Day August 23, 2024

Brooke Shafer, Ph.D., is lead author on a new OHSU study that reveals negative health impacts for overweight people who stay awake too late for their internal biological clock. Credit: OHSU/Christine Torres Hicks New research from Oregon Health & Science…

The anti-obesity medication semaglutide may help to prevent heart attacks and other major adverse cardiac events among overweight people who have cardiovascular disease, whether or not they also have heart failure, according to a new study led by UCL’s Professor…

The ability of skeletal muscle to produce force (contractile function) and contraction-stimulated glucose uptake (increase in clearing sugar from bloodstream) do not differ by time of day, regardless of sex or muscle type. The first-of-its-kind study directly investigated intrinsic contractile…

Credit: William Choquette from Pexels With the responsibilities of adulthood, free time can be a rare commodity. Many of us find ourselves asking, “I barely have time to cook dinner. How can I find time to exercise regularly during the…

Strength training activates cellular waste disposal mechanisms which are essential for long-term preservation of muscle mass. This is the finding of a University of Bonn research team. Credit: Photo: Volker Lannert / University of Bonn The elimination of damaged cell…

Eating the seaweed Ecklonia cava may be able to slow down or prevent Parkinson’s disease, according to a 2024 study. Researchers found that antioxidants in the seaweed—which is often used in soups and salads in Asian cuisine—may protect our neurons…

Up to 94% of U.S. adultsadults experience at least some dulling of their senses with age, finding themselves squinting at screens, craving stronger flavors, and missing snatches of conversations more and more frequently. Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine…

Scripps Research scientists discovered that specialized intestine cells (shown in green) in the C. elegans worm (gray) produce a peptide hormone that travels to the brain to control fat metabolism. Credit: Scripps Research In a struggle that probably sounds familiar…

Electron micrograph of a negatively stained human papilloma virus (HPV) which occurs in human warts. Credit: public domain Cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer type in women, causes approximately 350,000 deaths each year, mainly in middle- and low-income countries.…

Credit: National Cancer Institute A study by co-authors from the ECDC, WHO and national public health institutes in four European countries, and published in Eurosurveillance, has found that prior smallpox vaccination in childhood could protect against infections caused by monkeypox…

Certain changes in the genetic material of pathogens can alter their ability to infect human cells or protect them better from defense by the immune system. Researchers were able to observe this effect particularly impressively in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. During…

US health authorities on Thursday approved updated versions of Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, with the companies saying the jabs will be available “in the coming days.” The latest vaccines, developed using the KP.2 variant of the virus, are designed…

Credit: The American Journal of Human Genetics (2024). DOI: 10.1016 A gene called ZNRF3, known to be involved in cancer, also messes with the mind. The human brain relies on two copies of this gene to build a correctly sized…

Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID Scientists have discovered a mutation in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,…

Dementia with Lewy bodies is a type of dementia that is similar to both Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, but studies on long-term treatments are lacking. A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, highlights…

Federal regulators have blocked two private sector enrollment websites from accessing consumer information through the federal Obamacare marketplace, citing “anomalous activity.” The unusual step comes as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is under the gun to curb unauthorized…

GnRHMOB and GnRHAOB neuronal projections and neuroendocrine/behavioral responses to odors in male mice. Credit: Nature Neuroscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01724-1 Animal reproduction is supported by the integration of various external and internal processes. These processes include a combination of perceived sensory…

A variety of vegetarian diets appear to protect against risk of mortality and contributing conditions, with a pesco-vegetarian diet—which includes fish—providing the most protection against risk in very elderly people, according to a new study. The study, “Cause-specific and all-cause…

People with HIV can no longer be turned away if they try to enlist in the U.S. military, a federal judge has ruled. The decision, issued this week by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkma, said the Pentagon’s ban on HIV-positive…

Moderna’s RSV vaccine is the third approved for the treatment of people aged 60 and over. The European Commission on Friday approved Moderna’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for older adults—the first time the bloc has authorised an mRNA shot…

The image shows how the algorithm initially processes the typically stained tissue section (left) and creates a map in which different tissue types can be seen in different colors (blue is the tumor, in this case an adenocarcinoma of the…

Paradoxically, previous research has shown that despite its inherent health risks, cigarette smoking is linked with a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Until now, however, it was not clear how. New research in lab models indicates that low doses…

12 days after wounding, untreated skin (left) lacks hair follicles, but TGM treatment (right) promotes the formation of new hair follicles (arrowheads) as the tissue heals and regenerates. Credit: 2024 Lothstein et al. Originally published in Life Science Alliance. DOI:…

Credit: Cell Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1016 Northwestern Medicine investigators have uncovered a new way in which neurons in the brain “forget” associations that help guide behavior and habits, according to a study published in Cell Reports. In addition to shedding…

Relative contribution of risk factors on clinical outcome measures. Credit: JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001 A team of neuroscientists, brain specialists and psychiatrists, led by a group at Cambridge University, in the U.K, has found evidence suggesting that minor…

Genetic landscape of piRNA biogenesis-related male infertility. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50930-9 Many couples struggle with infertility. Contrary to popular belief, men are just as often the cause of an unfulfilled desire for children as women—and genetics play a…

Immunofluorescence staining of human gastric cells grown in a microplate and infected with Chlamydia trachomatis. Blue: cell nuclei, green: C. trachomatis, gray: actin. Credit: Pargev Hovhannisyan / Universität Würzburg People who are infected with chlamydia can transmit these bacteria to…

U2OS cells expressing various GFP-tagged CCM2 constructs and mito-TLNRD1-mScarlet or mito-mScarlet (CTRL) were imaged using a spinning disk confocal microscope. Credit: Journal of Cell Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1083 Researchers have discovered a crucial protein, TLNRD1, that could help us better…

Trinity researchers have examined the effectiveness of a new blood test which could change the way Alzheimer’s disease is identified. The blood test (plasma p-tau217) detects the presence of amyloid plaques that build up in the brain of people with…

Obesity-related cancer rates in China were rising at an alarming 3.6% every year between 2007 and 2021 while non-obesity-related cancers remained stable, according to the first comprehensive study published August 22 in the journal Med. The increase is particularly pronounced…

Triple-negative breast cancer cell line (MDAMB468), taken with a widefield microscope. The breast cancer cell line expresses a marker for the nucleus, which was used for real-time quantification of cells to determine the sensitivity of the cells at different times…

Australia currently finds itself in the unusual position of being both in an opioid epidemic and experiencing a shortage of these critical medicines. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has placed eight oral morphine products on its shortage list. It doesn’t expect…

Belzutifan, a hypoxia-inducible factor 2? (HIF-2?) inhibitor, improves progression-free survival and objective responses over everolimus among patients with advanced clear-cell renal cell carcinoma, according to a study published in the Aug. 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.…

A research team from University of Tsukuba has developed an innovative method to quantify stress using Integrated Information Theory. This approach comprehensively evaluates biological signals and has demonstrated a strong correlation with subjective stress reports, especially in relation to feelings…

As life expectancy increases, the attention and interest in safe and effective lifestyle interventions to promote healthy aging are growing rapidly. One of the elements explored is that of unhealthy diets, with poor nutritional value. Therefore, lifestyle changes which include…

Credit: Journal of Rare Diseases (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s44162-024-00049-8 Researchers call on policymakers, decision-makers, and “those who hold the purse strings” to listen to the evidence and take action to enable individuals with TSC to receive the internationally recommended coordinated care…

A newly developed otoscope incorporates combines the familiar otoscopic view with high-resolution imaging of the inner structures of the TM and middle ear, offering a clearer and more comprehensive view. The images here were acquired from a normal ear. Abbreviations:…

Button batteries power numerous commonly used devices in the home. A study examining injuries from button battery ingestion found that a combination of the young age of the child, button battery size and delayed diagnosis creates a “perfect storm” that…

Adelaide researchers are calling for general practitioners to take a more proactive approach towards addressing erectile dysfunction (ED) and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), in light of new findings suggesting these conditions may be linked to underlying cardiometabolic disorders. A…

Researchers discovered an alternative way to classify distinct types of colon cancer, making the information more valuable to patients and their doctors as they consider treatment. Currently, colon cancers can be classified into four subtypes based on gene expression patterns,…