by Anne Doerr, Yale University When antibody-producing immune cells encounter infectious pathogens for the first time, they engage a signal cascade to generate a massive activation signal within seconds. The mechanisms underlying this acute initial activation have not been fully understood. In a new study by Yale Cancer Center, scientists have identified the short endosomal protein...
by Lisa Jones, British Heart Foundation A hormone that helps regulate bone mass is also produced by the heart and could be used to treat people with a dangerous heart rhythm disorder, according to new research we’ve part-funded. Until now, the hormone calcitonin was only thought to be produced by the thyroid gland, with no known effects on the...
Robot Girlfriend Scientists from Japan’s Gifu University built a robot hand for men to clasp when they feel lonely. The hand, dubbed “Osampo Kanojo,” which the engineers roughly translate to “My Girlfriend in Walk” in their research, is meant to feel and even smell like a romantic partner from the forearm down, according to CNET. The idea, supposedly, is...
by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute A new study led by researchers at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute developed an algorithm that could greatly reduce use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in outpatient settings, a step toward reducing antibiotic resistance. The findings will be published online November 4, 2020 in Science Translational Medicine. As discussed by the authors, antibiotic...
A review of research suggests that abnormalities in the front of the brain identified by electroencephalography (EEG) tests are common among patients who have neurological symptoms with COVID-19. Estimates vary, but approximately 15–25% of patients with severe COVID-19 may experience neurological symptoms, such as headaches, confusion, delirium, impaired consciousness, seizures, and strokes. Doctors may refer patients who are experiencing neurological...
by Monash University A recent study has shown that it may be possible to dampen the workings of the subconscious brain to prevent alcohol relapse, the results leading to a world-first trial of a personalized smartphone app called “SWiPE.” Cognitive Bias Modification, a new form of computerized brain-training, is focused on training the brain to automatically...
A fringe theory links microbes in the brain with the onset of dementia. Now, researchers are taking it seriously. Alison Abbott Some scientists think that microbes such as the herpes simplex virus 1 (shown here on an epithelial cell) could trigger some cases of Alzheimer’s disease. Two years ago, immunologist and medical-publishing entrepreneur Leslie Norins offered to...
By Dr. Tomislav Meštrović, MD, Ph.D.,Nov 3 2020 In a groundbreaking bioRxiv* paper, a research group from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the US engineered antibodies against the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike glycoprotein by using a novel approach. In doing so, they...
Russian and British scientists study the approaches to mathematical modeling of electromechanical processes in neurons of the brain. Researchers from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) in collaboration with colleagues from the University College London under the framework of “Project 5-100” study the effect of neural stimulation by ultrasonic waves and analyzing the influence...
Vanderbilt pharmacologists have reported the first evidence that aberrant spontaneous release of neurotransmitters in the brain can cause a range of severe intellectual and neurodevelopmental disorders in infants and children. Ege Kavalali, who holds the William Stokes Chair in Experimental Therapeutics and is acting chair of pharmacology, and postdoctoral scholar Baris Alten, describe their research in the article,...
