Culture

A new study finds that earlier high school start times can have significant adverse consequences for students, including increased rates of tardiness and absenteeism.

University of Texas at Dallas researchers have developed a promising method for remotely stimulating activity in deep brain regions, advancing understanding of how molecules act in the brain and paving the way for better cancer treatments and therapies for other diseases.

The approach is based on the powerful combination of gold nanoparticles and lasers, which also plays a critical role in another UT Dallas research project aimed at developing a rapid diagnostic test for influenza and, possibly, the COVID-19 virus.

Gold for Neuromodulation

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of North Carolina in the USA have mapped out the cell types behind various brain disorders. The findings are published in Nature Genetics and offer a roadmap for the development of new therapies to target neurological and psychiatric disorders. One interesting finding was that cells from the gut's nervous system are involved in Parkinson's disease, indicating that the disease may start there.

Mylagic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling and complex illness. Affected persons often cannot pursue ordinary activities -- physical or mental -- because of an incapacitating loss of energy and other symptoms, and may find themselves confined to bed or house-bound for years.

Free open source hardware and 3D printing could help to alleviate the burden of Covid-19 on global health systems, according to scientists at the University of Sussex.

Free and open source hardware (FOSH) follows an ethos where blueprints for a tool are made freely available so that anyone can study, learn, modify, customize and commercialize them.

Antibiotics save lives -- but using them also helps antibiotic-resistant strains evolve and spread. Each year, antibiotic-resistant bacteria infect some 2.8 million people in the United States, killing more than 35,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infections by multidrug-resistant -- or MDR -- bacteria, which are resistant to two or more antibiotics, are particularly difficult to treat.

April 27, 2020 (Huntsville, Ala.) - Scientists at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), have identified a new risk factor for multiple neurodegenerative diseases.

While the human world is reeling from one pandemic, there are several ongoing epidemics that affect crops and put global food production at risk. Oranges, olives, and bananas are already under threat in many areas due to diseases that affect plants' circulatory systems and that cannot be treated by applying pesticides.

A new method developed by engineers at MIT may offer a starting point for delivering life-saving treatments to plants ravaged by such diseases.

New research by academics at the University of Bristol has found evidence that prolonged treatment of synthetic corticosteroid drugs increases adrenal gland inflammation in response to bacterial infection, an effect that in the long-term can damage adrenal function.

Berkeley -- Government-enforced social isolation may help relatively affluent populations limit the spread of COVID-19, but these measures can be devasting for the nearly 1 billion people around the globe currently dwelling in urban slums, where physical space is scarce, and many rely on daily wage labor for survival.

Following an earlier study that validated the loss of smell and taste as indicators of SARS-CoV-2 infection, researchers at UC San Diego Health report in newly published findings that olfactory impairment suggests the resulting COVID-19 disease is more likely to be mild to moderate, a potential early indicator that could help health care providers determine which patients may require hospitalization.

Even as people are now being forced to social distance to avoid contracting coronavirus -- a situation considered stressful for many -- some people avoid social situations even under everyday circumstances. Social avoidance is a hallmark of a variety of psychiatric illnesses, including depression and anxiety disorders as well as autism.

New Rochelle, NY, April 27, 2020--In a new study among males depicted on Instagram, the majority of posts showed men with low body fat, while only a small fraction depicted men with high body fat. Sixty-two percent of posts showed men with low body fat and 41% showed high muscularity, whereas only 6% showed men with high body fat and 17% showed low muscularity.

April 27, 2020 - Hospitals facing a growing population of COVID-19 cases need a coordinated approach with a multidisciplinary team to increase efficiency, conserve PPE and protect staff.

"Ethnic spaces" at U.S. universities make students from underrepresented minority groups feel a greater sense of belonging and engagement with their campus, new research suggests.

Many universities already have designated facilities, such as social areas and cultural centers, specifically for students of color. But at some institutions, such spaces and programs have fallen victim to budget cuts or controversy.