Welcome to Fitmodo, your regular weekly round up of the news you need to know to keep your earthly form in top shape — from fitness advice to breakthroughs in medical research.
This week:
Some ‘Gluten-Free’ Foods Aren’t Gluten-Free
A study by The University of Western Australia of foods labelled “gluten-free” — published this week in the Medical Journal of Australia — has found that some produced overseas do not comply with the Australian standard that requires GF-labelled foods to contain “no detectable gluten”.
Coeliac disease is the only common disease for which strict dietary compliance is the sole treatment: the “gluten-free” (GF) diet. Sensitivity to gluten varies between patients, with levels in food less than one part-per-million protecting most patients.
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The Microsoft Band Is Dead
Seems like it’s Take Out The Trash Day in the land of mediocre tech. Presto is dead, Meerkat is dead, and now it looks like Microsoft is killing off its unloved activity tracker as well. Listings for the Microsoft Band 2 in the company’s Aussie online store — recently discounted by a pretty fair margin — now point to nowhere, and there’s no trace of the tracker at one of Microsoft’s major retail partners either.
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British Man May Be The First Person Cured Of HIV
A 44-year-old man in England is possibly the first person in history to be cured of HIV. Scientists working on an experimental new therapy say that the virus is now completely undetectable in his blood.
A team gathered from five UK universities is currently conducting trials on 50 people. Mark Samuels, managing director of the National Institute for Health Research Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure, told The Sunday Times, “We are exploring the real possibility of curing HIV. This is a huge challenge and it’s still early days but the progress has been remarkable.”
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The First Living Donor Uterus Transplants Have Been Performed In The US
A new medical breakthrough could have major implications for thousands of women without a uterus. According to a Time report, the first living-donor womb transplant in the US was performed at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas last month.
The living-donor transplant was one of four surgeries performed on four different women with a condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome that caused them to be born without a uterus. About one in 4500 women in the US are estimated to have the condition.
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Also catching our eye:
- Need advice on curing a hangover? Lifehacker Australia has you covered.
- Can’t seem to find the motivation to exercise today, or ever? You’re not alone. Luckily, Popsugar Australia has all the motivation you need.