ScienceDaily: Top Health News

Role of psychotherapists in treatment effectiveness

Posted: 19 Nov 2021 12:56 PM PST

New research shows that different psychotherapists use common treatment processes to varying benefits for patients.

A genetic change for achieving a long and healthy life?

Posted: 19 Nov 2021 12:56 PM PST

Researchers presented new insights for improving the health span by just regulating the activity of a protein. A research group has identified a single amino acid change in the tumor suppressor protein phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) that dramatically extends healthy periods while maintaining longevity.

Wearable tech confirms wear-and-tear of work commute

Posted: 19 Nov 2021 05:51 AM PST

Information about worker commutes from smartphones and fitness trackers can predict individual job performance, according to a new study.

Scientists key in on brain’s mechanism for singing, learning

Posted: 19 Nov 2021 05:51 AM PST

New research reveals that specialized cells within neural circuitry that triggers complex learning in songbirds bears a striking resemblance to a type of neural cell associated with the development of fine motor skills in the cortex of the human brain.

Researchers use model of hypothalamus to implicate genes associated with sleep, BMI, puberty

Posted: 19 Nov 2021 05:51 AM PST

A new study has implicated several genes involved in a variety of bodily functions associated with the hypothalamus, a notoriously difficult-to-study region of the brain. The findings could help clinicians identify potential causes of dysfunction for many important traits regulated by the hypothalamus, such as sleep, stress, and reproduction.

Specific facial features can help distinguish children from adults

Posted: 19 Nov 2021 05:49 AM PST

Identifying specific facial features that can be used to distinguish a child's face from an adult's may offer a useful tool for determining whether children are depicted in indecent images of children, according to new research.

Scientists capture humor’s earliest emergence

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:38 PM PST

Young children's ability to laugh and make jokes has been mapped by age for the first time using data from a new study involving nearly 700 children from birth to 4 years of age, from around the world. The findings identify the earliest age humor emerges and how it typically builds in the first years of life.

'Deepfaking the mind' could improve brain-computer interfaces for people with disabilities

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:36 PM PST

Researchers are using generative adversarial networks (GANs) -- technology best known for creating deepfake videos and photorealistic human faces -- to improve brain-computer interfaces for people with disabilities. The team successfully taught an AI to generate synthetic brain activity data. The data, specifically neural signals called spike trains, can be fed into machine-learning algorithms to improve the usability of brain-computer interfaces (BCI).

Dengue’s dance: Host immunity drives viral evolution

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:34 PM PST

New research provides evidence that host immunity drives evolution of the dengue virus. The research analyzes two decades of genetic variation from Thailand alongside population-level measures of infection and immunity.

Chronic stress and depression boost this brain receptor; a new study maps out how to block it

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:34 PM PST

Eliminating GPR158 activity in stressed mice made them resistant to depression and anxiety. A new study in the journal Science reveals the unusual brain receptor's structure, and possible ways a medication might reduce its sway.

The brain uses bodily signals to regulate fear

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:34 PM PST

Fear is essential for survival, but must be well regulated to avoid harmful behaviors such as panic attacks or exaggerated risk taking. Scientists have now demonstrated in mice that the brain relies on the body's feedback to regulate fear. The brain's insular cortex strongly reacts to stimuli signaling danger. However, when the body freezes in response to fear, the heartbeat slows down leading to attenuated insular cortex activity. Processing these opposing signals helps the insular cortex to keep fear in balance. The body's reactions are thus actively used to regulate emotions and are much more than passive emotional responses.

New cell discovered and shown to regulate heart rate

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:34 PM PST

Researchers discovered a new type of cell in the heart that may help regulate heart rate, and could be an important key in understanding certain types of congenital heart defects and other diseases that involve the heart.

New imaging technology may reduce need for skin biopsies

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:30 PM PST

A new 'virtual histology' technology shows promise by analyzing images of suspicious-looking lesions and quickly producing a detailed, microscopic image of the skin, bypassing several standard steps typically used for diagnosis -- including skin biopsy, tissue fixation, processing, sectioning and histochemical staining.

‘Surgery selfies’ could spot serious infections early

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 03:15 AM PST

Smartphone pictures of post-surgical wounds taken by patients and then assessed by clinicians can help with the early identification of infections, a study has found.

Study links stress to Crohn’s disease flare-ups

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 03:15 AM PST

Researchers using mouse models found that stress hormones suppressed the innate immune system that normally protects the gut from invasive Enterobacteriaceae, a group of bacteria including E. coli which has been linked to Crohn's disease.

Warning over antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Posted: 17 Nov 2021 06:16 PM PST

Significant levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been found at locations in and around Cambridge, England. The researchers found potentially dangerous Pseudomonas bacteria in over a fifth of samples collected close to the River Cam.

Food scientists create zinc index for human body

Posted: 17 Nov 2021 01:14 PM PST

Zinc deficiency is prevalent around the world, and among children, these mineral shortfalls can lead to stunting, embryonic malformations and neurobehavioral abnormalities. Over several decades, science has improved understanding of zinc metabolism, but an accurate, comprehensive assessment tool for its physiological status within a human body has remained elusive. Until now.

Chemistry breakthrough leads way to more sustainable pharmaceuticals

Posted: 17 Nov 2021 01:13 PM PST

Chemistry researchers have developed a new method using blue light to create pharmaceuticals in a more sustainable way, significantly reducing the amount of energy needed and the chemical waste created in the manufacture process.

Advanced microscopes help scientists understand how cells break down proteins

Posted: 17 Nov 2021 08:51 AM PST

Researchers have used advanced electron microscopes to delve deeper into the process of protein degradation. They described the structure of a key enzyme that helps mediate ubiquitination in yeast, part of a cellular process called the N-degron pathway that may be responsible for determining the rate of degradation for up to 80% of equivalent proteins in humans.

How herpes checks into the nervous system for life

Posted: 17 Nov 2021 08:51 AM PST

More than half of U.S. adults are carriers of HSV1 (herpes simplex virus type 1) which hibernates in the peripheral nervous system and can never be eradicated. A new study has uncovered herpes' sneaky strategy for infecting the nervous system, opening a door to long-needed vaccine development for both HSV1 and its close sibling HSV2.

Unvaccinated: The kids aren’t alright

Posted: 16 Nov 2021 05:15 PM PST

Close to 10 million children in lower-income countries have never been vaccinated against any infectious disease. These 'zero-dose' kids hold a lesson for all of us, says a public-health expert.

How grandmothers' brains react to the sight of their grandchildren

Posted: 16 Nov 2021 05:15 PM PST

Scientists have scanned grandmothers' brains while they're viewing photos of their young grandchildren -- providing a neural snapshot of this special, inter-generational bond.