news, journals and articles from all over the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how our small genetic differences can have a tremendous effect on how our bodies respond to disease. Researchers have created 3D maps of how enhancer sequences and genes interact in several types of immune cells. Their new study opens the door to understanding individual risk for diseases from asthma to cancer.
DALLAS – Dec. 21, 2020 – A UT Southwestern research team has catalogued gene activity in the skeletal muscle of mice, comparing healthy animals to those carrying a genetic mutation that causes Duchene muscular dystrophy (DMD) in humans. The findings, published online recently in PNAS, could lead to new treatments for this devastating degenerative disease and insights into factors that affect muscle development.
In the latest issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a team of researchers recommends ways that psychological and behavioral sciences can help decrease the negative consequences of Internet use. These recommendations emphasize helping people gain greater control over their digital environments.
A new report from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health offers recommendations aimed at federal, state, and local policymakers to address the opioid epidemic during the pandemic.
Using human-induced pluripotent stem cells engineered from a single family’s blood samples, a gene signaling pathway linked to a higher risk for developing schizophrenia was discovered by scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The research was published in a recent issue of Neuropsychopharmacology.
The January edition of SLAS Discovery features the cover article, “Cryo-EM: The Resolution Revolution and Drug Discovery” by Taiana Maia de Oliveira, Ph.D., Lotte van Beek, Ph.D., Fiona Shilliday, Ph.D., Judit E. Debreczeni, Ph.D., and Chris Phillips, Ph.D., from AstraZeneca.
A prehistoric croc measuring more than five metres long – dubbed the ‘swamp king’ – ruled south eastern Queensland waterways only a few million years ago.
Robust evidence from a large international study confirms that a difference in blood pressure readings between arms is linked to greater risk of heart attack, stroke and death.
The rate of hospital readmissions for hip and knee replacement patients declined from roughly 12 percent to 3 percent when they were enrolled in a “hovering” program
By taking a lesson from prostate cancer, researchers now have a promising lead on a treatment for COVID-19. They found that, just like in prostate cancer, TMPRSS2 is regulated by the androgen receptor in the lungs. And notably, blocking the androgen receptor led to lower expression of TMPRSS2, which led to decreased coronavirus infection in mice and cellular models.
The absence of a protein that works to prevent tumor formation may explain why some patients are resistant to a common cancer therapy, according to Penn State Cancer Institute and Penn State College of Medicine researchers.
By examining tiny particles of gold with powerful X-ray beams, scientists hope they can learn how to cut down on harmful carbon monoxide emissions from motor vehicles.
A virtual telehealth platform is allowing a surgery program to evaluate and wait-list patients for kidney transplantation.
Ettringite, a mineral found in cement, can latch on to and detain the wily and worrisome radioactive contaminant, pertechnetate.
In order to improve their understanding of how CTCL develops in hopes of developing new therapies, a team of Moffitt immunologists and hematologists conducted a series of studies. In an article published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, they demonstrate that decreased expression of the protein SATB1 contributes to CTCL development and that drugs that cause SATB1 to become re-expressed may be potential treatment options for this disease.
New research shows that pesticide alter how Colorado potato beetles manage their DNA. These changes were passed down two generations suggesting that rapid resistance to pesticides may not require beetles to evolve their genetic code. Instead they may simply use existing genes to tolerate toxins already found in potatoes. The scientists were surprised that these epigenetic changes, triggered by a single tiny dose of pesticide, were maintained through multiple rounds of sexual reproduction.
A new study from scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology examines public attitudes toward non-native bird species and whether people are willing to manage them to protect native cavity-nesting birds, such as Eastern Bluebirds and the American Kestrel. The findings are published in the Journal of Environmental Management.
It’s no secret that grandparents love being around their grandchildren, which is one reason why the COVID-19 pandemic is so hard on them. Here is some advice from other grandparents on how to make the best of it.
Scientists from the MIPT Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases have joined forces with their colleagues from Jülich Research Center, Germany, and uncovered how sodium ions drive glutamate transport in the central nervous system. Glutamate is the most important excitatory neurotransmitter and is actively removed from the synaptic cleft between neurons by specialized transport proteins called excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs)
Skyrmions are small magnetic objects that could revolutionize the data storage industry and also enable new computer architectures. However, before they can be utilized in such applications, there are still a number of challenges that need to be overcome. A team of Empa researchers has now succeeded for the first time in producing a tunable multilayer system in which two different types of skyrmions – the future bits for “0” and “1” – can exist at room temperature, as they recently reported in the renowned journal Nature Communications.
Researchers from the National University of Singapore have invented a portable tent-like shield to prevent the spread of saliva and aerosols generated during dental procedures. These procedures would otherwise put dentists at a high risk of exposure to COVID-19 and other critical infectious diseases.
A new national poll gives a glimpse into parents’ greatest concerns about their kids in the pandemic-era. High on the top 10 list: overuse of social media and screen time, internet safety, unhealthy eating, depression and suicide and lack of physical activity.
A study of more than 1,400 protein-coding genes of fleas has resolved one of the longest standing mysteries in the evolution of insects, reordering their placement in the tree of life and pinpointing who their closest relatives are.
Exposure to metals such as nickel, arsenic, cobalt and lead may disrupt a woman’s hormones during pregnancy, according to a Rutgers study.
A UCLA-led study may help explain how COVID-19 increases the risk for stroke. Scientists made the finding by running fluid spiked with a COVID-19–like protein through a 3D-printed model of the arteries of a patient who had suffered a stroke.
People hospitalized with COVID-19 and neurological problems including stroke and confusion, have a higher risk of dying than other COVID-19 patients, according to a study published online today by researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the journal Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. These findings have the potential to identify and focus treatment efforts on individuals most at risk and could decrease COVID-19 deaths.
Based on results of a clinical trial led by Yale Cancer Center researchers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved osimertinib for the treatment of adults with early-stage, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR gene mutations, which occurs in about 10 percent of patients.
Preschoolers living in impoverished communities who have access to a nurturing home environment have significantly higher intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in adolescence compared to those raised without nurturing care.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a new family of cathodes with the potential to replace the costly cobalt-based cathodes typically found in today’s lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and consumer electronics.
On December 10, 2020 (Hawai?i Standard Time), the Subaru Telescope imaged the small asteroid 1998 KY26, the target of Hayabusa2’s extended mission.
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients have a greater risk of dying if they are men or are obese or have complications from diabetes or hypertension, according to a new study conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers. In a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the researchers evaluated nearly 67,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in 613 hospitals across the country to determine link between common patient characteristics and the risk of dying from COVID-19.
The first detailed images of coronavirus spikes in their natural state, while still attached to the virus and without using chemical fixatives that might distort their shape, provide quicker, more realistic snapshots of the infection apparatus.
A new study led by researchers in the Geography Department at Swansea University reveals the extreme scale of loss and fragmentation of tropical forests, which once covered much of the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Social holidays improve holiday makers’ overall satisfaction with life, as well as satisfaction with the quantity and quality of their leisure time, and social life, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland.
University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers have created a new polymer to deliver DNA and RNA-based therapies for diseases. For the first time in the industry, the researchers were able to see exactly how polymers interact with human cells when delivering medicines into the body. This discovery opens the door for more widespread use of polymers in applications like gene therapy and vaccine development.
More than a decade of virus research at the APS laid the groundwork for more effective COVID-19 vaccines and helped speed their rapid development.
In urban environments, allergic diseases are more common among dogs and their owners compared to those living in rural areas. Simultaneous allergic traits appear to be associated with the microbes found in the environment, but microbes relevant to health differ between dogs and humans.
The cumulative incidence of hip dislocation following total hip replacement is about 50 percent higher than suggested by simple analysis of hospital data, reports a study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer.
In a recent survey, people who said social distancing and COVID-safety guidelines violated their personal freedoms responded more positively to these ideas when they felt a loved one might be at risk of severe illness for COVID-19.
PNNL researchers are examining the volatile radioisotope iodine as it evolves in the atmosphere and as it lands on a filtering surface. A more detailed understanding of the interactions and chemical evolution of radioiodine could help first responders’ decision-making after the release of volatile iodine into the environment, which happened following nuclear power plant accidents in 1986 at Chernobyl and in 2011 at Fukushima.
By delving into scientific, technological, environmental and economic data, Cornell University engineering researchers examined whether New York could achieve a statewide carbon-free economy by 2050. Their finding: Yes, New York can reach this goal – and do it with five years to spare.
A new canine sleep study could serve as a baseline for research on chronic pain and cognitive dysfunction in dogs, potentially improving detection and treatment of these conditions.
Regular statewide retail checks for compliance with the legal drinking age are associated with a sustained reduction in alcohol-related crashes for drivers aged under 21, according to an analysis of 11 years’ data from South Carolina. Previous research has shown that reductions in underage drinking lead to a decrease in drink-driving and alcohol-related crashes. However, few studies have assessed the impact of purposeful alcohol compliance checks – in which authorities use an underage informant to attempt to buy alcohol – on drink-related road accidents. The new study, reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, evaluated the impact of the South Carolina Alcohol Enforcement Team (AET) program for reducing retail alcohol access to underage youth on drinking and driving crashes among drivers under 21 years old.
More than a decade after committing $130+ billion to Closing the Gap, there has been little improvement in health outcomes experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.
Wildfire smoke contains microbes, infectious agents that might cause diseases. In a perspective piece published in Science, researchers at UC Davis Health and the University of Idaho proposed a multidisciplinary approach to study the health impacts of microbes carried by wildfire smokes.
A team of Ghanaian and U.S. researchers examined whether having insurance affected trauma patients’ out-of-pocket costs and their chances to get timely surgical care after being admitted to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, a large teaching hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, a city of 3.3 million. The study was published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Collaborators came from Stanford University and the University of Utah.
• Exposure to higher amounts of fine particulate air pollution was associated with a greater likelihood of having chronic kidney disease.
• This link was stronger in urban areas, males, younger adults, and adults without comorbid diseases.
Moderate temperature increases broke down SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles structure on glass surfaces, suggesting that virus particles on surfaces will remain infectious longer. The findings agree with observations of other coronaviruses that appear to infect more people during the winter.
According to a new study published in American Journal of Infection Control, improving nurse staffing as proposed in pending legislation in New York state would likely save lives of sepsis patients and save money by reducing the length of hospital stays.
Individuals with high ADHD-traits that do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis are less able to perform tasks involving attentional regulation or emotional control after a sleepless night than individuals with low ADHD-traits, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging reports.
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