By Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc.Nov 28 2021 Reviewed by Danielle Ellis, B.Sc. On November 24, 2021, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa. The Omicron variant has joined several other SARS-CoV-2 variants as a variant of concern (VOC), which indicates...
The most comprehensive genomic study of syphilis to date has mapped the recent resurgence of the disease around the world. Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the UK Health Security Agency, the London School of Hygiene &Tropical Medicine, and their collaborators found almost identical syphilis samples between 14 countries, showing there is widespread international transmission...
by University College London Steve Verze with fitted 3D prosthetic eye. Credit: Moorfields Eye Hospital A 3D-printed eye is a true biomimic and a more realistic prosthetic, with clearer definition and real depth to the pupil. Unlike traditional methods, it is made using digital scans of the eye instead of an invasive mold of the...
by Nathan Bartlett, The Conversation Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Last week, AstraZeneca’s chief executive officer said the company’s COVID vaccine may provide longer-lasting protection than mRNA vaccines like Pfizer’s, especially in older people. CEO Pascal Soriot said this might explain the United Kingdom’s more stable hospitalization rate compared to the escalating COVID situation in continental Europe. The UK...
by Kanazawa University Figure1: The word “theranostics,” a portmanteau of the words “therapeutics” and “diagnostics.” Theranostics with radioisotopes is called “radiotheranostics,” which means the combination of imaging in nuclear medicine with radionuclide therapy. Probes for radiotheranostics could be produced by introducing radionuclides with similar chemical characteristics into the same precursors. Here, K. Ogawa et al....
by University of East Anglia Credit: CC0 Public Domain A clutter-free environment may not help people with dementia carry out daily tasks—according to a new study from the University of East Anglia. Researchers studied whether people with dementia were better able to carry out tasks, such as making a cup of tea, at home—surrounded by their usual...
by Southern Cross University Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers from Southern Cross University’s National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine and Western Sydney University ‘s NICM Health Research Institute have conducted a national survey of 389 women with a confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis, finding that with 1 in 3 (31 percent) women with endometriosis reporting being passed...
by Bielefeld University Impaired vesicular transport in congenital muscular dystrophy CMD. Credit: DOI: 10.15252/emmm.202013787 For the targeted treatment of a disease, information is needed about the course of the disease at molecular and cellular level. This is also true for the group of muscle diseases that include congenital muscular dystrophies (CMD). Bielefeld scientists have been able...
by Osaka University Fig.1 Antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) targeting Arl4c inhibits pancreatic cancer metastasis. Credit: Akikazu Harada Pancreatic cancer is very aggressive and, unfortunately, has a poor prognosis with a 5-year survival of only 5%. Most deaths related to pancreatic cancer are due to metastasis, which occurs when the tumor invades other organs. Treatments to stop tumor...
by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Above: Round vesicles carrying glutamate seek to dock to the cell membrane by binding to SNARE proteins (blue and yellow). In tonic neurons (left) tomosyn (brown and orange) intercepts the vesicles and binds them instead, preventing docking at the membrane, which is necessary for glutamate release across a synapse. Credit: Littleton...
