By Ben Coxworth, October 01, 2020 UV LEDs (pictured here in a backlight flashlight) could help seniors produce much-needed vitamin D, without causing skin damage Even though we’re warned about the harmful effects of the ultraviolet (UV) rays in sunlight, they’re essential for the production of vitamin D in the body. Now, scientists are claiming...
UPPSALA UNIVERSITY Researchers at Uppsala University have found that an effective way of treating the coronavirus behind the 2003 SARS epidemic also works on the closely related SARS-CoV-2 virus, the culprit in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The substance concerned is nitric oxide (NO), a compound with antiviral properties that is produced by the body itself. The...
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Cell lines injected with free nucleic acid are widely used for drug discovery and disease modeling. To avoid genetically mixed cell populations, investigators use dilution techniques to select single cells that will then generate identical lines. However, the route of limiting dilutions is tedious and time consuming. A new study by Northwestern researchers...
Vaccines are the most effective means available for preventing infectious diseases. However, vaccine-induced immune responses are highly variable between individuals and between populations in different regions of the world. Understanding the basis of this variation is, thus, of fundamental importance to human health. Although the factors that are associated with intra- and inter-population variation in...
by Georgia State University Administration of IL-22 approximately doubled the rate at which rotavirus-infected cells of the intestinal wall migrated toward villus tips (second to left). Administration of IL-18 (second to right) and a combination of IL-18 and IL-22 (right) also increased the migration rate of these cells to a lesser extent. Credit: Zhang et al.,...
A biotech company developed a spray that has been able to treat coronavirus infections and even prevent COVID-19 in labs. Ena Respiratory developed a synthetic molecule called INNA-051 that can boost the immune response to clear the viral load, prevent COVID-19 transmission, and possibly prevent infection. The drug might complement coronavirus vaccines in the future,...
THE MIT PRESS CAMBRIDGE, MA – September 30, 2020 The MIT Press Journal Rapid Reviews: COVID-19 (RRC:19) has openly published the first official scholarly peer reviews of pre-print research from Li-Meng Yan, Shu Kang, Jie Guan, and Shanchang Hu that claims to show that unusual features of the SARS-CoV-2 genome suggest sophisticated laboratory modification rather than natural...
There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. And millions of people are going to get it, even though not everyone will hear the diagnosis. There are, however, some therapies that can slow down the progression of this neurodegenerative condition, but it has to be spotted early. Now scientists at the Monash University found that one...
NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IMAGE: TYPING, CLICKING AND WATCHING OCCUPY AN INCREASING NUMBER OF HOURS IN THE AVERAGE CHILD’S DAY. BUT BRAIN RESEARCH SHOWS THAT WRITING BY HAND HELPS PEOPLE REMEMBER BETTER AND LEARN MORE. Professor Audrey van der Meer at NTNU believes that national guidelines should be put into place to ensure...
Early results of an experimental vaping study show significant lung injury from e-cigarette devices with nickel-chromium alloy heating elements. The findings, from the study with rodents, remained consistent, with or without the use of nicotine, vitamin E oil, or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Health experts had previously thought these factors contribute to the life-threatening respiratory problem. Researchers...
