Ketamine Isn’t an Opioid and Treats Depression in a Unique Way

Ketamine has gotten a bad rap as an opioid when there’s plenty of evidence suggesting it isn’t one, Johns Hopkins experts say. They believe this reputation may hamper patients from getting necessary treatment for the kinds of depression that don’t respond to typical antidepressants. In a new paper, the researchers clarify the mechanism behind ketamine’s mechanism of action in hopes of restoring the therapy’s standing among health care professionals and the public.

Co-location of UAH’s Department of Kinesiology and the university’s ice hockey team facilitates sports science research

The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is home to the only Division I NCAA ice hockey team in the Southeast, but its presence in the Tennessee Valley is more than just a source of pride for the campus community; it’s also a boon for faculty members in the Department of Kinesiology in UAH’s College of Education, who don’t have to travel far to find willing subjects for their research into maximizing player performance both on and off the ice.

Tip Sheet: Have Fun This Summer While Staying Safe

Heat Safety for Young Athletes
Heat illness injuries are preventable, says Raj Deu, M.D., assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Ideally, athletes should avoid strenuous exercise in high temperatures,” Deu says. “If that is not possible, then proper preparation with heat acclimatization, maintenance of hydration, multiple breaks from activity and knowledge of medication side effects can save athletes from a potential life-threatening event.”
Deu shares the following reminders about sun safety and sports related heat injuries:

Research uncovers possible trigger for beginnings of life on Earth as we know it

Approximately 2.4 billion years ago, the Great Oxidation Event, which dramatically increased the oxygen content in Earth’s atmosphere, paved the way for the rise of all lifeforms that use oxygen to break down nutrients for energy. While scientists agree about when the event happened, they are less certain about exactly how it occurred.

Now, however, researchers at Missouri S&T say they’ve discovered a possible trigger for the Great Oxidation Event and the arrival of plants and animals on Earth.

Midwives and nurse-midwives may underestimate the dangers of prenatal alcohol use

Alcohol use during pregnancy can have harmful consequences on the fetus including restricted growth, facial anomalies, and neurobehavioral problems. No amount of alcohol use during pregnancy has been proven safe. Yet a recent survey of midwives and nurses who provide prenatal care showed that 44% think one drink per occasion is acceptable while pregnant, and 38% think it is safe to drink alcohol during at least one trimester of pregnancy.

Discovery enables clear identification of diseased beta cells in type 2 diabetes

BOSTON – (July 29, 2019) – Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, have unlocked the key to clearly identifying diseased beta cells in type 2 diabetes. This discovery has both research and therapeutic implications.Studies of diabetes rely on the ability of researchers to sort diseased cells from healthy cells.

UCI, JPL glaciologists unveil most precise map ever of Antarctic ice velocity

Constructed from a quarter century’s worth of satellite data, a new map of Antarctic ice velocity by glaciologists from the University of California, Irvine and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is the most precise ever created. Published today in a paper in the American Geophysical Union journal Geophysical Research Letters, the map is 10 times more accurate than previous renditions, covering more than 80 percent of the continent.