A single bout of either resistance or high intensity interval training could help in the cancer battle, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found.
ECU PhD student Mr Francesco Bettariga found that a single bout of exercise increased the levels of myokines, a protein produced by muscles which have anti-cancer effects, and which could reduce the proliferation of cancer growth by 20 to 30 per cent.
"Exercise has emerged as a therapeutic intervention in the management of cancer, and a large body of evidence exists that show the safety and effectiveness of exercise as medicine, either during or post cancer treatment," Mr Bettariga said.
His research with survivors of breast cancer measured myokine levels before, immediately after and 30 minutes post a single bout of either resistance of high intensity interval training and found that both sets of exercise had a resultant increase in myokine levels.
While higher levels of myokines were expected in a healthy population, post a vigorous workout, Mr Bettariga investigated whether breast cancer survivors would see the same results, given the impact that cancer treatments and cancer itself often has on the body.
"The results from the study show that both types of exercise really work to produce these anti-cancer myokines in breast cancer survivors. The results from this study are excellent motivators to add exercise as standard care in the treatment of cancer," Mr Bettariga said.
He added that the long-term implications of elevated myokine levels should be further investigated, particularly in relation to cancer recurrence.
Further research by Mr Bettariga investigated how changes in body composition, following consistent exercise, could impact inflammation, which plays a key role in breast cancer recurrence and mortality by promoting tumour progression.
Persistent inflammation not only promotes tumour progression by influencing cell proliferation, survival, invasiveness, and metastasis, but also inhibits immune function. Given that the cancer itself and the side-effects of treatments can elevate levels of inflammatory biomarkers, survivors of breast cancer are at increased risk of cancer progression, recurrence and mortality.
"Strategies are needed to reduce inflammation which may provide a less supportive environment for cancer progression, leading to a lower risk of recurrence and mortality in survivors of breast cancer," Mr Bettariga said.
The new research found that by reducing fat mass and increasing lean mass, through consistent and persistent exercise, cancer survivors had a better chance at reducing inflammation.
"If we are able to improve body composition, we have a better chance of decreasing inflammation because we are improving lean mass and reducing fat mass, which is responsible for releasing anti and pro-inflammatory markers," Mr Bettariga said.
Unfortunately, quick fixes to reduce fat mass would not have the same beneficial effects, Mt Bettariga stressed.
"You never want to reduce your weight without exercising, because you need to build or preserve muscle mass and produce these chemicals that you can't do through just diet alone."
Researchers have found why common cuff-based blood pressure readings are inaccurate and how they might be improved, which could improve health outcomes for patients.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is the top risk factor for premature death, associated with heart disease, strokes and heart attacks. However, inaccuracies in the most common form of blood pressure measurement mean that as many as 30% of cases of high blood pressure could be missed.
The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, built an experimental model that explained the physics behind these inaccuracies and provided a better understanding of the mechanics of cuff-based blood pressure readings.
The researchers say that some straightforward changes, which don't necessarily involve replacing standard cuff-based measurement, could lead to more accurate blood pressure readings and better results for patients. Their results are reported in the journal PNAS Nexus.
Anyone who has ever had their blood pressure taken will be familiar with the cuff-based method. This type of measurement, also known as the auscultatory method, relies on inflating a cuff around the upper arm to the point where it cuts off blood flow to the lower arm, and then a clinician listens for tapping sounds in the arm through a stethoscope while the cuff is slowly deflated.
Blood pressure is inferred from readings taken from a pressure gauge attached to the deflating cuff. Blood pressure is given as two separate numbers: a maximum (systolic) and a minimum (diastolic) pressure. A blood pressure reading of 120/80 is considered 'ideal'.
"The auscultatory method is the gold standard, but it overestimates diastolic pressure, while systolic pressure is underestimated," said co-author Kate Bassil from Cambridge's Department of Engineering. "We have a good understanding of why diastolic pressure is overestimated, but why systolic pressure is underestimated has been a bit of a mystery."
"Pretty much every clinician knows blood pressure readings are sometimes wrong, but no one could explain why they are being underestimated -- there's a real gap in understanding," said co-author Professor Anurag Agarwal, also from Cambridge's Department of Engineering.
Previous non-clinical studies into measurement inaccuracy used rubber tubes that did not fully replicate how arteries collapse under cuff pressure, which masked the underestimation effect.
The researchers built a simplified physical model to isolate and study the effects of downstream blood pressure -- the blood pressure in the part of the arm below the cuff. When the cuff is inflated and blood flow to the lower arm is cut off, it creates a very low downstream pressure. By reproducing this condition in their experimental rig, they determined this pressure difference causes the artery to stay closed for longer while the cuff deflates, delaying the reopening and leading to an underestimation of blood pressure.
This physical mechanism -- the delayed reopening due to low downstream pressure -- is the likely cause of underestimation, a previously unidentified factor. "We are currently not adjusting for this error when diagnosing or prescribing treatments, which has been estimated to lead to as many as 30% of cases of systolic hypertension being missed," said Bassil.
Instead of the rubber tubes used in earlier physical models of arteries, the Cambridge researchers used tubes that lay flat when deflated and fully close when the cuff pressure is inflated, the key condition for reproducing the low downstream pressure observed in the body.
The researchers say that there is a range of potential solutions to this underestimation, which include raising the arm in advance of measurement, potentially producing a predictable downstream pressure and therefore predictable underestimation. This change doesn't require new devices, just a modified protocol.
"You might not even need new devices, just changing how the measurement is done could make it more accurate," said Agarwal.
However, if new devices for monitoring blood pressure are developed, they might ask for additional inputs which correlate with downstream pressure, to adjust what the 'ideal' readings might be for each individual. These may include age, BMI, or tissue characteristics.
The researchers are hoping to secure funding for clinical trials to test their findings in patients, and are looking for industrial or research partners to help refine their calibration models and validate the effect in diverse populations. Collaboration with clinicians will also be essential to implement changes to clinical practice.
The research was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
It’s August, and parents and caregivers are frantically preparing their kids for a new school year by buying supplies, filling out forms and meeting teachers. This year, many parents also face a question that’s more complicated than usual: Should my child get an updated COVID-19 vaccine, and will I even have that choice? For some, that decision may have already been made by chaotic federal policy, just as COVID-19 cases...
Insights from investigation of decision-making in people in 12 countries could improve teamwork and cross-cultural relations.
Date:
Source:
University of Waterloo
Summary:
A sweeping international study has revealed that when faced with complex decisions, people across cultures—from bustling megacities to remote Amazon communities—tend to rely on their own judgment rather than seeking advice. The research, spanning over 3,500 participants in 12 countries, challenges the long-held belief that self-reliance is primarily a Western trait. While cultural values influence how strongly individuals lean on their inner voice, the preference for private reflection remains a shared human tendency.
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From city dwellers to Amazon tribes, people worldwide tend to “go it alone” in decision-making, with culture influencing how strongly they trust their inner voice. Credit: Shutterstock
An international study surveying people in a dozen countries found that when it comes to making complex decisions, people all over the world tend to reflect on their own, rather than seek advice.
Researchers from the University of Waterloo led the new study that surveyed more than 3,500 people from megacities to small Indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest to learn how they make decisions. This work is the broadest test of decision-style preferences across cultures to date.
The researchers say that by understanding that even in interdependent societies most people prefer to go with the decision made by themselves, irrespective of what others say, can help clarify cross-cultural misunderstandings and realize that we all appear to be juggling similar internal debates.
"Realizing that most of us instinctively 'go it alone' helps explain why we often ignore good counsel, be it for health tips or financial planning, despite mounting evidence that such counsel may help us make wiser decisions," said Dr. Igor Grossmann, professor in the Department of Psychology at Waterloo and first author on the paper. "This knowledge can help us design teamwork better by working with this self-reliant tendency and letting employees reason privately before sharing advice that they might reject."
The study upends the belief that westerners work things out themselves while the rest of the world leans on others. In fact, intuition and self-reflection beat out advice from friends or crowdsourcing in all countries studied. The amount of that preference varied, depending on the level at which a culture values independence or interdependence.
"Our take-home message is that we all look inward first, yet the wisest moves may happen when solo reflections are shared with others," Grossmann said. "What culture does is controls the volume knob, dialing up that inner voice in highly independent societies and softening it somewhat in more interdependent ones."
Nearly 40 authors contributed to this work as part of the Geography of Philosophy Project, which is led by Dr. Edouard Machery, from the University of Pittsburgh.
The study, Decision-making preferences for intuition, deliberation, friends or crowds in independent and interdependent societies, appears in Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences.
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Materials provided by University of Waterloo. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
Igor Grossmann, Maksim Rudnev, Anna Dorfman, Mohammad Atari, Kelli Barr, Abdellatif Bencherifa, Wesley Buckwalter, Rockwell F. Clancy, German Cuji Dahua, Norberto Cuji Dahua, Yasuo Deguchi, Ancon Lopez Wilmer, Emanuele Fabiano, Badr Guennoun, Julia Halamová, Takaaki Hashimoto, Joshua Homan, Martin Kanovský, Kaori Karasawa, Hackjin Kim, Jordan Kiper, Minha Lee, Xiaofei Liu, Veli Mitova, Rukmini Nair, Ljiljana Pantovic, Brian Porter, Pablo Quintanilla, Josien Reijer, Pedro P. Romero, Yuri Sato, Purnima Singh, Salma Tber, Daniel Wilkenfeld, Lixia Yi, Stephen Stich, H. Clark Barrett, Edouard Machery. Decision-making preferences for intuition, deliberation, friends or crowds in independent and interdependent societies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, 13 August 2025 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.1355[1]
Cite This Page:
University of Waterloo. "Global study reveals the surprising habit behind tough decisions." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 August 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250812234529.htm>.
University of Waterloo. (2025, August 13). Global study reveals the surprising habit behind tough decisions. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 13, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250812234529.htm
University of Waterloo. "Global study reveals the surprising habit behind tough decisions." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250812234529.htm (accessed August 13, 2025).
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