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Despite targeted efforts, racial disparities persist in rural areas

In the last 20 years, Black adults living in rural areas of the United States have experienced high mortality rates due to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke compared to white adults.

30 Mar 2021

Researchers study the physical effects of space travel on astronaut's heart

With NASA preparing to send humans to Mars in the 2030s, researchers are studying the physical effects of spending long periods in space.

30 Mar 2021

Study shows how innate valence is encoded

Since the beginning of the pandemic, a loss of smell has emerged as one of the telltale signs of COVID-19. Though most people regain their sense of smell within a matter of weeks, others can find that familiar odors become distorted.

30 Mar 2021

Varied physical activity can promote well-being and better mental health

The recommendations are clear: physical activity is good for mental health. But it also depends on how varied it is. That's what a new study by researchers at the University of Basel shows, pointing to one of the reasons why well-being suffers during the pandemic.

29 Mar 2021

Low-cost hypertension management intervention can be cost-effectively scaled up in rural South Asia

A low-cost intervention to improve hypertension--or high blood pressure (BP)--prevention and management can be cost-effectively scaled up for rural communities in low- and middle-income countries, according to findings from a multi-country trial published in The Lancet Global Health.

29 Mar 2021

Health care issues during COVID-19 may worsen pregnancy, chronic disease-related inequities

Pregnancy complications affect up to one in three pregnancies and are increasingly linked to future chronic disease.

29 Mar 2021

GlyNAC could improve many age-associated defects in older humans

A pilot human clinical trial conducted by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reveals that supplementation with GlyNAC - a combination of glycine and N-acetylcysteine as precursors of the natural antioxidant glutathione - could improve many age-associated defects in older humans to improve muscle strength and cognition, and promote healthy aging.

29 Mar 2021

UVA-led researchers urge rapid action to better prepare for the next pandemic

An international team of researchers led by a University of Virginia School of Medicine professor is warning that scientists must better prepare for the next pandemic - and has developed a plan to do just that.

29 Mar 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine causes steep drop in COVID-19 among healthcare workers

A team of scientists from Spain has recently evaluated the efficacy of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2). Their findings reveal that a 2-dose regimen of BNT162b2 vaccine is capable of providing almost 100% protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers.

29 Mar 2021

Corticosteroid therapy in pregnant women with COVID-19

A new study describes the outcome of corticosteroid use in pregnancy.

29 Mar 2021

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted birth statistics in the U.S.?

A new study examines national-level changes in fertility, preterm birth and other obstetric outcomes, in the U.S., over the period of the pandemic throughout 2020.

29 Mar 2021

Rare genetic variant may explain severe COVID-19 in young healthy male patients

A recent study describes the association of rare alleles in a specific gene with severe COVID-19 in young male patients.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers develop new rapid and highly sensitive SAR-CoV-2 RNA detection test

In an alternative approach to the PCR-based methods, CRISPR-Cas proteins have been employed by a large team of researchers to identify the SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA in patient samples with PCR-derived cycle threshold (Ct) values up to 22 - corresponding to ~1600 copies/µl in the assay.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers examine circRNAs encoded by MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2

New research published in Briefings in Bioinformaticsm has identified thousands of circRNAs in Betacoronaviruses, including MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2, from the RNA-sequencing data of viral infections. These coronaviruses have a similar genomic structure with a diverse circRNA coding ability. Researchers have also systematically characterized circRNAs in coronaviruses, with regard to their size, sequence feature, expressions, genome, location preference, and functions. This opens the door to further explore and understand the mode of action of individual circRNAs in coronaviruses.

29 Mar 2021

New recommendations for addressing disparities in cancer care

New recommendations co-developed by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute call for a significant expansion of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers to understand the causes of inequities in cancer care and a commitment to building sustained community partnerships to reduce them.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers develop novel nanoadjuvant COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Researchers at the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), introduced a new vaccine, which compromises the spike protein’s receptor-binding domain (RBD) and the manganese nanoadjuvant (MnARK), inducing humoral and cellular responses.

29 Mar 2021

Scientists seek Covid treatment answers in cheap, older drugs

Could a decades-old antidepressant be a secret weapon against covid? A few scientists think so, after two small studies showed that fluvoxamine, typically prescribed for obsessive-compulsive disorder, prevented serious illness in all participants who took the pills soon after developing symptoms.

29 Mar 2021