By Sally Robertson, B.Sc. Apr 15 2021 Researchers in the United States have demonstrated the efficacy of the vaccine INO-4800 against variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). “Here we report the neutralizing antibody and T cell activity measured in INO-4800 vaccinated subjects against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants...
Groundbreaking research from Tel Aviv University may lead to a significant breakthrough in the battle against deadly brain cancer. TAU researchers have identified a failure in the brain’s immune system that leads to the amplification of cell division and the spread of glioblastoma cancer cells. The failure results partially from the secretion of a protein called P-Selectin (SELP), which enables glioblastoma...
Imagine a drug that could temporarily reenergize plasticity in the brain to treat autism or schizophrenia, or even help an adult’s ageing brain pick up a new language or learn to play a musical instrument. Such are the potential, down-the-road medical implications of a discovery made by a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute of Neuroscience...
SOCIETY FOR ENDOCRINOLOGY Vitamin D deficiency may impair muscle function due to a reduction in energy production in the muscles, according to a mouse study published in the Journal of Endocrinology. Vitamin D deficient mice were found to have impaired muscle mitochondrial function, which may have implications for muscle function, performance and recovery. This may suggest...
by Curtin University Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Curtin University research in partnership with the Raine Study has cast doubt on the popular belief that having a slumped posture while seated can lead to neck pain. Published in “Physical Therapy,” the research found females in late adolescence who sat in a slumped position compared to upright posture had a lower risk of experiencing persistent neck pain as a...
by Fujita Health University A Japanese-European team of scientists described novel mutations in the LIG3 gene, which plays a key role in mitochondrial DNA replication. Normally, mitochondrial DNA is repaired and replicated by LIG3 activity, but if the gene contains mutations, enzymes necessary for energy production are not produced, potentially leading to central nervous system...
Researchers have uncovered how antibodies that are specialised to different immune ‘disposal systems’ become the dominant form in the bloodstream, a process that is critical to our immune system’s ability to destroy pathogens and a key objective for the development of effective vaccines. Findings led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have revealed this new...
Researchers here applied three months of a methionine restricted diet to old mice, and found that it greatly reduced age-related cognitive decline, as measured in maze tests. The methionine restricted animals perform more like young animals than like their unrestricted peers. Methionine is an essential amino acid essential to all protein synthesis. Methionine sensing is one of the more important...
MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER, Minn. – Though researchers have long known that several physiological and anatomical changes occur during pregnancy that can contribute to kidney stone formation, evidence of the link has been lacking. But now Mayo Clinic researchers believe they have that evidence. An observational study that reviewed the medical records for nearly 3,000 female patients from 1984 to...
CENTRO NACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIONES ONCOLÓGICAS (CNIO) IMAGE: VISUALIZATION OF ADIPOCYTES FROM AN OBESE MOUSE (LEFT) AND FROM A LEAN MOUSE TREATED WITH DIGOXIN (RIGHT), SHOWING A BETTER RESPONSE TO NUTRIENT EXCESS AND BURNING OF FAT. CREDIT: CNIO It has long been known that obesity is an inflammatory disease, i.e. a chronic defensive reaction of the...
