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23 news posts in Physical activity

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Space sciences and astronomy

12 Jul 2024

Real-life ‘stillsuit’: Dune-inspired upgrade for spacesuits allow astronauts to recycle urine into water

Existing waste management systems for spacesuits are uncomfortable, unhygienic, and don’t recycle valuable water in urine. Now, researchers from Cornell University have designed a prototype for an integrated urine collection and recycling system, which can be carried on the back of next-generation spacesuits. The system is now ready for testing.

Image: Eric Arce for Outride

Featured news

12 Oct 2023

Cycling in school improves teenagers’ mental health, but wider social factors may impact benefits

by Deborah Pirchner, Frontiers science writer Image: Eric Arce for Outride Physical activity promotes mental well-being and finding activities that people are keen to engage in is key. For teenagers, cycling might be one of them – combining fun, competition, and transportation needs. Researchers in the US have examined if taking part in an in-school cycling program improves middle schoolers’ mental health and found positive effects. While they concluded that cycling programs may be a pathway to improved mental well-being of teenagers, they also noted that the conditions in which students are born and live in determine mental and physical well-being significantly. Physical activity has positive effects on mental health and yet, activity rates are declining. This is particularly worrying because the mental well-being of teenagers continues to deteriorate. In the US, one in six school children is diagnosed with some type of mental disorder. Riding bikes is a promising approach to introduce school-aged children to physical activity. Now, researchers in the US have investigated how adolescents’ psychosocial well-being changed after participating in a school-based cycling program. “Participation in a school cycling education program during the Covid-19 pandemic was associated with improved psychosocial well-being amongst middle schoolers in the US,” […]

Image of old man climbing stairs. A new study finds elderly people with short chromosome caps, or telomeres, are more likely to have difficulty performing daily activities such as carrying groceries, climbing stairs and walking, regardless of geographical location, age, sex or weight -- suggesting that short telomeres are an independent risk factor for age-related functional decline: Frontiers in Physiology

Featured news

11 Oct 2018

Short chromosome tips linked to lower physical function in the elderly

Study suggests short chromosome caps, or telomeres, may be an independent risk factor for age-related functional decline: Frontiers in Physiology

While previous research has shown that physical exercise can combat age-related brain decline, it is not known if one type of exercise can be better than another. To assess this, the exercise routines given to the volunteers differed. The traditional fitness training program conducted mainly repetitive exercises, such as cycling or Nordic walking, but the dance group were challenged with something new each week.

Neuroscience

29 Aug 2017

Dancing can reverse the signs of aging in the brain

New research, published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience compares two fitness routines to explore anti-aging effects on the brain in the elderly.