ScienceDaily: Top Health News

New therapeutic target for C. difficile infection

Posted: 18 Jun 2021 10:41 AM PDT

A new study paves the way for the development of next generation therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), the most frequent cause of healthcare-acquired gastrointestinal infections and death in developed countries.

Researchers review data on reputed toxins thought to cause neurodegeneration

Posted: 18 Jun 2021 10:40 AM PDT

Biologists and neuroscientists have published an update on the reputed environmental toxins that have been suspected of being involved in mammal neurodegeneration.

Imaging at the tip of a needle

Posted: 18 Jun 2021 10:40 AM PDT

Scientists have developed a new technique that could revolutionize medical imaging procedures using light.

New evidence to battle drug price increases

Posted: 18 Jun 2021 10:40 AM PDT

Two recent studies add new evidence to the impact of how drug price increases affect US patients and the overall cost of health care.

Use rewards effectively to boost creativity

Posted: 18 Jun 2021 10:40 AM PDT

To boost employees' creativity, managers should consider offering a set of rewards for them to choose from, according to a new study.

Will reduction in tau protein protect against Parkinson's and Lewy body dementias?

Posted: 18 Jun 2021 10:39 AM PDT

Will a reduction in tau protein in brain neurons protect against Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementias? A new study suggests the answer is no. If this is borne out, that result differs from Alzheimer's disease, where reducing endogenous tau levels in brain neurons is protective for multiple models of the disease -- and thus suggests that the role of tau in the pathogenesis of Lewy body dementias is distinct from Alzheimer's disease.

Bio-inspired hydrogel protects the heart from post-op adhesions

Posted: 18 Jun 2021 06:17 AM PDT

A hydrogel that forms a barrier to keep heart tissue from adhering to surrounding tissue after surgery was developed and successfully tested in rodents. The team of engineers, scientists and physicians also conducted a pilot study on porcine hearts, with promising results.

Start-stop system of hunting immune cells

Posted: 18 Jun 2021 06:17 AM PDT

Researchers decipher the basic biology of neutrophil swarming and now show that the cells also evolved an intrinsic molecular program to self-limit their swarming activity. The study elucidates how swarming neutrophils become insensitive to their own secreted signals that brought the swarm together in the first place. This process is crucial for the efficient elimination of bacteria in tissues.

How cells 'read' artificial ingredients tossed into genetic recipe

Posted: 18 Jun 2021 06:17 AM PDT

Researchers discovered that the enzyme RNA polymerase II recognizes and transcribes artificially added base pairs in genetic code, a new insight that could help advance the development of new vaccines and medicines.

Tug-of-war receptors for sour taste in fruit flies sheds light on human taste biology

Posted: 18 Jun 2021 06:16 AM PDT

Sour taste does not have the nearly universal appeal that sweet taste does. Slightly sour foods or drinks such as yogurt and lemon juice are yummy to many, but such highly sour foods as spoiled milk are yucky, even dangerous. Like humans, many other animals, including insects, prefer slightly acidic over very acidic foods.

Unraveling the origin of Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 17 Jun 2021 11:36 AM PDT

Researchers studying prions -- misfolded proteins that cause lethal incurable diseases -- have identified the surface features of human prions responsible for their replication in the brain.

First evidence that medieval plague victims were buried individually with 'considerable care'

Posted: 17 Jun 2021 10:38 AM PDT

DNA analysis has revealed the presence of 'Yersinia Pestis' - the pathogen that causes plague - in skeletal remains from individual burials in medieval Cambridgeshire, confirming for the first time that not all plague victims were buried in mass graves. Compassion and care were shown to victims even during traumatic times during past pandemics.

Innovative mouse model pumps new blood into study of pediatric heart disease

Posted: 17 Jun 2021 07:12 AM PDT

Researchers have created a mouse model of restrictive cardiomyopathy, a disease in which the heart muscle becomes stiff and the heart is unable to properly fill with blood. Their data suggest that the disease results from the accumulation of mutant BAG3 protein, which interferes with the protein quality control system and the machinery for breaking down and recycling damaged proteins, disrupting the heart muscle components.