ScienceDaily: Top Health News

Lack of sleep increases unhealthy abdominal fat, study finds

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 01:53 PM PDT

New research shows that lack of sufficient sleep combined with free access to food increases calorie consumption and consequently fat accumulation, especially unhealthy fat inside the belly.

New information about amyloid filaments in neurodegenerative diseases

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 01:06 PM PDT

Researchers have helped identify that a common protein found in neurodegenerative diseases forms amyloid filaments in an age-dependent manner without a connection to disease.

Spirituality can improve quality of life for heart failure patients, study finds

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 11:10 AM PDT

Numerous studies have shown that spirituality can help improve quality of life for people with chronic diseases like cancer. According to a literature review, spirituality can also have a positive impact on quality of life for heart failure patients.

Black patients with cancer fare worse with COVID-19, study shows

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 10:38 AM PDT

Lack of access to health care, social determinants of health, preexisting comorbidities and reduced access to clinical research are common to both cancer and COVID-19 in Black individuals. Together these two diseases create a perfect storm in this population, a new study indicates.

New test predicts sepsis before blood clots cause permanent organ damage, markedly increasing survival

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 10:38 AM PDT

In a potential paradigm change for sepsis diagnostics, a new test predicted sepsis soon after infection in mice -- well before blood clotting and organ failure -- enabling early antibiotic treatment and markedly increased survival. The findings provide a platform to develop rapid and easy-to-perform clinical tests for early sepsis detection and clinical intervention in human patients.

Unprecedented videos show RNA switching ‘on’ and ‘off’

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 10:36 AM PDT

Using new simulations, researchers discovered one part of RNA smoothly invades and displaces another part of the same RNA, enabling the structure to rapidly and dramatically change shape. Called strand displacement, this mechanism appears to switch genetic expression from 'on' to 'off'.

Genetic risk for asthma comes from changes in airway cells, study finds

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 10:36 AM PDT

A significant amount of genetic risk for asthma is likely mediated through altered gene expression within the airway epithelium. That is the conclusion of a new study to identify genetic variants that cause asthma by altering the function of airway cells.

New nasal spray treats Delta variant infection in mice, indicating broad spectrum results

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 10:36 AM PDT

Researchers have shown a new compound delivered in a nasal spray is highly effective in preventing and treating COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant in mice. The researchers believe this is the first treatment of its kind proven to be effective against all COVID-19 variants of concern reported to date, including alpha, beta, gamma and delta.

Identifying risk factors following ICH strokes

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 09:13 AM PDT

Researchers reveal new insights into how different risk factors following intracerebral hemorrhages can affect patient outcomes.

The surprising diversity of the fallopian tube

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:27 AM PDT

A new study creates a detailed 'atlas' of the various cell types and their gene activities within the highly specialized fallopian tube, paving the way for new research into infertility and other diseases affecting this organ, including some cancers.

COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy does not increase complications around the time of childbirth, study finds

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:27 AM PDT

Researchers have found that receiving a COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy does not lead to increases in the frequency of complications around the time of childbirth. The findings provide further assurances about the safety of mRNA vaccines for this particularly unique population.

Marmoset monkeys solve hearing tests on the touchscreen

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:26 AM PDT

Researchers have developed an automated auditory training program that marmoset monkeys can perform in their familiar environment on a voluntary basis. The team has accomplished getting non-human primates to complete a series of tests in which they hear different sounds and then match them to the appropriate, previously learned visual stimuli by clicking on a touchscreen. This allows scientists to track which sounds the animals can hear and discriminate.

How cells control their borders

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:24 AM PDT

Bacteria and yeast need to prevent leakage of numerous small molecules through their cell membrane. Biochemists have studied how the composition of the membrane affects passive diffusion and the robustness of this membrane. Their results could help the biotech industry to optimize microbial production of useful molecules and help in drug design.

Layover or nonstop? Unique pattern of connectivity lets highly creative people's brains take road less traveled to their destination

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:23 AM PDT

A new study shows highly creative people's brains appear to work differently than others, with an atypical approach that makes distant connections more quickly by bypassing the 'hubs' seen in non-creative brains.

Smells like ancient society: Scientists find ways to study and reconstruct past scents

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:21 AM PDT

In a new paper, researchers discuss the importance of scent in human history and address how and why experts might investigate smells from the past.

New technology could make biopsies a thing of the past

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:21 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a technology that could replace conventional biopsies and histology with real-time imaging within the living body. MediSCAPE is a high-speed 3D microscope capable of capturing images of tissue structures that could guide surgeons to navigate tumors and their boundaries without needing to remove tissues and wait for pathology results.

Atlas of migraine cell types sheds light on new therapeutic targets

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:21 AM PDT

By mapping the cell types and genes expressed in the human and mouse trigeminal ganglion, researchers have created an online resource for studying the molecular basis of headache and facial pain.

Researchers offer new treatment protocol for advanced head and neck cancer

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:18 AM PDT

The current treatment of patients diagnosed with advanced or metastatic head and neck cancer (HNC) is ineffective. Researchers have investigated and validated a potential treatment combination against the aggressive disease driven by hyper-activation of a specific signaling pathway, which is found in over 40 percent of HNC patients.

Deleting a protein might reduce cardiovascular disease

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 08:17 AM PDT

Macrophages travel through our arteries, gobbling fat. But fat-filled macrophages can narrow blood vessels and cause heart disease. Now, researchers describe how deleting a protein could prevent this and potentially prevent heart attacks and strokes in humans.

Brain waves reveal the active nature of engaging with art

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 07:13 AM PDT

A new study suggests that aesthetic experience goes hand in hand with both actively constructing meaning from an artwork and being in a state of heightened attention.

Less antibody diversity as we age

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 06:21 AM PDT

As we age, our immune system works less well. We become more susceptible to infections and vaccinations no longer work as effectively. A research team has investigated whether short-lived killifish also undergo aging of the immune system. Indeed, they found that as early as four months of age, killifish have less diverse circulating antibodies compared to younger fish, which may contribute to a generalized decrease in the immune function.

Scientists discover body's natural alarm to battle blood loss

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 06:20 AM PDT

Fresh insights into how the body responds to blood loss could lead to a new treatment for traumatic injuries.

Potential therapy may boost chemoimmunotherapy response in bladder cancer

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 06:00 AM PDT

Adding an anti-inflammatory medication to immunotherapy and standard chemotherapy drugs may provide long-term suppression of aggressive bladder tumor growth, according to a proof-of-concept study.

Octopus-like tentacles help cancer cells invade the body

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 06:00 AM PDT

With help from the best tweezers in the world a team of researchers has shed new light on a fundamental mechanism in all living cells that helps them explore their surroundings and even invade tissue. Their discovery could have implications for research into cancer, neurological disorders and much else.

Scientists find that the impact of social media on wellbeing varies across adolescence

Posted: 28 Mar 2022 06:00 AM PDT

Girls and boys might be more vulnerable to the negative effects of social media use at different times during their adolescence, say an international team of scientists. The researchers show that, in UK data, girls experience a negative link between social media use and life satisfaction when they are 11-13 years old and boys when they are 14-15 years old. Increased social media use again predicts lower life satisfaction at age 19 years. At other times the link was not statistically significant.