ScienceDaily: Top Health News

Stronger materials could bloom with new images of plastic flow

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 01:33 PM PST

Scientists have captured high-resolution images of a tiny aluminum single-crystal sample as it transitioned from elastic to plastic state.

Human choices in a simulated pandemic: New study tests interventions to foster safer behavior

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 11:20 AM PST

A new study has shown that it is possible to test the effectiveness of interventions designed to foster safer behavior in order to slow the spread of a virus.

ADHD linked to hoarding behavior

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 10:56 AM PST

New research has found that people with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are significantly more likely to also exhibit hoarding behaviors, which can have a serious impact on their quality of life.

Decades-old structural mystery surrounding the birth of energy-storing lipid droplets solved

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 10:56 AM PST

In humans, virtually every cell stores fat. However, patients with a rare condition called congenital lipodystrophy, which is often diagnosed in childhood, cannot properly store fat, which accumulates in the body's organs and increases the risk of early death from heart or liver disease. In 2001, a transmembrane protein called seipin was identified as a molecule essential for proper fat storage, although its mechanism has remained unknown.

Is migraine tied to complications in pregnancy?

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 09:34 AM PST

Women with migraine may have a higher risk of pregnancy complications like preterm delivery, gestational high blood pressure and preeclampsia, according to a preliminary study. Researchers also found that women with migraine with aura may have a somewhat higher risk of preeclampsia than women with migraine without aura. Auras are sensations that come before the headache, often visual disturbances such as flashing lights. Preeclampsia involves high blood pressure with additional symptoms, such as protein in the urine, during pregnancy, which can threaten the life of the mother and baby.

Study shows young, healthy adults died from COVID-19 due to ECMO shortage

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 09:34 AM PST

Nearly 90 percent of COVID-19 patients who qualified for, but did not receive, ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) due to a shortage of resources during the height of the pandemic died in the hospital, despite being young with few other health issues, according to a new study.

Caregivers find remote monitoring during COVID-19 pandemic an unexpected patient safety benefit

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 09:18 AM PST

Experts say remote pulse oximetry and heart rate monitoring improve patient safety, lower mortality, increase accuracy.

Advancing our view at the subcellular level

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 08:39 AM PST

Researchers have developed a new pH probe and imaging technique to provide researchers more information when studying diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's.

Scientist links epigenetic biomarkers to gastrointestinal issues for kids with autism

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 08:39 AM PST

Researchers have identified specific RNA biomarkers linked with gastrointestinal issues in children with autism. The findings could help one day lead to individualized treatments aimed at easing the pain of these individuals.

Scientists identify key regulator of malaria parasite transmission

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 07:02 AM PST

Malaria symptoms occur once the parasite's asexual stages begin replicating inside red blood cells. However, these asexual forms must transform into male and female stages called gametocytes in order to infect the mosquitoes that spread the disease. Investigators now report they have identified a protein called HDP1 that plays a critical role in activating genes required for the development of these male and female stages. The finding provides important new insights into how the parasite controls this conversion into gametocytes.

Immune cells forget (cell) culture shock

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 07:02 AM PST

A recent study shows that certain immune cells can restore their normal functions when introduced back into the body, even after being multiplied in the laboratory to large numbers -- the results pave the way to new cell therapies.

African 'hotspot' for highly infectious diseases

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 05:59 AM PST

A regional corner of Africa is a hotspot for cases of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, prompting researchers to call for targeted health support rather than a national response.

The protective armor of superbug C.difficile revealed

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 05:58 AM PST

The close-knit, flexible outer layer - like chain mail - which protects superbug C.difficile has been unveiled.

Repurposing FDA-approved drugs may help combat COVID-19

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 05:58 AM PST

Several FDA-approved drugs -- including for type 2 diabetes, hepatitis C and HIV -- significantly reduce the ability of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 to replicate in human cells, according to new research. Specifically, the team found that these drugs inhibit certain viral enzymes, called proteases, that are essential for SARS-CoV-2 replication in infected human cells.

What brain-eating amoebae can tell us about the diversity of life on earth and evolutionary history

Posted: 25 Feb 2022 05:58 AM PST

Researchers recently announced that an amoeba called Naegleria has evolved more distinct sets of tubulins, used for specific cellular processes, than previously thought. Their insight has a host of implications, which range from developing treatments for brain-eating infections to better understanding how life on earth evolved such enormous diversity.

When muscles inexorably shrink

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 03:03 PM PST

The effect of iron supplementation on skeletal muscle atrophy in cancer patients and sufferers from other wasting diseases has been investigated by scientists who studied causes of these conditions in humans and mouse models. The findings shed light on wasting mechanisms in advanced stage cancer patients, for whom prevalence of devastating skeletal muscle atrophy known generally as cachexia reaches 80 percent.

A potential antiviral for SARS and SARS-like coronaviruses

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 03:03 PM PST

In a new paper, researchers lay out the similarities in biochemical function among PLpros (papain-like proteases) from SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, and those of other SARS-like viruses already circulating among bats and other species.

Newly diagnosed diabetes in patients with COVID-19 may simply be a transitory form of the blood sugar disorder

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 12:51 PM PST

A new study shows that blood sugar levels of COVID-19 patients newly diagnosed with diabetes during hospital admission often returned to normal following discharge, and that only eight percent used insulin after one year.

Cancer breakthrough reveals old drugs with new tricks may limit spread

Posted: 24 Feb 2022 08:26 AM PST

The treatment of cancer could be revolutionized by the discovery that existing drugs, used to treat depression and heart disease, could reverse key changes in cancer cells that are associated with their ability to spread.

Molds and yeasts common in daycares — could cause chronic asthma and allergy

Posted: 23 Feb 2022 10:34 AM PST

Citizen science sampling of dust in outdoor and indoor surfaces led to the identification of building features that contribute to the prevalence of yeasts and molds in daycare centers. This information is important to understand environmental factors contributing to the alarming rise of respiratory chronic diseases in children.