumors in the left colon and rectum, indicating a focused effect, although the precise biological process is unknown.

Why Early Screening is Imperative?

Today, most national screening guidelines advise starting colorectal cancer screening at age 50 or 45. But this study refutes that cutoff—particularly for younger individuals with evidence of NAFLD. The scientists highlighted the need for "multifaceted preventive strategies" including:

• Lifestyle modifications to decrease liver fat
• Increased screening programs for colorectal cancer in individuals with NAFLD—even if they are below 50 years old
• Heightened awareness among primary care providers and the public regarding NAFLD's risks

Although the study was strong, researchers noted various limitations. These include not having data available on family history of colorectal cancer, stage of diagnosis, and prior colonoscopy screening. Additional international studies, especially in Western populations, are necessary to confirm and build on these findings.

Nevertheless, the evidence points to a key blind spot in existing cancer prevention strategy—a one that public health systems might need to tackle urgently.

This research adds valuable insight into our knowledge of how colorectal cancer is on the increase in young groups. It supports the theory that subtle inflammation elsewhere in the body, such as in the liver, which becomes apparent at a younger age, can lay the groundwork for later cancer development elsewhere.