Researchers found brushing your teeth three or more times per day is linked with lower risk of heart failure and atrial fibrillation—a heart condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate.

One possible theory behind the discovery is that frequent tooth brushing reduces bacteria living in the pocket between the teeth and gums, preventing them from entering the bloodstream. Existing studies show poor oral hygiene leads to bacteria in the blood, causing inflammation in the body. Inflammation increases the risks of irregular heartbeat and heart failure, where the heart's ability to pump blood or relax and fill with blood is weakened.

In their new research, scientists in South Korea examined the connection between oral hygiene and happening of these two conditions in a series of studies of more than 161,000 participants aged between 40 and 79.

Participants underwent a routine medical examination between 2015 and 2016 and information was collected on height, weight, laboratory tests, illnesses, lifestyle, oral health, and oral hygiene behaviors. During a follow-up of ten and a half years on average, three percent of participants developed atrial fibrillation and around five percent developed heart failure.

The lead investigator of the new study is Tae-Jin Song, a doctor and professor at Mokdong Hospital at Ewha Woman's University in Seoul, South Korea. He said, “We studied a large group over a long period, which adds strength to our findings.” But he also noted that the analysis was limited to one country and as an observational study it does not prove causation.

An accompanying editorial states: “It is certainly too early to recommend tooth brushing for the prevention of atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure. While the role of inflammation in the happening of heart and blood vessels' disease is becoming more and more evident, further studies are needed to explain strategies of public health importance.”

When I was in middle school, a poisonous spider bit my right hand. I ran to my mom for help —but instead of taking me to a doctor, my mom set my hand on fire. After wrapping my hand with several layers of cotton, then soaking it in wine, she put a chopstick into my mouth, and ignited the cotton. Heat quickly penetrated the cotton and began to roast my hand. The pain made me want to scream, but the chopstick prevented it. All I could do was watch my hand burn —one minute, then two minutes— until mom put out the fire.

You see, the part of China I grew up in was a rural village, and at that time preindustrial. When I was born, my village had no cars, no telephones, no electricity, and even no running water. And we certainly didn’t have access to modern medical resources. There was no doctor my mother could bring me to see about my spider bite.

For those who study biology, you may have grasped the science behind my mom’s cure: heat deactivates(使失去活性) proteins, and a spider’s venom (毒液) is simply a form of protein. It’s cool how that folk remedy actually incorporates basic biochemistry, isn’t it? But I am a PhD student in biochemistry at Harvard, I now know that better, less painful and less risky treatments existed. So I can’t help but ask myself why I didn’t receive one at the time.

Fifteen years have passed since that incident I am happy to report that my hand is fine. But this question lingers, and I continue to be troubled by it. We have learned to edit the human genome(基因组) and unlock many secrets of how cancer progresses. We can control neuronal activity literally with the switch of a light. Each year brings more advances in biomedical research—exciting, transformative accomplishments. Yet, despite the knowledge we have accumulated, we haven’ t been so successful in distributing it to where it’s needed most. According to the World Bank, twelve percent of the world’s population lives on less than $ 2 a day. Malnutrition kills more than 3 million children annually. Three hundred million people are suffering malaria globally. All over the world, we constantly see these problems of poverty, illness, and lack of resources preventing the flow of scientific information. Life-saving knowledge we take for granted in the modern world is often unavailable in these underdeveloped regions. And in far too many places, people are still essentially trying to cure a spider bite with fire.

Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou helped by ancient Chinese remedy

Tu Youyou, in China, is being called the ”three noes“ winner: no medical degree, no doctorate (博士头衔), and she’s never worked overseas. However, it was she that was the first female Chinese scientist who had won the Nobel Prize. When it comes to her work, she is totally devoted.

In 1967, malaria (疟疾) spread by mosquitoes was killing Chinese soldiers fighting Americans in the jungles of northern Vietnam. A secret research unit was formed to find a cure for the illness and Tu was instructed to become the new head of Mission 523. She went to the southern Chinese island of Hainan to study how malaria threatened human health. For six months, she stayed there, leaving her four-year-old daughter at a local nursery. Her husband had been sent away to work at the countryside at the height of China’s Cultural Revolution, a time of extreme political disorder.

Despite much failure, finally, she with her team members found a brief reference to one substance, sweet wormwood (in Chinese Qinhao), which had been used to treat malaria in China around 400 AD.

The team tested the drug but they didn’t succeed until Tu Youyou returned to the original ancient text. After another careful reading, she heated the extract without allowing it to reach boiling point.

Without any hesitation, Tu Youyou volunteered to be the first human recipient of the new drug.“As the head of the research group, I had the responsibility,” she explained to the Chinese media. Tu Youyou is typically described in China as a “modest”woman. Her work was published anonymously (匿名地) in 1977, and for decades she received little recognition for her research.

In any case, Tu Youyou is consistently praised for her drive and passion. One former colleague says Ms Tu is “unsociable and quite straightforward”, adding that “if she disagrees with something, she will say it”.

Another colleague who has worked with Tu Youyou for more than 40 years, describes her as a “tough and stubborn woman”.

She is actually stubborn enough to spend decades piecing together ancient texts and apply them to modern scientific practices. The result has saved millions of lives.