Restricting movement on the basis of biology threatens freedom, fairness and public health. Imagine a world where your ability to get a job, housing or a loan depends on passing a blood test. You are confined to your home and locked out of society if you lack certain antibodies. It has happened before. For most...
By Dr. Liji Thomas, MD The COVID-19 pandemic that began in late December 2019 has spread to over 188 countries and territories, causing over 6.5 million cases and 385,000 deaths. With no effective therapeutic COVID-19 drug or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine in sight, researchers are exploring different strategies to limit its...
he team created an eye scanner that can tell someone’s ‘real’ or biological age There is no universal method for tracking a person’s biological age, authors say By building this new scanner they were able to create one method to see the age The team say that biological age is a more accurate health measure...
Scientists explain the role of a certain protein in the generation of cells critical to bone maintenance Chronic bone and joint diseases, such as osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, affect millions of people worldwide, particularly the elderly, degrading their quality of life. An important factor in both of these diseases is the excessive activity of bone-dissolving...
Reports show that the mortality rate among men with COVID-19 is higher than women. Marco Mantovani/Getty Images Email Twitter3 Facebook299 LinkedIn Print When it comes to surviving critical cases of COVID-19, it appears that men draw the short straw. Initial reports from China revealed the early evidence of increased male mortality associated with COVID. According...
Caltech researchers and collaborators have discovered how the bacteria Escherichia coli evolutionarily repurposed cellular machinery into a kind of navigation system to control movement through its environment. The study was led by researchers in the laboratory of Grant Jensen, professor of biophysics and biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. A paper describing the research...
by University College London In the study of people aged over 55, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, researchers found ‘repetitive negative thinking’ (RNT) is linked to subsequent cognitive decline as well as the deposition of harmful brain proteins linked to Alzheimer’s. The researchers say RNT should now be further investigated as a potential risk factor...
by Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Short RNA molecules known as microRNAs (miRNAs) play a vital role in the regulation of gene expression. Anomalies in miRNAs expression and function have been implicated in pathological processes, such as the development of chronic diseases like atherosclerosis. The regulatory functions of miRNAs usually take place in the cytoplasm,...
It is increasingly clear that male and female humans and rodents process pain in different ways. And that there are important differences in the underlying mechanisms involved at genetic, molecular, cellular, and physiological levels. Despite this fact, according to a review paper from McGill University published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, most pain research remains overwhelmingly...
The inherited disease of phenylketonuria is expressed in the inability of the body to absorb certain amino acids, mainly phenylalanine The inherited disease of phenylketonuria is expressed in the inability of the body to absorb certain amino acids, mainly phenylalanine. A person affected by this disease has to follow a low-protein diet all his life....
