Category: 4. Health

  • Mindfulness and brain stimulation could reduce bladder leaks

    Mindfulness and brain stimulation could reduce bladder leaks

    Arriving home after a long day may be a relief, but for some people, seeing their front door or inserting a key into the lock triggers a powerful urge to pee. Known as “latchkey incontinence,” this phenomenon is the subject of a new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh who found that mindfulness training and/or non-invasive brain stimulation could reduce bladder leaks and feelings of urgency evoked by these cues.

    The findings of the pilot study, the first evaluation of…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Evolution of a single gene allowed the plague to adapt, survive and kill much of humanity over many centuries

    Evolution of a single gene allowed the plague to adapt, survive and kill much of humanity over many centuries

    Scientists have documented the way a single gene in the bacterium that causes bubonic plague, Yersinia pestis, allowed it to survive hundreds of years by adjusting its virulence and the length of time it took to kill its victims, but these forms of plague ultimately died out.

    A study by researchers at McMaster University and France’s Institut Pasteur, published today in the journal Science, addresses some fundamental questions related to pandemics: how do they enter human populations, cause…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Could ‘pausing’ cell death be the final frontier in medicine on Earth and beyond?

    Could ‘pausing’ cell death be the final frontier in medicine on Earth and beyond?

    The process of necrosis, a form of cell death, may represent one of the most promising ways to change the course of human aging, disease and even space travel, according to a new study from researchers at UCL, drug discovery company LinkGevity and the European Space Agency (ESA).

    In the study, published in Nature Oncogene, a world-leading international team of scientists and clinicians explore the potential of necrosis — when cells die unexpectedly as a result of infection, injury or…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Dinosaurs could hold key to cancer discoveries

    Dinosaurs could hold key to cancer discoveries

    New techniques used to analyse soft tissue in dinosaur fossils may hold the key to new cancer discoveries, according to a new study published in the journal Biology.

    Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Imperial College London analysed dinosaur fossils using advanced paleoproteomic techniques, a method that holds promise for uncovering molecular data from ancient specimens.

    The researchers discovered red blood cell-like structures in a fossil while studying a Telmatosaurus…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Machine learning algorithm brings long-read sequencing to the clinic

    Machine learning algorithm brings long-read sequencing to the clinic

    Long-read sequencing technologies analyse long, continuous stretches of DNA. These methods have the potential to improve researchers’ ability to detect complex genetic alterations in cancer genomes. However, the complex structure of cancer genomes means that standard analysis tools, including existing methods specifically developed to analyse long-read sequencing data, often fall short, leading to false-positive results and unreliable interpretations of the data. These misleading results can…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Digital discovery unlocks durable catalyst for acidic water splitting

    Digital discovery unlocks durable catalyst for acidic water splitting

    A research team has developed a new method to accelerate the discovery of affordable, stable materials that support clean hydrogen production. Their approach could help make hydrogen — a promising clean energy source — more widely accessible by reducing reliance on costly noble metals.

    Hydrogen can be produced through water splitting, a process that uses electricity to break water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. This process involves two key reactions: the oxygen evolution reaction…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Keep the cool feeling: A lipid enzyme for maintaining cool temperature sensation and avoidance

    Keep the cool feeling: A lipid enzyme for maintaining cool temperature sensation and avoidance

    Sensing environmental temperature is crucial for the development and survival of animals. Insects such as fruit flies have evolved a particularly delicate thermosensory system that can discriminate temperature changes within a milli-degree per second. This accurate thermosensation relies on the precise maintenance of thermal receptor functions; however, their activation and regulatory mechanisms have remained unclear. In this study, researchers identified a lipid enzyme that maintains the…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Novel biomarker: Potential to predict and treat skin cancer metastasis

    Novel biomarker: Potential to predict and treat skin cancer metastasis

    Researchers have identified C5aR1 as a novel biomarker for metastasis risk and poor prognosis in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), the most common type of metastatic skin cancer. The new study’s findings in The American Journal of Pathology, published by Elsevier, found that C5aR1 promotes the invasion of cSCC tumor cells. Its elevated presence suggests that C5aR1 might serve as a useful prognostic marker for metastatic disease and, potentially, a target for future…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • How does coffee affect a sleeping brain?

    How does coffee affect a sleeping brain?

    Caffeine is not only found in coffee, but also in tea, chocolate, energy drinks and many soft drinks, making it one of the most widely consumed psychoactive substances in the world.

    In a study published in April in Nature Communications Biology, a team of researchers from Université de Montréal shed new light on how caffeine can modify sleep and influence the brain’s recovery — both physical and cognitive — overnight.

    The research was led by Philipp Thölke, a research trainee at UdeM’s…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Unlocking precise composition analysis of nanomedicines

    Unlocking precise composition analysis of nanomedicines

    Current regulations for nanomedicines overlook the effects of the different forms of the same element, such as ions, nanoparticles, and aggregates. In a recent study, Japanese researchers developed a new analytical method combining an asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation system and mass spectrometry to separately quantify these forms. This technique allows for better quality control and safety evaluation of metal-based nanomedicines, promoting their development and clinical use, with…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com