Unless you're a lipids researcher or a fan of health podcasts, you'll be forgiven for not knowing what Apolipoprotein B-100 is. The protein (ApoB to its friends) is created in the liver. It helps shift dietary fat and cholesterol around the body, and bind them to cells where they can be used, stored or removed.
But it's also something of a celebrity: the focus of online chat, at-home health tests and biomedical research. All because measuring ApoB is a highly accurate way of predicting a person's risk of cardiovascular disease - more so than traditional cholesterol tests.
A 2021 paper in The Lancet Health Longevity said ApoB was emerging as the "crucial lipoprotein trait" in working out how cholesterol contributes to your risk of a broken heart. Researchers concluded that "higher ApoB shortens lifespan, increases risks of heart disease, stroke ... and diabetes."
Right now, measuring LDL cholesterol is one of the standard ways to test somebody's cardiovascular risk. LDL is 'the bad one', but it's not the only bad one. LDL cholesterol tests, while accurate, don't always give us the full picture. A person could return a low LDL test, but the picture inside their arteries could still be concerning.
Bu hikaye BBC Science Focus dergisinin February 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye BBC Science Focus dergisinin February 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
5 SIMPLE WAYS TO RECLAIM YOUR ATTENTION
Primed for constant interruptions, your brain is now distracting itself, says science. It's time to break the cycle and retrain your focus
GOING ROGUE
Some planets are stuck following the same orbital paths their entire lives. Others break free to wander alone through the vast, empty darkness of interstellar space and there's a lot more of them than you might think
BED BUGS VS THE WORLD
When bloodthirsty bed bugs made headlines for infesting Paris Fashion Week in 2023, it shone a spotlight on a problem that's been making experts itch for decades: the arms race going on between bed bugs and humans. Now, with the 2024 Summer Olympics fast approaching, the stakes are higher than ever
THE EYES THAT WATCH THE SKY
When it launches in 2026, the Copernicus programme's Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring satellite will give us a new window on to Earth's atmosphere... And how we're altering it
TIME-RESTRICTED EATING LINKED TO HIGHER RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR DEATH
Skipping breakfast might not be so good for your health, after all
INSIDE THE PROJECT TO SCAN THOUSANDS OF RARE SPECIMENS
A major collaborative project has created 3D reconstructions of previously locked away museum specimens
VIDEO IS FIRST EVIDENCE OF AN ORCA KILLING A GREAT WHITE
Tourists sailing off the South African coast film a never-before-seen event: a lone orca attacking a 2.5m shark
AI REVEALS PROSTATE CANCER IS NOT JUST ONE DISEASE
DNA analysis carried out by artificial intelligence has helped scientists make a discovery that could revolutionise future treatment
MYSTERIOUS WAVES DETECTED IN JUPITER'S CORE
Scientists hope unusual fluctuations in the gas giant's magnetic field might reveal what's inside
MINI ORGANS GROWN FROM UNBORN BABIES MARK A BREAKTHROUGH IN PRENATAL MEDICINE
A new technique could allow congenital conditions to be diagnosed and treated before birth