Culture

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A study that relied on citizen scientists to monitor the health of corals on Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean from 2012 to 2018 found that 35 key coral species remained resilient during a 2014-17 global coral-bleaching event that harmed coral reefs around the world. Even corals that experienced bleaching quickly recovered, the researchers found. Some corals appeared healthier in 2017 than they were in 2014.

The researchers report their findings in the Springer Nature journal Applied Sciences.

DGIST announced on February 12 that the joint research team of Professor Jaewon Ko and Professor Ji Won Um in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences found a new candidate target to treat epilepsy by regulating GABAergic synaptic functions . This research achievement is expected to set a milestone to develop new treatments such as epilepsy, one of the intractable brain diseases.

SEATTLE – Seeing a physician or other health specialist for low back and neck pain? You’re not alone, according to a new scientific study.

Americans in 2016 spent an estimated $380 billion on low back and neck pain, as well as on joint and limb pain, and other musculoskeletal disorders.

In total, $3.1 trillion – or $9,655 per person, about 17.9% of the US GDP – was spent on health care by a combination of individuals and public and private insurance. In 1996, that percentage was 13.3% of GDP, with a total amount of $1.4 trillion, or $5,259 per person.

The spread of antibiotic resistance is partly due to the ability of bacteria to pick up DNA from their surroundings. A new study, which started at the University of Groningen, showed that drugs blocking this ability (which is called 'competence') in the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae can indeed stop the spread of resistance in mice. As competence is blocked without affecting cell growth, it will be difficult for the bacteria to evolve resistance to the blockade. The study was published online by the journal Cell Host & Microbe on 3 March.

What The Study Did: Data from annual financial reports were used to compare the profitability of 35 large pharmaceutical companies with 357 companies in the S&P 500 Index from 2000 to 2018. This study is part of a theme issue from JAMA on drug pricing.

Authors: Fred D. Ledley, of Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, is the corresponding author.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ 

(doi:10.1001/jama.2020.0442)

What The Study Did: Researchers estimated the cost to bring 63 new drugs or biologics to market between 2009 and 2018 using publicly available data on research and development expenditures for these medicines. This study is part of a theme issue from JAMA on drug pricing.

Authors: Olivier J. Wouters, Ph.D., of the London School of Economics and Political Science, is the corresponding author.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ 

What The Study Did: This study describes changes in list and net prices for 600 branded drugs in the U.S. from 2007 to 2018 and estimated the extent to which price increases were offset by increases in discounts. This study is part of a theme issue from JAMA on drug pricing.

Authors: Inmaculada Hernandez, Pharm.D., Ph.D. of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, is the corresponding author.

Large pharmaceutical companies are more profitable than most companies in the S&P 500 according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) titled "Profitability of Large Pharmaceutical Companies Compared with Other Large Public Companies." Pharmaceutical pr

What The Study Did: What the pharmaceutical and health product industry spent on lobbying and contributions to political campaigns in the U.S. from 1999 to 2018 was the focus of this observational study that used federal- and state-level data. This study is part of a theme issue from JAMA on drug pricing.

Author: Olivier J. Wouters, Ph.D., of the London School of Economics and Political Science, is the corresponding author.

What The Study Did: A variety of data were used to estimate annual health care spending in the U.S. from 1996 through 2016 by payer (public insurance, private insurance and out-of-pocket payments) and by health conditions, including low back pain and musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes and ischemic heart disease. This study is part of a theme issue from JAMA on drug pricing.

Authors: Joseph L. Dieleman, Ph.D., of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, is the corresponding author.

You just finished a good meal and are feeling full? Researchers from the CNRS, Inrae, University of Burgundy, Université de Paris, Inserm, and University of Luxembourg (1) have just revealed the mechanisms in our brains that lead to this state. They involve a series of reactions triggered by a rise in blood glucose levels. This study, which was conducted on mice, is published in Cell Reports on 3 March 2020.

The historic economies of Mongolia are among the least understood of any region in the world. The region's persistent, extreme winds whisk away signs of human activity and prevent the buildup of sediment which archaeologists rely on to preserve the past. Today crop cultivation comprises only a small percent of Mongolia's food production, and many scholars have argued that Mongolia presents a unique example of dense human populations and hierarchical political systems forming without intensive farming or stockpiling grains.

Oxytocin is known for its role in childbirth and breastfeeding and it has also been shown to have a wider application in the development and regulation of social behaviour in many species. There has been increasing interest in its potential use to help people overcome social difficulties as this can be one of the most difficult symptoms to treat in many psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, autism, anxiety and depression.

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2020 -- Recent advances in bioengineering and computational modeling have given researchers the ability to examine complex biological processes with molecular-level detail.

Researchers in Simon Fraser University's Brinkman Laboratory are collaborating with U.S. researchers to test a new drug that can kill a wide range of superbugs - including some bacteria now resistant to all common antibiotics.

Known as AB569, the drug contains ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (commonly referred to as EDTA) and acidified nitrite, two inexpensive chemicals that the researchers discovered work together to effectively kill disease-causing bacteria without harming human cells.