Category: 4. Health

  • A leap forward in transparent antimicrobial coatings

    A leap forward in transparent antimicrobial coatings

    Hydrogen boride (HB) nanosheets can inactivate viruses, bacteria, and fungi within minutes in the dark conditions. By coating surfaces with HB nanosheets, it rapidly inactivates SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus, and other pathogens. The nanosheets work by denaturing microbial proteins, offering a safe, effective, and versatile antimicrobial coating for everyday items.

    The global fight against infectious diseases faces two major challenges: the threat of new pandemic outbreaks and the alarming…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Scientists invent breakthrough device to detect airborne signs of disease

    Scientists invent breakthrough device to detect airborne signs of disease

    If you’ve ever sat waiting at the doctor’s office to give a blood sample, you might have wished there was a way to find the same information without needles.

    But for all the medical breakthroughs of the 20th century, the best way to detect molecules has remained through liquids, such as blood. New research from the University of Chicago, however, could someday put a pause on pinpricks. A group of scientists announced they have created a small, portable device that can collect and detect…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • New method paves way for fewer severe birth injuries

    New method paves way for fewer severe birth injuries

    High birth weight is the main risk factor for birth injuries to the anal sphincter muscles of the person giving birth, according to a study at the University of Gothenburg. This new method for predicting the risks could improve care and reduce injuries.

    Five percent of women giving birth to their first child in Sweden sustain birth injuries in the form of obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASI), affecting the muscles responsible for controlling gas and bowel movements. These injuries can…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Engineered bacteria can deliver antiviral therapies, vaccines

    Engineered bacteria can deliver antiviral therapies, vaccines

    New research from the University of Cincinnati demonstrates how specially engineered bacteria taken orally can operate as a delivery system for antiviral therapies and vaccines.

    The research, led by Nalinikanth Kotagiri, PhD, was recently published in the journal Gut Microbes.

    Study background

    Kotagiri’s lab focuses on engineering probiotic bacteria to accomplish a wide variety of functions, from breaking down cancer’s defenses to imaging and diagnosing lung infections.

    A few years ago,…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Promising new way to modulate brain cell activity to potentially treat major depressive disorder in adults

    Promising new way to modulate brain cell activity to potentially treat major depressive disorder in adults

    A mechanism involving potassium channels in the brain that control brain cell activity could provide a new and fundamentally different way of treating depression symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder, according to two complementary papers published recently by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

    In two new research articles, published in Biological Psychiatry and Molecular Psychiatry, the researchers provide new insights into how a drug called ezogabine…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Increased risk of psychopathology found in offspring of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

    Increased risk of psychopathology found in offspring of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

    A new study confirms that children of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a higher risk of developing psychopathology compared to children whose parents do not have these conditions. The study, published in the journal European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, examines how the clinical and social characteristics of parents influence the mental health of their offspring.

    “The study confirms this increased risk and helps to better understand what factors influence mental health…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Why common leukemia treatments fail in some patients

    Why common leukemia treatments fail in some patients

    An international study led by the University of Colorado Cancer Center has uncovered why a widely used treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) doesn’t work for everyone. The findings could help doctors better match patients with the therapies most likely to work for them.

    The study was published today in Blood Cancer Discovery.

    Researchers analyzed data from 678 AML patients, the largest group studied to date for this treatment and found that both gene mutations and the maturity of…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Salivary gland regenerative biobank to combat chronic dry mouth

    Salivary gland regenerative biobank to combat chronic dry mouth

    Millions of people are affected by chronic dry mouth, or xerostomia, an agonizing side effect of damaged salivary glands. While chemotherapy and radiation treatment for head and neck cancer are the most common causes of this, aging, certain medications and other factors, including diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and HIV/AIDS, can also cause chronic dry mouth. Currently, there is no cure for it.

    Mayo Clinic researchers have established the world’s first biobank of human salivary gland…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • This gene variant contributed to the dietary and physiological evolution of modern humans

    This gene variant contributed to the dietary and physiological evolution of modern humans

    Two of the traits that set modern humans apart from non-human primates are taller stature and a higher basal metabolic rate. Publishing in the Cell Press journal Cell Genomics on May 21, researchers have identified a genetic variant that contributed to the co-evolution of these traits. This mutation seems to help people grow taller — especially when they consume a lot of meat.

    “The dietary shift from a primarily plant-based diet to increased meat consumption marks a major milestone in human…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • ‘Barcodes’ written into our DNA reveal how blood ages

    ‘Barcodes’ written into our DNA reveal how blood ages

    A new study in the journal Nature explains how age reshapes the blood system. In both humans and mice, a few stem cells, or “clones,” outcompete their neighbours and gradually take over blood production. The blood stem cell reservoir shrinks and becomes dominated by clones which show a preference for producing myeloid cells, immune cells linked to chronic inflammation.

    The changes were detectable by age 50 and almost universal by age 60. The authors of the study suspect the loss of clone…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com