EurekAlert Health Science Feed
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Updated: 2 years 39 weeks ago
(Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience) A fundamental question in neuroscience is how neuronal circuits give rise to brain function, as disruptions in these connections can lead to brain disorders. Translating the rules governing the functional organization of neural circuits requires knowledge of the synaptic connections among identified classes of neurons as well as the strength and dynamics of these connections. Researchers from MPFI optimized optogenetics to map the neural circuits of the brain of rodents with single neuron resolution.
(University at Buffalo) Being homeless puts people at greater risk of HIV infection than those with stable housing, but targeting services to reduce risk behaviors is often complicated by fuzzy definitions of homelessness.
(University of California - San Diego) Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that a form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that non-invasively measures fat density in the liver corresponds with histological (microscopic tissue analyses) responses in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
(Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center) New research links specific inherited genetic differences to an increased risk for eye (uveal) melanoma, a rare form of melanoma that arises from pigment cells that determine eye color. scientists report the first evidence of a strong association between genes linked to eye color and development of uveal melanoma. Reported data suggests that inherited genetic factors associated with eye and skin pigmentation could increase a person's risk for uveal melanoma.
(New York Institute of Technology) NYIT researcher Luis Martinez, Ph.D. has won a $431,700 National Institutes of Health grant to investigate, in mice, methamphetamine's effects on the underlying biological mechanisms that cause inflammation and impair wound healing.
(University of Kansas) Researchers with the University of Kansas will tailor resources from the Community Tool Box to fit the needs of volunteers working in Africa to combat HIV/AIDS and advance overall public health.
(Future Science Group) Future Science Group has today announced that they are making some top review and commentary articles freely available, to aid the Zika research effort.
(Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery) Vertebroplasty is a safe and effective procedure to reduce acute pain and disability in patients who have experienced spinal fractures within a 6-week period, according to a new study published this week in The Lancet. In this procedure, a special cement is injected in the fractured vertebra to stabilize the fracture and relieve patients of pressure. The study also found patients' hospital stays reduced by 5.5 days with vertebroplasty.
(University of Massachusetts at Amherst) Results of a new study by environmental health scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggest that inexpensive cloth masks worn by people who hope to reduce their exposure to air pollution vary widely in effectiveness and could be giving users a false sense of security, especially in highly polluted areas.
(ETH Zurich) They have big ambitions: nine students from ETH Zurich and ZHdK are preparing to take on developers from renowned manufacturers and universities from around the world with their 'Scewo' wheelchair at the Cybathlon. For months now, they have been investing every free minute into making sure their prototype is ready for the competition.
(Queen Mary University of London) The majority of smokers who successfully switch to vaping say they have fewer respiratory infections, according to a study led by Queen Mary University of London.
(Aarhus University) In the long term the Danish organic agricultural organizations want to phase out the use of conventional animal manure in organic production. Recent research from Aarhus University shows that it may be profitable for organic farmers to replace animal manure by so-called mobile green manure and still achieve the same effect.
(University of California - San Diego) Rheumatoid arthritis patients taking medications that inhibit interleukin-1beta, a molecule that stimulates the immune system, are 300 times more likely to experience invasive Group A Streptococcal infections than patients not on the drug, according to University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers. Their study, published Aug. 19 in Science Immunology, also uncovers a critical new role for IL-1beta as the body's independent early warning system for bacterial infections.
(Queen Mary University of London) Genetically analyzing lesions in the food pipe could provide an early and accurate test for esophageal cancer, according to research led by Queen Mary University of London, Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam and Arizona State University.
(American Sociological Association) If you want to mix drinks for a living, don't expect to have a typical family life.
(American Sociological Association) Gendered expectations in marriage are not just bad for women, they are also bad for men, according to a new study by University of Connecticut sociologists.
(UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center) A national survey found that parents were more likely to agree that laws requiring students to be vaccinated against HPV for school entry are a 'good idea' when there is an opt-out clause. This provision, said the University of North Carolina researchers, could make the laws far less effective. It also means physicians and other health care providers are key to improving HPV vaccination rates.
(American Association for Cancer Research) Parents are more likely to support laws that would make the human papillomavirus vaccine mandatory for school entry if their state offers opt-out provisions, however, the study's lead author cautioned that such opt-out provisions may weaken the effectiveness of the vaccine requirements.
(Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) Neuroscientists today publish in Neuron details of a revolutionary new way of mapping the brain at the resolution of individual neurons, which they have successfully demonstrated in the mouse brain. It involves introducing unique RNA barcodes into individual neurons and later identifying these barcodes, via sequencing, in distant brain areas.
(Walter and Eliza Hall Institute) Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have revealed for the first time the three-dimensional molecular 'map' of a protein that has been pinpointed as a driver of many types of cancers.