Culture
New Rochelle, NY, March 7, 2018--Researchers have shown that a wide variety of synthetic antisense oligonucleotides with different chemical modifications can activate the frataxin gene, which contains a mutation that decreases its expression in the inherited neurologic disorder Friedreich's ataxia (FA).
A recent study by George Mason University researchers in the Department of Global and Community Health found that women who have given birth have shorter telomeres compared to women who have not given birth. Telomeres are the end caps of DNA on our chromosomes, which help in DNA replication and get shorter over time. The length of telomeres has been associated with morbidity and mortality previously, but this is the first study to examine links with having children.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Extremely low birth-weight babies are at risk for a chronic lung disease called bronchopulmonary dysplasia, or BPD. This condition can lead to death or long-term disease, but clinical measurements are unable to predict which of the tiny infants -- who get care in hospital intensive-care units and often weigh just one and a half pounds -- will develop BPD.
In a new study in Nature Neuroscience, Jaideep Bains, PhD, and his team at the Cumming School of Medicine's Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), at the University of Calgary have discovered that stress transmitted from others can change the brain in the same way as a real stress does. The study, in mice, also shows that the effects of stress on the brain are reversed in female mice following a social interaction. This was not true for male mice.
A new study reveals that acetaminophen use and over-dosing rise in cold/flu season in the United States, primarily due to increased use of over-the-counter combination medications treating upper respiratory symptoms. Another study reports that acetaminophen is the most commonly used analgesic in France, with more high-dose tablets being consumed in recent years.
Massachusetts boasts one of the most iconic fisheries in the U.S., but new research suggests that protecting marine coastlines has surpassed commercial fishing as an economic driver.
The study is the first to calculate the economic value of coastal preservation in Massachusetts. The research finds these efforts contributed $179 million to the state's economy in 2014, more than finfish landings ($105 million) and whale-watching ($111 million).
Farm manure could be a viable source of renewable energy to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
Researchers at the University of Waterloo are developing technology to produce renewable natural gas from manure so it can be added to the existing energy supply system for heating homes and powering industries. That would eliminate particularly harmful gases released by naturally decomposing manure when it is spread on farm fields as fertilizer and partially replace fossil natural gas, a significant contributor to global warming.
Watching YouTube videos, Instagram demos, and Facebook tutorials may make us feel as though we're acquiring all sorts of new skills but it probably won't make us experts, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The sixth edition of The Tobacco Atlas and its companion website TobaccoAtlas.org* finds the tobacco industry is increasingly targeting vulnerable populations in emerging markets, such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where people are not protected by strong tobacco control regulations. The report was released at the 17th World Congress on Tobacco OR Health in Cape Town, South Africa.
A trauma to the spinal cord, quickly leads to a progressive loss of nerve tissue. This not only affects the injured area, but over time affects also other parts of the spinal cord and even the brain. These neurodegenerative changes can be explored in detail using magnetic resonance imaging.
Jupiter's got no sway. The biggest planet in the solar system has no tilt as it moves, so its poles have never been visible from Earth.
But in the past two years, with NASA's Juno spacecraft, scientists have gotten a good look at the top and bottom of the planet for the first time. What they found astounded them: bizarre geometric arrangements of storms, each arrayed around one cyclone over the north and south poles--unlike any storm formation seen in the universe.
Cancer treatment guidelines produced by the US National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) are often based on low quality evidence or no evidence at all, finds a study published by The BMJ today.
The researchers, led by Dr Vinay Prasad at Oregon Health & Science University, say their findings "raise concern that the NCCN justifies the coverage of costly, toxic cancer drugs based on weak evidence."
NCCN guidelines are developed by a panel of cancer experts who make recommendations based on the best available evidence.
Some see acupuncture as a safe alternative to drugs, while others argue there's no convincing evidence of clinical benefit and potential for harm. So should doctors recommend acupuncture for pain? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ today.
Acupuncture is a safe alternative to drugs for chronic pain, argues Mike Cummings, Medical Director of the British Medical Acupuncture Society and Associate Editor of the journal Acupuncture in Medicine, published by BMJ.
New research published in The Journal of Physiology indicates that an obese pregnant mother and exposure to a high fat, high sugar diet during pregnancy produces a "fatty liver" in the fetus, potentially predisposing children to obesity, metabolic and cardiovascular disorders later in life. The research aims to understand the cellular mechanisms involved in laying down fat in the liver of a fetus - leading to a "fatty liver". This knowledge is essential to developing strategies to combat childhood obesity.
Half of the Scottish adult population do not feel confident administering CPR - and more than a fifth do not know when it is required, according to a new study led by the University of Stirling.
The study, which has been welcomed by the Scottish Government, is the first to examine the readiness and willingness of Scots to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Experts believe the work could help to explain why our survival rates from cardiac arrest are poor when compared to other countries.