Health
23 Jun 2019
Brain changes linked with Alzheimer’s years before symptoms appear
Brain imaging and spinal fluid analysis could help to guide the use of future preventive treatments for Alzheimer’s; Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
423 news posts in Health
Health
13 Jun 2019
The app teaching anorexics to eat again
More patients with anorexia go into long-term remission by re-learning how to eat, than through CBT or drugs; Frontiers in Neuroscience
Health
05 Jun 2019
The bacteria building your baby
Exposure to influential bacteria begins before we are born, new evidence confirms; Frontiers in Microbiology
Health
31 May 2019
Changes to immune genes link paternal smoking with childhood asthma
Children exposed to paternal tobacco smoking before birth are more likely to develop asthma – and associated changes to immune genes predict the level of risk
Health
28 May 2019
Vitamin D study sheds light on immune system effects
Researchers find vitamin D causes dendritic cells to produce more of a molecule called CD31 on their surface, which hinders activation of T cells; Frontiers in Immunology
Health
24 Apr 2019
Germ-fighting catheter coating may help prevent infections
For the first time researchers have incorporated auranofin — an antibiotic with low resistance potential — into a coating for intravascular catheters; Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
Health
18 Apr 2019
Scientists clarify what probiotics are and what they are not
Frontiers in Microbiology: A new scientific paper calls for strict adherence to the scientific definition, ensuring improper use of the term doesn’t mislead consumers or limit advancements in the emerging field of microbiome science
Health
11 Apr 2019
Urban biodiversity to reduce chronic disease
‘Rewilding’ the urban environment with native microbes could restore the human microbiome and reduce our risk of chronic disease; Frontiers in Microbiology
Health
10 Apr 2019
Underwater forests a treasure trove of new drugs
Scientists recover dozens of antimicrobial and anticancer compounds from seaweed; Frontiers in Microbiology
Health
09 Apr 2019
Stressed? Take a 20-minute nature pill
Just 20 minutes of contact with nature will lower stress hormone levels, reveals new study; Frontiers in Psychology
Health
02 Apr 2019
Quantum physics and origami for the ultimate get-well card
Scientists have combined the simplicity of paper with the complexity of quantum physics for point-of-care testing in low-resource environments; Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
Health
01 Apr 2019
More scrutiny needed for less-deadly foodborne bacteria
Foodborne pathogens in the Bacillus cereus group cause diarrhea and vomiting. Credit: Penn State. — by Penn State University, USA Employing advanced genetic-tracing techniques and sharing the data produced in real time could limit the spread of bacteria — Bacillus cereus — which cause foodborne illness, according to researchers who implemented whole-genome sequencing of a pathogen-outbreak investigation. “Here, in our study, we use this approach for the first time on Bacillus cereus,” said Jasna Kovac, assistant professor of food science, Penn State. “It is our hope that whole-genome sequencing of Bacillus will be done more often as a result of our research, as it allows us to differentiate between the various species of Bacillus cereus group and project the food-safety risk associated with them.” Characterization of Emetic and Diarrheal Bacillus cereusStrains From a 2016 Foodborne Outbreak Using Whole-Genome Sequencing: Addressing the Microbiological, Epidemiological, and Bioinformatic Challenges► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) Done in response to an outbreak of foodborne illness in upstate New York in 2016, the project marked the first time researchers conducted whole-genome sequencing to investigate a Bacillus cereus outbreak to link isolates from human clinical cases to food. The outbreak, which lasted less than a month, stemmed from contaminated refried beans served by a small Mexican […]
Health
29 Mar 2019
New drug resistance process found in bacteria
This is the research team in charge of the study. From left to right: Ivan Erill, Pilar Cortés, Jordi Barbé and Miquel Sánchez-Osuna. Credit: UAB. — by Autonomous University of Barcelona A team of researchers has discovered a new process capable of generating resistance to synthetic antibacterial drugs within bacterial populations long before they are put to clinical use. The research was led by Jordi Barbé, researcher at the Molecular Microbiology Group of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and by Ivan Erill from the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). The findings were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology. Researchers analysed the large volume of bacterial genomes available with the aim of identifying the origin of mobile genetic elements carriers of a resistance to sulfonamides frequently detected in the superbacteria found in hospitals. Origin of the Mobile Di-Hydro-Pteroate Synthase Gene Determining Sulfonamide Resistance in Clinical Isolates► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) Through a comparative analysis of sequences and phylogenetic techniques, the researchers were able to establish that sulfonamide-resistant genes appeared in two ground bacteria families (Rhodobiaceae and Leptospiraceae) over 600 million years ago thanks to a mutation in the drug’s target gene. The […]
Health
27 Mar 2019
Can you ‘catch’ cancer?
Parasitic worms cause cancer – and could help cure it; Frontiers in Medicine
Health
25 Mar 2019
Superbugs have colonized the International Space Station – but there’s a silver lining
An antimicrobial coating made of precious metals reduced growth of bacteria on contamination-prone surfaces inside the ISS, where extreme conditions can foster antibiotic-resistant superbugs; Frontiers in Microbiology