Culture
Vitamin D is recognized as an important co-factor in several physiological processes linked with bone and calcium metabolism, and also in diverse non-skeletal outcomes, including autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cognitive decline, and infections. In particular, the pronounced impact of vitamin D metabolites on the immune system response, and on the development of COVID-19 infection by the novel SARS CoV-2 virus, has been previously described in a few studies worldwide.
Clinician-scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore's (NTU Singapore) Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) have demonstrated a way to improve the speed, handling time and cost of COVID-19 laboratory tests. The improved testing method yields results in 36 minutes - a quarter of the time required by existing gold-standard tests.
Therapy-loaded nanoparticles may be directed to the brain by functionalization with ligands targeting BBB-associated proteins. However, such targeting strategies have inherent brain-specificity limitations, as the target proteins are also significantly expressed in peripheral organs, thereby limiting the clinical application of such strategies. We have developed a counterintuitive targeting strategy which exploits the high impermeability of the BBB itself to selectively retain molecular labels (i.e. targets) on the surface of brain endothelium.
Scientists have discovered a unique enzyme responsible for the pungent characteristic smell we call body odour or BO.
Researchers from the University of York have previously shown that only a few bacteria in your armpit are the real culprits behind BO. Now the same team, in collaboration with Unilever scientists, has gone a step further to discover a unique "BO enzyme" found only within these bacteria and responsible for the characteristic armpit odour.
A new study has found that men are more likely than women to endorse coronavirus (COVID-19) related conspiracy theories.
The study, published in early July in Politics and Gender, builds upon research from earlier this year that revealed Republicans were more likely than Democrats to believe COVID-19 conspiracies.
The partisan split - shown in a previous study by University of Delaware professor Joanne Miller - makes sense, given that one of the reasons people believe conspiracy theories is to protect their political worldviews.
HANOVER, N.H. - July 27, 2020 - College students were more anxious and depressed during the initial outbreak of COVID-19 than they were during similar time frames in previous academic years, according to a Dartmouth study.
The research also found that sedentary behavior increased dramatically during the onset of the public health crisis in early March.
The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that more than 23,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020. Among other risk factors, more and more studies point to diet as a major factor in the development of prostate cancer, as it is for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.
EUGENE, Ore. - July 27, 2020 - Using known distances of 50 galaxies from Earth to refine calculations in Hubble's constant, a research team led by a University of Oregon astronomer estimates the age of the universe at 12.6 billion years.
Approaches to date the Big Bang, which gave birth to the universe, rely on mathematics and computational modeling, using distance estimates of the oldest stars, the behavior of galaxies and the rate of the universe's expansion. The idea is to compute how long it would take all objects to return to the beginning.
CHICAGO, JULY 27, 2020 -- Flu (influenza) and pneumonia vaccinations are associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to new research reported at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference® (AAIC®) 2020.
Three research studies reported at AAIC 2020 suggest:
At least one flu vaccination was associated with a 17% reduction in Alzheimer's incidence. More frequent flu vaccination was associated with another 13% reduction in Alzheimer's incidence.
Studying DNA mutations in cancers can help clarify how cancers develop and what makes cancer cells different from normal, healthy cells. The team of scientists from Duke-NUS' Cancer and Stem Cell Biology (CSCB) programme, specifically wanted to look more closely at Asian cancers to expand the list of 65 currently known mutation patterns found in cancers. Scientists expect there are still some rare mutation patterns that have yet to be discovered.
Tsukuba, Japan - Earthquakes are often imagined as originating from a single point where the seismic waves are strongest, the hypocenter underground or the epicenter at the Earth's surface, with seismic energy radiating outward in a circular pattern. But this simplified model fails to account for the complex geometry of the actual fault systems where earthquakes occur. The real situation may be much more complex--and more interesting.
The paradigm-shifting concept of topology has not only revolutionized condensed matter physics, but has also opened a fundamentally new chapter in photonics, mechanics, acoustics, and many other fields. In photonics, "photonic topological insulators" (PTIs), the photonic analogs of electronic topological insulators, have enabled unprecedented exciting photonic functionalities such as one-way robust photonic transport and topological lasers.
Existing limited evidence suggests that wearing face coverings to protect against COVID-19 does not lead to a false sense of security and is unlikely to increase the risk of infection through wearers foregoing other behaviours such as good hand hygiene, say researchers from the University of Cambridge and King's College London.
Writing in BMJ Analysis, the researchers say that the concept of 'risk compensation' is itself the greater threat to public health as it may discourage policymakers from implementing potentially effective measures, such as wearing face coverings.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - Over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics like acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) have long been a staple in households for managing pain, fevers, and other common ailments. However, the accessibility of these medications can make them easy to take in dangerous amounts.
A mountain people in Uganda -- branded as selfish and loveless by an anthropologist half a century ago -- really is not, according to a study led by a Baylor University anthropologist.
The research debunks the assessment of the Ik ethnic group of hunter-gatherers set out in the book "The Mountain People," published by Colin Turnbull in 1972.