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A study has explored whether adding branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) to an exercise program could improve outcomes for older adults. In a small, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, the team found that BCAA supplementation improved performance, reduced fatigue, and alleviated depression symptoms for many participants. His research focuses on how inflammation impairs central nervous system function. BCAAs—leucine, isoleucine, and valine—are essential amino acids that not only serve as the building blocks of protein and muscle but also appear to play specific roles in inflammation and brain health. "Through supplementation, we thought perhaps we could restore balance and reduce the burden of...

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV airs footage allegedly showing schoolchildren hooked up to intravenous drips to help them study ahead of the country's notoriously difficult university entrance exams.Students at Xioagang high school in Hubei province have reportedly been using the drips, filled with amino acids, in yet another example of how children are pushed to succeed at the highest level. Gao Pingqiang, a school official, told The China Daily that the drips had become popular with children as there were no adverse health effects.

Space radiation preferentially destroys specific forms of amino acids, the most realistic laboratory simulation to date has found. The work suggests the molecular building blocks that form the "left-handed" proteins used by life on Earth took shape in space, bolstering the case that they could have seeded life on other planets. Amino acids are molecules that come in mirror-image right- and left-handed forms. But all the naturally occurring proteins in organisms on Earth use the left-handed forms - a puzzle dubbed the "chirality problem". "A key question is when this chirality came into play," says Uwe Meierhenrich, a chemist at...