ScienceDaily: Top Health News

Digital teaching: Opportunity or challenge?

Posted: 22 Nov 2021 10:54 AM PST

Researchers explain why digital teaching cannot replace face-to-face teaching in university education, but can certainly be seen as a complementary tool. The future of teaching and learning may lie in so-called blended learning, a mix of face-to-face and online education.

COVID-19 case severity: How genetic differences leave immune cells at a disadvantage

Posted: 19 Nov 2021 05:51 AM PST

New research shows how genetic variations linked to severe cases of COVID-19 affect our immune cells. The study is one of the first in-depth look at the connections between COVID-19 severity and gene expression in many types of immune cells. This work could guide the development of new COVID-19 therapies to boost immune cell function.

Long-term blood sugar history predicts risk of severe COVID-19 among diabetics

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:37 PM PST

People with type 2 diabetes who contract COVID-19 are nearly 50 percent more likely to wind up in intensive care if they have poorly managed their blood sugar levels over the long-term than those with better long-term glycemic control, according to a study using anonymized health care data.

How do we know we're tired?

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:36 PM PST

Why do we need sleep? New research takes a step towards solving this mystery by discovering a mechanism of sleep in zebrafish, with some supporting evidence in mice.

Optimized second-generation mRNA vaccine demonstrated improved protection against COVID-19 in preclinical testing

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:35 PM PST

Researchers conducted a head-to-head test of the second-generation vaccine CV2CoV compared with CVnCoV. The scientists assessed the vaccines' ability to provoke an immune response as well as their protective efficacy against COVID-19 in non-human primates.

Scientists may need to rethink how genomics impacts risk for OCD

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:35 PM PST

Both rare and commonly observed differences in the DNA letters strung along a person's chromosomes can explain about a third of the risk for being diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to a new study.

Researchers study the link between vitamin D and inflammation

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:35 PM PST

An active metabolite of vitamin D (not the over-the-counter version) is involved in shutting down inflammation, new research shows.

Rodents could be asymptomatic carriers of SARS-like coronaviruses, study suggests

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:34 PM PST

Some ancestral rodents likely had repeated infections with SARS-like coronaviruses, leading them to acquire tolerance or resistance to the pathogens, according to new research. This raises the possibility that modern rodents may be reservoirs of SARS-like viruses, the researchers say.

Breakthrough in fight on tick-borne CCHF virus is latest use of new strategy against diseases

Posted: 18 Nov 2021 05:34 PM PST

Using the same approach they recently used to create effective vaccine candidates against COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), scientists are tackling another virus: the tick-borne Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF).

Parental depression is associated with worse childhood mental health, educational attainment, study finds

Posted: 17 Nov 2021 01:15 PM PST

Children who live with a parent who has depression are more likely to develop depression and to not achieve educational milestones, according to a new study.

After comparing 17.5 million strategies, researchers validate CDC's vaccine rollout recommendation

Posted: 17 Nov 2021 01:14 PM PST

Researchers evaluated 17.5 million possible strategies the CDC could have recommended as it planned COVID-19 vaccine rollouts. While the researchers generally validate the CDC's plan, they did highlight some improvements, which could inform future vaccination strategies.

Lung autopsies of COVID-19 patients reveal treatment clues

Posted: 17 Nov 2021 01:14 PM PST

Lung autopsy and plasma samples from people who died of COVID-19 have provided a clearer picture of how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads and damages lung tissue. Scientists say the information could help predict severe and prolonged COVID-19 cases, particularly among high-risk people, and inform effective treatments.