Health & Fitness

A new study found that a novel mRNA-based therapy that targets a protein called RUNX1 may be able to prevent blindness and scarring from proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), a disease caused by a traumatic eye injury or surgery like a retinal detachment repair that currently lacks effective treatments other than additional surgical procedures. Since RUNX1 is active in other diseases, the researchers also hope in the future to apply their mRNA technique to treat other retinal conditions like wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

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A study reveals that the effectiveness of brain stimulation on motor skills is determined by an individual's learning ability rather than age, highlighting the need for a more personalized approach to neurorehabilitation.

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A recent trial finds an injection given during some asthma and COPD attacks is more effective than the current treatment of steroid tablets, reducing the need for further treatment by 30%.

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A tiny, four-fingered 'hand' folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to infect them, researchers report. Dubbed the NanoGripper, the nanorobotic hand also could be programmed to interact with other viruses or to recognize cell surface markers for targeted drug delivery, such as for cancer treatment.

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Scientists create potential for genetic tools to control disease-spreading ticks.

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Increasing physical activity levels could extend your life up to 11 more years according to new research using accelometry data. The study found that for the least active people in the population, a single one-hour walk could return a benefit of six additional hours of life.

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Public health recommendations generally suggest drinking eight cups of water a day. And many people just assume it's healthy to drink plenty of water.

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Colorectal cancer screening is an effective tool for catching the disease early when it's most treatable, yet it is underutilized at federally qualified health centers (FQHC). A new study demonstrated that a targeted intervention that paired mailing at-home colorectal cancer screening kits with coordinated follow-up tripled screening completion rates compared to usual care at FQHCs.

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The biggest and most comprehensive analysis of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists on kidney and cardiovascular outcomes shows they have significant benefits in people with and without diabetes.

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Short-term menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) did not have long-term cognitive effects when given to women in early postmenopause, according to a new study.

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Engineered proteins are critical industrial and medical applications, ranging from vaccine development to making crops or food proteins more resilient. Scientists can engineer proteins to improve upon nature, but such experiments are time- and labor-intensive. Researchers have developed an AI-based protein design tool known as EVOLVEPro, which is already showing promise for several applications and could be used to help solve other medical challenges.

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Researchers recently developed a new approach for identifying new cellular RNA targets of snoRNAs. They uncovered thousands of previously unknown targets for snoRNAs in human cells and mouse brain tissues, including many that serve functions other than guiding rRNA modifications.

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Researchers have developed a groundbreaking microscopy method that enables detailed three-dimensional (3D) RNA analysis at cellular resolution in whole intact mouse brains. The new method, called TRISCO, has the potential to transform our understanding of brain function, both in normal conditions and in disease, according to the new study.

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Historical policies shaping educational attainment have enduring benefits for later life memory and risk of dementia, according to a new study. The study compared the differences in years of education based on variations in state schooling mandates with cognitive performance outcomes in residents decades later.

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A new animal study shows that males and females have profoundly different sleep patterns. The findings shed light on what may drive differences in humans and have broad implications for preclinical research that, for decades, has focused primarily on males.

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Salk scientists have tracked the flow of trans fats using mouse models to describe the molecular mechanisms that cause trans fats to promote atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), explaining how industrially produced trans-unsaturated fatty acids in our food significantly promote ASCVD and encouraging lawmakers to impose regulations on the use of these fats in food. This new insight into the flow of fats through the body points to new therapeutic targets for mitigating diseases like ASCVD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, and neurodegeneration.

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Experts have identified five elements of a brain-based condition that has emerged as a leading cause of vision impairment starting in childhood in the United States and other industrialized nations. Known as cerebral (or cortical) visual impairment (CVI), some estimates suggest that at least 3% of primary school children exhibit CVI-related visual problems, which vary, but may include difficulty visually searching for an object or person or understanding a scene involving complex motion.

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The Wistar Institute and the University of Buea in Cameroon has uncovered the mechanisms for a medicinal plant with anti-HIV potential in Croton oligandrus Pierre & Hutch, a species of African tree that has been used in traditional healing in Cameroon to treat a variety of diseases and conditions including cancers and diabetes.

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New research found confined and isolating environments changed the way people smelled and responded emotionally to certain food aromas. The team in this study compared 44 people's emotional responses and perception of eight food aromas in two environmental scenarios: sitting in reclined chairs that mimic astronauts' posture in microgravity; and then in the confined setting of the International Space Station (ISS), which was simulated for participants with virtual reality goggles. The research builds on previous work by the team and aims to help explain why astronauts report meals taste different in space and struggle to eat their normal nutritional intake over long missions, which has been reported in the news recently.

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When pain signals are passed along the nervous system, proteins called calcium channels play a key role. Researchers have now pinpointed the exact location of a specific calcium channel fine-tuning the strength of pain signals. This knowledge can be used to develop drugs for chronic pain that are more effective and have fewer side effects.

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Researchers have used machine learning and supercomputer simulations to investigate how tiny gold nanoparticles bind to blood proteins. The studies discovered that favorable nanoparticle-protein interactions can be predicted from machine learning models that are trained from atom-scale molecular dynamics simulations. The new methodology opens ways to simulate efficacy of gold nanoparticles as targeted drug delivery systems in precision nanomedicine.

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In what could one day become a new treatment for epilepsy, researchers have used pulses of light to prevent seizure-like activity in neurons.

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A randomized, phase 2 clinical trial shows that adding high-dose, intravenous (IV) vitamin C to chemotherapy doubles the overall survival of patients with late-stage metastatic pancreatic cancer from eight months to 16 months. The finding adds to mounting evidence of the benefits of high-dose, IV vitamin C in treating cancer.

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It turns out gaming is good for you! New research indicates massive multiplayer online gamers learn by gaming and their skills in the workplace are enriched by those seemingly endless hours previously thought of as frittering away time.

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Clinical visits by patients suffering ocular surface eye conditions more than doubled during times when ambient particulate matter from air pollution was in the atmosphere, signaling a possible association between climate change and ocular health, according to a new study.

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To stem the surging antibiotic resistance public health crisis, scientists seek solutions inside the mechanics of bacterial infection. A new study has found a vulnerability related to magnesium availability. This limitation potentially could be exploited to stop the spread of antibiotic resistance.

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A new study shows that the past 30 years of globalization have brought fundamental shifts in some aspects of family interaction among Indigenous people in Guatemala. But families have still maintained a unique level of harmony in their interactions.

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A new study has revealed that the shape of the heart is influenced in part by genetics and may help predict the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

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A new drug strategy that regulates the tumor immune microenvironment may transform a tumor that resists immunotherapy into a susceptible one, according to a new study.

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New findings uncover an alarming rise in depression rates among all higher education students in the United States, but especially among sexual and gender minorities.

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By exploiting the genetic variation in cancer cells, an already approved cancer drug demonstrated enhanced effects against cancer cells in specific patient groups, according to a new study. The findings suggest a potential for more individually tailored and more effective cancer therapies.

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A recent study shows that switching to an opt-out organ donation policy, where all adults are presumed organ donors unless they explicitly opt out, does not increase donations from deceased donors.

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Many bacterial-linked illnesses, such as inflammatory bowel disease or colorectal cancer, are associated with an overgrowth of gut bacteria thought to be bad actors. But when researchers used a machine learning algorithm to predict the density of microbes -- called microbial load, from their gut microbiomes, they found that changes in microbial load, rather than the disease, could be a driver behind the presence of disease-associated microbial species.

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Scientists detect a heightened 'threat vigilance' reaction in adolescents after a few hours of isolation, which socializing online doesn't appear to ameliorate. They say the findings might shed light on the link between loneliness and mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders, which are on the rise in young people.

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Addition of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab to standard of care for patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma of the limb significantly improved disease-free survival, according to the results of the SU2C-SARC032 clinical trial.

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A new study has found frailty increases a person's risk of dementia, but early intervention may be the key to prevention.

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The potential of using compassion as a tool in elite sport is high, both for the individual athlete and in terms of sporting results, a study involving high-performance coaches shows.

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One of the first studies to investigate the prevalence of unrecognized cognitive impairment among patients seen at Federally Qualified Health Centers, has found that it is ubiquitous, especially among minoritized older adults. These facilities provide primary care and preventive services regardless of ability to pay or health insurance status to more than 30 million patients, including a growing number of older adults.

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Scientists believe individuals of the most recently discovered 'hominin' group (the Denisovans) that interbred with modern day humans passed on some of their genes via multiple, distinct interbreeding events that helped shape early human history. Scientists outline evidence suggesting that several Denisovan populations, who likely had an extensive geographical range from Siberia to Southeast Asia and from Oceania to South America, were adapted to distinct environments. They further outline a number of genes of Denisovan origin that gave modern day humans advantages in their different environments.

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In a study that identified male chromosome genetic material in the intestines of female patients undergoing fecal transplants, researchers say they have significantly expanded scientific understanding of how some of these transplants may succeed and work.

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Children too young to know words like 'impossible' and 'improbable' nonetheless understand how possibility works, finds new work with two- and three-year-olds. The findings demonstrate that young children distinguish between improbable and impossible events, and learn significantly better after 'impossible' occurrences.

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Researchers have uncovered new targets that could be the key to effectively treating glioblastoma, a lethal type of brain cancer. These targets were identified through a screen for genetic vulnerabilities in patient-derived cancer stem cells that represent the variability found in tumors.

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Being a scientist has its challenges. Knowing how to communicate your scientific research in a socially responsible manner can be even more difficult. Thankfully, researchers have identified some of the trade-offs and communication strategies that environmental health scientists can use to communicate more effectively.

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Researchers used an electrophysiological computer model of the heart's electrical circuits to examine the effect of the applied voltage field in multiple fibrillation-defibrillation scenarios. They discovered far less energy is needed than is currently used in state-of-the-art defibrillation techniques. The authors applied an adjoint optimization method and discovered adjusting the duration and the smooth variation in time of the voltage supplied by defibrillation devices is a more efficient mechanism that reduces the energy needed to stop fibrillation by three orders of magnitude.

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Researchers employed analysis tools and machine learning algorithms to identify two genes linked to rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis that could serve as diagnostic tools and potential targets for treatments. Drawing from a large database of genetic information, they gathered dozens of sequenced genomes from people with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis to look for any similarities, using recently developed computational methods to narrow down their search. They identified genes ATXN2L and MMP14 as significantly associated with the progression of both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.

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Scientists have long suspected the keto diet might be able to calm an overactive immune system and help some people with diseases like multiple sclerosis. Now, they have reason to believe it could be true. Scientists have discovered that the diet makes the gut and its microbes produce two factors that attenuated symptoms of MS in mice.

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Expanded protocols promote early detection in high-risk patients and prevent hospital outbreaks of Candida auris.

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A concerning increase in global rates of severe invasive infections becoming resistant to key antibiotics has a team of infectious disease researchers studying a recently emerged strain of bacteria called Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies equisimilis. These infections range in severity from strep throat to flesh-eating disease.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) can provide same-day assessments of antimicrobial resistance for patients in intensive care -- critical to preventing life-threatening sepsis.

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Patients with Huntington's disease have a genetic mutation that triggers proteins to misfold and clump together in the brain. These clumps interfere with cell function and eventually lead to cell death. The new treatment leverages peptide-brush polymers, which act as a shield to prevent proteins from binding to one another. In studies in mice, the treatment successfully rescued neurons to reverse symptoms.

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A team has developed a large-scale drug screening technique that can track target molecule behavior within cells. The researchers verified their technique by testing the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a known target for cancer drugs. Their drug screening resulted in the identification of the known drugs, as well as others that were not previously known to affect EGFR. This new method can potentially help develop new drugs and repurpose existing drugs.

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Scientists have developed a new method of genetic analysis, which extracts more precise data than previously used methods when looking at DNA, and will improve our understanding of the genetic basis of rare and complex diseases. The findings explain a new method of analyzing genetics, which determines the extent to which genes are involved in phenotype formation. The previously used method extracted information using averages from different datasets, meaning that it had limitations in terms of the type of information it could provide, and what scientists could learn from it.

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People with stronger autistic trails showed distinct exploration patterns and higher levels of persistence in a computer game, ultimately resulting in better performance than people with lower scores of autistic traits, according to a new study.

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With its emphasis on opioid overdose prevention, the first guideline for primary care providers from the American Academy of Pediatrics on prescribing opioids for acute pain in children and adolescents extends beyond responsible pain management.

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