ScienceDaily: Top Health News

Body's natural pain killers can be enhanced

Posted: 23 Apr 2021 01:28 PM PDT

A study in cells and mice finds a opioid-receptor modifying compound works to relieve pain using the body's own pain-killers, with fewer side effects than opioids.

Force transmission between cells orchestrates collective cellular motion

Posted: 23 Apr 2021 10:02 AM PDT

How do the billions of cells communicate in order to perform tasks? The cells exert force on their environment through movement - and in doing so, they communicate. They work as a group in order to infiltrate their environment, perform wound healing and the like. They sense the stiffness or softness of their surroundings and this helps them connect and organize their collective effort. But when the connection between cells is distrubeddisturbed, a situation just like when cancer is initiated, can appear.

Ankle exoskeleton enables faster walking

Posted: 23 Apr 2021 06:54 AM PDT

In lab tests, researchers found that an optimized ankle exoskeleton system increased participants' walking speed by about 40 percent compared with their regular speed. The researchers hope someday to help restore walking speed in older adults.

Recreating the earliest stages of life

Posted: 23 Apr 2021 06:26 AM PDT

A group of scientists has now demonstrated the presence of precursors of the placenta and the amniotic sac in synthetic embryos they created from mouse stem cells.

Genetic effects of Chernobyl radiation

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT

Researchers utilized genomic tools to investigate potential health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen, as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl accident. One study found no evidence that genetic changes associated with radiation exposure are passed to children, while the second study documented the genetic changes in the tumors of people who developed thyroid cancer after being exposed as children or fetuses to the radiation released by the accident. Findings are being published close to the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

Immune system, not COVID virus, may pose greatest risk to pregnant women

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT

Scientists investigated whether the COVID-19 virus could be affecting placental tissue of infected expectant mothers. Their analysis found that while evidence of the virus in the placenta is rare, the placenta in infected mothers tended to exhibit a much higher level of immune system activity than those of non-infected pregnant women, they report.

A new method for fighting 'cold' tumors

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT

Researchers address cold tumors in new research. Working with mouse models of head and neck cancers, researchers studied the role of T cells in tumor treatment.

Newly-discovered molecule provides dual protection against vascular inflammation

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT

A mitochondrial peptide called MOCCI has a surprising sidekick, and they work together to regulate inflammation and immunity, researchers reveal.

Experimental drug shows potential against Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:04 PM PDT

Researchers have designed an experimental drug that reversed key symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in mice. The drug works by reinvigorating a cellular cleaning mechanism that gets rid of unwanted proteins by digesting and recycling them.

Anti-aging compound improves muscle glucose metabolism in people

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:03 PM PDT

In the first clinical trial of nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), researchers have found that the compound previously demonstrated to counteract aspects of aging and improve metabolic health in mice also has clinically relevant effects in people.

Researchers trace spinal neuron family tree

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:03 PM PDT

Spinal cord nerve cells branching through the body resemble trees with limbs fanning out in every direction. But this image can also be used to tell the story of how these neurons, their jobs becoming more specialized over time, arose through developmental and evolutionary history. Researchers have traced the development of spinal cord neurons using genetic signatures and revealed how different subtypes of the cells may have evolved and ultimately function to regulate body movements.

Salad or cheeseburger? Your co-workers shape your food choices

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 12:03 PM PDT

Employees' cafeteria purchases -- both healthy and unhealthy foods -- were influenced by their co-workers' food choices, found a large, two-year study of hospital employees. The study made innovative use of cash register data to gain insights into how individuals' social networks shape their health behavior. The research suggests we might structure future efforts aimed at improving population health by capitalizing on how one person's behavior influences another.

MERS DNA vaccine induces immunity, protects from virus challenge in preclinical model

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:36 AM PDT

A synthetic DNA vaccine candidate for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) induced potent immune responses and afforded protective efficacy in non-human primate models when given intradermally in abbreviated, low-dose immunization regimen.

Researchers show how 'theory of mind' influences advertising skepticism

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:36 AM PDT

Product marketers should be clear in their messaging to avoid customer skepticism that makes them feel duped, according to new research. At issue in a new study was a social-cognitive construct called theory of mind, which considers how well people assess the mental states and apparent goals of others. Turns out, it affects a person's evaluation and willingness to buy a product.

Stress test finds cracks in the resistance of harmful hospital bugs

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:36 AM PDT

Research has identified critical factors that enable dangerous bacteria to spread disease by surviving on surfaces in hospitals and kitchens.

Minimally invasive retinal reattachment procedure leads to superior photoreceptor integrity

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:36 AM PDT

A new study reinforces pneumatic retinopexy (PnR) as the better first-line retinal reattachment technique to achieve the best visual outcomes.

Freeze! Executioner protein caught in the act

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 06:39 AM PDT

A new molecular 'freeze frame' technique has allowed researchers to see key steps in how the protein MLKL kills cells.

Poor iodine levels in women pose risks to fetal intellectual development in pregnancy

Posted: 22 Apr 2021 06:38 AM PDT

An increasing number of young women are at increased risk of having children born with impaired neurological conditions, due to poor iodine intake.

Changing views on atherosclerosis

Posted: 21 Apr 2021 09:46 AM PDT

Atherosclerosis -- hardening of the arteries -- is now involved in the majority of deaths worldwide, and advances in our understanding of the biology of the disease are changing traditional views and opening up new avenues for treatment.

Newly discovered airway cells may shed light on SIDS and other conditions

Posted: 20 Apr 2021 09:15 AM PDT

Pulmonary neuroendocrine cells, found in the human airway, are more varied than previously thought. Higher levels of certain types of pulmonary neuroendocrine cells are linked to sudden infant death syndrome and other breathing-related conditions.

Certain gut microbes make mosquitoes more prone to carry malaria parasite

Posted: 20 Apr 2021 09:15 AM PDT

Dietary sugars and gut microbes play a key role in promoting malaria parasite infection in mosquitoes. Researchers have uncovered evidence that mosquitoes fed a sugar diet show an increased abundance of the bacterial species Asaia bogorensis, which enhances parasite infection by raising the gut pH level.