Culture
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.
Only about five per cent of the babies born to mothers with hepatitis C are themselves infected by the disease. A possible reason for this low figure is that the baby's immune system has already destroyed the virus before birth. A new study from researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Gut reveals clear adaptations of the uninfected babies' immune system that can lead the way to new treatment methods.
Until now, scientists had assumed that there are about 80 so-called open reading frames (ORFs) in the genome of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). These are the locations in the genome where the information in the DNA is read and translated into proteins. It is now clear that there are a lot more - namely 284 ORFs. These are translated from hundreds of novel viral transcripts, which have now also been identified.
Biologists classify all living organisms into three major groups they call 'domains'. Two of these domains--the Bacteria and the Archaebacteria--consist of single-celled organisms, while the third--the Eukaryota--includes most of the larger, multicellular organisms we are all familiar with: fungi, plants and animals including ourselves. Of the three domains, the Eukaryota almost certainly evolved the most recently, but questions remain about which of the two single-celled domains arose first in the history of life.
A Korean research team has developed a high-performance ceramic fuel cell that can operate on butane fuels. Since butane can be liquified and thus can be stored and carried easily, the new technology is expected to expand the application range of ceramic fuel cells to portable and mobile applications such as electric cars, robots and drones. Previously, ceramic fuel cells had only been considered for application to large-capacity power generation systems due to their high-temperature operation.
At this alarming time, when the COVID-19 pandemic is on everyone's mind, a new special issue in the open-access peer-reviewed journal Population and Economics by Lomonosov Moscow State University (Faculty of Economics) provides a platform for discussion on the impact of the pandemic on the population and economics, both in Russia and worldwide by opening a sp
April 27, 2020 - Intensivists caution against the use of premature novel therapies in lieu of traditional critical care principles in patients with COVID-19 in a recent correspondence letter in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology.
Bethesda, MD - In a new animal study examining Alzheimer's disease, researchers found that disease progression could be slowed by decreasing neuroinflammation in the brain before memory problems and cognitive impairment were apparent. The new findings point to the importance of developing therapies that target very early stages of the disease.
Bethesda, MD - The drug buprenorphine reduces relapse in patients with opioid addiction, and some emerging evidence indicates it may also help treat cocaine addiction. However, the treatment itself comes with a risk of addiction and, thus, is not FDA approved to treat cocaine addiction. New research performed in mice suggests that chemical modifications to buprenorphine can improve its effectiveness to treat cocaine addiction while minimizing abuse potential.