AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY Outer ear infections, which affect millions of people each year, are typically caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus. Repeatedly administering antibiotic drops, the standard treatment, can be a problem for some people, and the only single-use suspension currently available needs to be kept and handled cold. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering have...
Month: <span>October 2020</span>
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App analyses coronavirus genome on a smartphone
A new mobile app has made it possible to analyse the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on a smartphone in less than half an hour. Cutting-edge nanopore devices have enabled scientists to read or ‘sequence’ the genetic material in a biological sample outside a laboratory, however analysing the raw data has still required access to...
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UM171 saves another life
In a world-first, a young man suffering from severe aplastic anaemia who could not be helped by standard treatments has been given a life-saving blood transplant with the made-in-Canada UM171 molecule. The procedure was done by a medical team at the Institute of Hemato-oncology and Cellular Therapy (iHOTC) of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital and the Institute for Research in...
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Drug found to correct gene defect that causes immune-driven gut leakiness
A team of researchers led by biomedical scientist Declan McCole at the University of California, Riverside, has found that the drug tofacitinib, also called Xeljanz and approved by the FDA to treat rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis, can repair permeability defects in the intestine. “Our work could help improve identification of patients who will be better responders to this drug,” said McCole, a...
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Even in people with Parkinson’s gene, coffee may be protective
by American Academy of Neurology Even for people with a gene mutation tied to Parkinson’s disease, coffee consumption may be associated with a lower risk of actually developing the disease, according to a new study published in the September 30, 2020, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “These results are...
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New study finds antidepressant drug effective in treating “lazy eye” in adults
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA – IRVINE Irvine, Calif. – September 30, 2020 – In a new study, published in Current Biology, researchers from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine reveal how subanesthetic ketamine, which is used for pain management and as an antidepressant in humans, is effective in treating adult amblyopia, a brain disorder commonly known as...
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Two molecular handshakes for hearing
by Laura Arenschield, The Ohio State University Scientists have learned more about the ear at the molecular level, a finding that could help them understand how and why people lose the ability to hear. We hear sounds in part because tiny filaments inside our inner ears help convert voices, music and noises into electrical signals that...
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Intermittent fasting is popular—but it doesn’t work for weight loss
by Kristen Bole, University of California, San Francisco The currently popular diet of intermittent fasting that restricts eating to eight hours per day, separated by 16 hours of fasting, is not effective on its own as a means of either losing weight or for improving key metabolic health markers, according to a new study led by researchers at...
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CRISPR-gene-edited parasite leads to unique new vaccine
By Rich Haridy, September 30, 2020 Researchers gene edited the Leishmania major parasite so it could be used in a vaccine without causing disease Every year around two million people suffer suffer from a skin disease called leishmaniasis, which is caused by the Leishmania major parasite. Humans have battled with this parasite for centuries, and some cultures have practiced...
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Repurposed anti-malarial compounds kill diarrheal parasite, study finds
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, NEWS BUREAU IMAGE: CRYPTOSPORIDIUM IS A PROTOZOAN PARASITE THAT IS A LEADING CAUSE OF DIARRHEAL DISEASE AND DEATH IN CHILDREN. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A class of compounds used for malaria treatment also kill the intestinal parasite Cryptosporidium, a leading cause of diarrheal disease and death in children that has no...