A light-sensitive receptor protein expressed in neurons deep in the mouse brain has been shown to be stimulated by violet light, and to activate a pathway that reduces heat production in brown fat. Light has profound effects on human behaviour and physiology, from synchronizing sleep–wake cycles to inducing daily fluctuations in body temperature and energy...
by Michael Morrison, Massachusetts General Hospital Investigators led by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have made discoveries at the single cell level to uncover new details concerning mitochondrial diseases—inherited disorders that interfere with energy production in the body and currently have no cure. The findings, which are published in the New England Journal...
Researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the Stanford School of Medicine have developed a smartwatch that uses electrochemical analysis to track levels of a drug in the body by analyzing a patient’s sweat. The system could help with finding the correct drug and dose for a given patient in order to maximize...
Vaccination against the human papilloma virus (HPV) reduces the risk of a condition that often leads to cervical cancer, according to an analysis of Danish health registry data. The study, which is published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, followed two groups of women: those born in 1993 who were offered free HPV-vaccination at the...
by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Strains of a common subtype of influenza virus, H3N2, have almost universally acquired a mutation that effectively blocks antibodies from binding to a key viral protein, according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The results have implications for flu...
by Bob Yirka , Medical Xpress A team of researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute has found that older people who eat more plant protein as opposed to meat-based protein tend to live longer lives. In their paper published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the group describes their analysis of a...
Stem cell activity declines with age throughout the body. In some cases this is because stem cellsbecome less active in response to changes in the signaling environment. In other cases, the cells are damaged or the populations greatly reduced. The consequence of this decline is that fewer daughter somatic cells are produced to make up...
With the growing interest in the accumulation of senescent cells as an important cause of aging, and more funding flowing into this part of the field, researchers are uncovering numerous direct links between cellular senescence and age-related conditions. Senescent cells cause harm to tissues via their inflammatory secretions, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). The SASP...
AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY IN A STUDY, BLACK RACE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED COVID-19 INFECTION RISK. view more CREDIT: ATS July 08, 2020 – Results of an analysis published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society found that Black individuals were twice as likely as White individuals to test positive for COVID-19. The average age...
More than 40 percent of people diagnosed with COVID-19 in one Italian town showed no signs of being ill, according to research published Tuesday indicating that asymptomatic carriers may be significant spreaders of the virus. The authors said their research showed how important mass testing and isolating carriers was in containing clusters of the virus....
