Potentially dangerous serotonin levels found in 26% of melatonin supplements Excessive serotonin puts people at risk of life-threatening serotonin syndrome Over 71% of supplements didn’t meet a 10% margin of the melatonin on the label Put away the sleeping tablets. Insomniacs who use them could be at risk of seizures, a high fever and even...
Post
NIH initiative tests in-home technology to help older adults age in place
Many older adults want to live at home independently as they age. Sometimes all they need is a little help from their family and friends—and the right technology. A new initiative led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aims to help seniors age in place by developing a research platform to study the use of health-related...
Post
Home sensors that can predict when an elderly person will have a fall 3 WEEKS before they have the accident
Infra-red monitors can detect subtle changes in the health of elderly people Sensors are placed in each room of the house and monitor walking speed Experts say it allows medical personnel to intervene before a collapse happens People can live longer independently for 2.5 extra years by using it, study finds When elderly people fall...
Post
New antibiotic from bacteria found on an ant could beat MRSA
A new antibiotic, produced by bacteria found on a species of African ant, is very potent against antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ like MRSA according to scientists. Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the John Innes Centre (JIC) discovered a new member of the Streptomyces bacteria family, isolated from the African fungus-growing plant-ant Tetraponera penzigi. They have...
Post
Antibiotics could be alternative to surgery as treatment for appendicitis
A study by researchers at the University of Southampton shows that antibiotics may be an effective treatment for acute non-complicated appendicitis in children, instead of surgery. The systematic review of existing literature is published in Pediatrics. The condition, which causes the appendix—a small organ attached to the large intestine—to become inflamed due to a blockage...
Post
Encouraging signs for potential new antibiotic
A new antibiotic developed at the University of Plymouth is for the first time shown to be a viable alternative to established antimicrobials A study published online today (17 February 2017) in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, reveals strong evidence that the first in a new class of antibiotic is as effective as an established...
Post
Method Developed by Biomedical Scientists Could Help in Treatment of Several Diseases
UC Riverside researchers’ method measures the efficiency in real time of a processing pathway that plays an important role in protein formation in cells Sika Zheng is an assistant professor of biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine at UC Riverside. RIVERSIDE, Calif. – In cells, DNA is first converted to RNA, and RNA is...
Post
Researchers engineer new thyroid cells
Researchers have discovered a new efficient way to generate thyroid cells, known as thyrocytes, using genetically modified embryonic stem cells. Researchers have discovered a new efficient way to generate thyroid cells, known as thyrocytes, using genetically modified embryonic stem cells. The findings, which appear in the journal Stem Cell Reports, are the first step to developing...
Post
New studies unravel mysteries of how PARP enzymes work
(From left) Dr. Ziying Liu, Keun Woo Ryu, Dr. W. Lee Kraus, and Dr. Xin Luo led research studies that focused on how PARP enzymes function. A component of an enzyme family linked to DNA repair, stress responses, and cancer also plays a role in enhancing or inhibiting major cellular activities under physiological conditions, new...
Post
U.S. science advisory committee supports genetic modification of human embryos
Embryos could soon be edited—but there are some caveats. Ever since CRISPR—the relatively cheap and easy-to-use genome editing technique—made its way to the scientific stage, researchers have grappled with one of its biggest ethical quagmires: Its ability to edit human embryos, thereby potentially altering the DNA of subsequent generations. The question of whether to allow such a...