Culture
NEW ORLEANS -- African-Americans caring for loved ones with cancer were less likely than their white peers to report distress and depression, possibly due to stronger social support, according to results of a study presented at the 11th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held here Nov. 2-5.
When you park in the office car park, you usually have no problem finding your car again at the end of the day. The next day, you might park a few spots further away. However, in the evening, you find your car, even though the memories of both days are very similar. You find your car (also) because our brains are able to store memories of very similar events as distinct memories in a process called pattern separation.
Researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and Amsterdam UMC have disclosed the nature of how T cells protect the brain against harmful viruses. The results of the study, which are published in Nature Communications, are important for investigating the role of the immune system in numerous brain disorders.
Immune system
An insect larva found in the caves of Intervales State Park, an Atlantic Rainforest remnant in the municipality of Ribeirão Grande, São Paulo State, Brazil, was initially of no interest to the research group led by biochemist Vadim Viviani, a professor at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in Sorocaba. The researchers are investigating bioluminescence, the capacity of living organisms to produce their own light.
New research led by Lijun Song, associate professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University, and graduate student Phillip Pettis suggests that knowing people in high and diverse positions may be good or bad for your health. The culprit? Economic inequality.
A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could change the way scientists look at one of the most essential enzymes in medicine in hopes of designing better and more cost-effective drugs in the future.
Enzymes are molecules that speed up chemical reactions inside cells. The human body is home to thousands of enzymes that perform vital functions such as the digestion of fat and the breakdown of sugar into glucose.
Serotonin (3A) receptors are common drug targets in the treatment of pain, gastrointestinal dysfunctions, and mood disorders yet little is known about their three-dimensional structure. Details about serotonin receptor structures could provide important clues to designing better drugs with less side effects. Now, a team of researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have used high-powered microscopes to view serotonin activating its receptor for the first time.
Compared with U.S. states with the strictest gun control legislation, gun deaths among children and teenagers are twice as common in states with the most lax gun laws, a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine has found.
In addition, states with laws that restrict children's access to guns have lower rates of firearm-related suicides among youth, even after controlling for other factors, the study said.
Bottom Line: While the presence of common breast cancer mutations was indicative of increased breast cancer risk, the presence of certain rare mutations was indicative of increased risk from interval breast cancers and death.
Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Author: Jingmei Li, PhD, senior research scientist at the Genome Institute of Singapore
When animals graze, they affect the environment. They keep meadows open, their faeces fertilize the soil, and forests yield to cultivated landscapes.
But what effect does grazing have on overall biomass? Does grazing affect carbon capture too? How many plants survive and what kind?
A group of researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) decided to find out.
The evolution of barn swallows, a bird ubiquitous to bridges and sheds around the world, might be even more closely tied to humans than previously thought, according to new study from the University of Colorado Boulder.
DALLAS, Nov. 1, 2018 -- Hospitalized ischemic stroke patients with an infection are significantly more likely to be readmitted within 30 days, regardless of the severity of their stroke or other individual patient characteristics, according to new research published in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke.
Ischemic strokes are caused by a blockage in an artery leading to the brain and are the most common type of stroke.
A new study puts a fresh spin on what it means to "go with your gut." The findings, published in Nature, suggest that gut bacteria may control movement in fruit flies and identify the neurons involved in this response. The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in North America and its incidence has risen sharply in the last decade. Since its progression depends on environmental factors, increases in daily temperatures, a manifestation of climate change, might be contributing to a rise in the number of ticks as well as a greater availability of hosts. A new study looked at the relationship between climatic variables and the incidence of Lyme disease in 15 U.S. states.
MINNEAPOLIS - In the past, researchers believed that Parkinson's disease did not affect life expectancy. But recent studies showed a somewhat shorter life span. Now a new study suggests that when the disease does not affect thinking skills early on, life span is not affected. The study is published in the October 31, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
"This is good news for many people with Parkinson's and their families," said study author David Bäckström, MD, of Umeå University in Umeå, Sweden.