Medical News
Some 'inert' drug ingredients may be biologically active
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 23:22
Some supposedly inert ingredients in common drugs -- such as dyes and preservatives -- may potentially be biologically active and could lead to unanticipated side effects, according to a preliminary new study.
Preventing the next pandemic
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 23:22
A new article shows that an annual investment of $30 billion should be enough to offset the costs of preventing another global pandemic such as COVID-19.
Lung ultrasound shows duration, severity of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 17:58
A new study found that lung ultrasound was highly sensitive for detecting abnormalities in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with B-lines, a thickened pleural line, and pulmonary consolidation the most common...
Study finds decline in emergent hospitalizations during early phase of COVID-19
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 23:20
Researchers report on the decline of emergent medical, surgical and obstetric hospitalizations at the medical center during the six-week period following the week of the declaration of the COVID-19 public health emergenc...
Driving immunometabolism to control lung infection
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 20:37
When drugs to kill microbes are ineffective, host-directed therapy uses the body's own immune system to deal with the infection. This approach is being tested in patients with COVID-19, and now a team of researchers has ...
Reexamining the history of slavery through 23andMe African ancestry data
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 17:59
Researchers have compiled genetic data from consenting 23andMe research participants to paint a more complete picture of African ancestry in the New World. By linking genetic data with slave trade historical records, the...
New CT scan method lowers radiation exposure
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 17:59
A CT scan technique that splits a full X-ray beam into thin beamlets can deliver the same quality of image at a much reduced radiation dose, according to a new study. The technique, demonstrated on a small sample in a mi...
Lone Star ticks in Illinois can carry, transmit Heartland virus
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 17:58
Researchers have confirmed that Heartland virus, an emerging pathogen with potentially dire consequences for those infected, is present in Lone Star ticks in two Illinois counties hundreds of miles apart. Lone Star ticks...
COVID-19 vaccine innovation could dramatically speed up worldwide production
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 20:36
A new modified version of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has a 10-fold higher expression rate in cell cultures than an earlier version that forms the basis of some candidates currently in clinical trials. Vaccine manufactu...
New CT scan method lowers radiation exposure
EurekAlert! - 23 Jul 2020 06:00
(University College London) A CT scan technique that splits a full X-ray beam into thin beamlets can deliver the same quality of image at a much reduced radiation dose, according to a new UCL study. The technique, demons...
Gene in fat plays key role in insulin resistance
EurekAlert! - 23 Jul 2020 06:00
(UT Southwestern Medical Center) DALLAS - July 23, 2020 - Deleting a key gene in mice in just their fat made tissues throughout these animals insulin resistant, in addition to other effects, a new study by UT Southwester...
Vikings had smallpox and may have helped spread the world's deadliest virus
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 20:37
Scientists have discovered extinct strains of smallpox in the teeth of Viking skeletons - proving for the first time that the killer disease plagued humanity for at least 1400 years. Smallpox spread via infectious drople...
COVID-19 lockdown caused 50 percent global reduction in human-linked Earth vibrations
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 20:37
The lack of human activity during lockdown caused human-linked vibrations in the Earth to drop by an average of 50 percent between March and May 2020.
Neanderthals may have had a lower threshold for pain
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 17:59
Nerve cells have a special ion channel that has a key role in starting the electrical impulse that signals pain and is sent to the brain. New research finds that people who inherited the Neanderthal variant of this ion c...
Gene-controlling mechanisms play key role in cancer progression
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 17:58
Researchers have analyzed how epigenomic modifications change as tumors evolve. In a study of mouse lung tumors, the researchers identified 11 chromatin states, or epigenomic states, that cancer cells can pass through as...
Immune system -- Knocked off balance
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 17:58
Instead of protecting us, the immune system can sometimes go awry, as in the case of autoimmune diseases and allergies. A team has now dissected how mast cells regulate their calcium levels to keep the immune response un...
Mammal cells could struggle to fight space germs
Science Daily - 23 Jul 2020 15:26
The immune systems of mammals - including humans - might struggle to detect and respond to germs from other planets, new research suggests.
Study: Factors linked to structural racism put latino communities at risk for COVID-19
EurekAlert! - 23 Jul 2020 06:00
(George Washington University) WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 23, 2020) -- Factors linked to structural racism put Latino communities in the U.S. at high risk of COVID-19, a study published today says. The new study is the first...
Phage therapy shows potential for treating prosthetic joint infections
EurekAlert! - 23 Jul 2020 06:00
(Mayo Clinic) Bacteriophages, or phages, may play a significant role in treating complex bacterial infections in prosthetic joints, according to new Mayo Clinic research. The findings suggest phage therapy could provide ...
A new approach to aiding black male trauma survivors
EurekAlert! - 23 Jul 2020 06:00
(University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing) Many Black men suffer symptoms of traumatic stress in the aftermath of traumatic injury, and they also often carry social concerns, including experiences of discrimination a...
A never-before-seen cell state may explain cancer's ability to resist drugs
EurekAlert! - 23 Jul 2020 06:00
(Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) Scientists at the Sloan Kettering Institute, the Koch Institute at MIT, and the Klarman Cell Observatory at the Broad Institute have identified an unusual cell state that emerges ...
Lung ultrasound shows duration, severity of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
EurekAlert! - 23 Jul 2020 06:00
(American Roentgen Ray Society) According to an open-access article published in ARRS' American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), lung ultrasound was highly sensitive for detecting abnormalities in patients with coronaviru...