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Epigenetic marks do not change the DNA sequence but can affect the activity of genes. "Although in animals, including humans, these marks are believed to be completely reset in gametes, in plants, they can be stably inherited for many generations," says Frank Johannes, Professor of Population Epigenetics and Epigenomics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), whose research team has been trying to understand how epimutations arise in plant genomes, how stable they are across generations, and whether they can affect important plant characteristics.
A scientific breakthrough has enabled experts to predict relapse in a common childhood cancer and means doctors can tailor treatment for each individual child and improve prognosis.
Research by Newcastle University, UK, has revealed that experts can identify the time, nature and outcome of medulloblastoma relapse from the biology of the disease at diagnosis and the initial therapy received.
YOUNGEST COVID-19 PATIENTS MOST LIKELY TO AVOID SEVERE ILLNESS, RECOVER WITH CARE
Media Contact: Michael E. Newman, mnewma25@jhmi.edu
In a comprehensive review of research studies looking at infections from SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- in infants less than 3 months old, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers found that the majority of these tiny patients experience mild to moderate cases of the disease and usually recover with supportive care.
DALLAS, Nov. 17, 2020 — Using a remotely-delivered, algorithm-driven program for disease management, patients experienced significant improvement in cholesterol and blood pressure levels, according to late-breaking research presented today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2020.
"The urgent need for COVID-19 vaccines must be balanced with the imperative of ensuring safety and public confidence in vaccines by following the established clinical safety testing protocols throughout vaccine development, including both pre- and post-deployment," write David M. Knipe and colleagues in this Perspective. The authors highlight how historical experience with vaccine development has paved the way for a well-developed path for preclinical and clinical testing to ensure vaccine safety and efficacy.
November 17, 2020 - Can early-stage prostate cancer "vanish" during follow-up? More likely the cancer is just "hidden"--either way, negative biopsies during active surveillance for prostate cancer are associated with excellent long-term outcomes, reports a study in The Journal of Urology®, an Official Journal of the
DURHAM, N.C. - An aggressive COVID-19 surveillance and testing effort at Duke University was highly effective in minimizing the spread of the disease among students on campus, according to a case study appearing Tuesday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The successful Duke campaign was launched before the start of the semester. Ahead of arriving on campus, all enrolled students were required to self-quarantine for 14 days, sign a code of conduct pledge to obey mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines and have a COVID test.
Rates of both periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease are elevated in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. New research published in Arthritis & Rheumatology suggests that immune responses to certain bacteria that cause periodontal disease may play a role in patients' higher cardiovascular disease risk.
Among 197 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, those with antibody responses to common periodontal pathogens were more likely to also show signs of atherosclerosis.
Exercise-induced respiratory symptoms are common in childhood, and it can be difficult to diagnose their cause. A study published in Pediatric Pulmonology found that the diagnoses proposed by primary care physicians are often not the same as the final diagnoses after specialist referrals.
Researchers have used machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence, to develop a prediction model for the early diagnosis of opioid use disorder. The advance is described in Pharmacology Research & Perspectives.
WASHINGTON, November 3, 2020 -- During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Joseph Lee McCauley, a physics professor at the University of Houston, was watching the daily data for six countries and wondered if infections were really growing exponentially. By extracting the doubling times from the data, he became convinced they were.
Conservation of tropical peatlands could reduce the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the likelihood of new diseases jumping from animals to humans, researchers say.
The scientists reviewed existing evidence and concluded the high biodiversity in tropical peat-swamp forests, combined with habitat destruction and wildlife harvesting, created "suitable conditions" for emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) that could jump to humans.
Boston, MA -- Falls are the leading cause of preventable injury, and while many strategies have been developed to try to stop them and their resultant injuries, they remain a persistent problem. Research by Brigham and Women's Hospital senior nurse scientist Patricia C. Dykes, PhD, MA, RN, and colleagues has been driven by the question: Why, after more than 30 years of research, do patients continue to fall?
Scientists have established a new method to image proteins that could lead to new discoveries in disease through biological tissue and cell analysis and the development of new biomaterials that can be used for the next generation of drug delivery systems and medical devices.
DALLAS - Nov. 17, 2020 - Being younger doesn't protect against the dangers of COVID-19 if you are overweight, according to a new study from UT Southwestern. While all adults who are overweight or obese are at greater risk for serious complications from the disease, the link is strongest for those age 50 and under.