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Studies advance the understanding of sensory disconnection during sleep and anesthesia

During sleep and under anesthesia, we rarely respond to such external stimuli as sounds even though our brains remain highly active.

28 May 2020

Fluctuating estrogen levels could make alcohol more rewarding to women

Fluctuating estrogen levels may make alcohol more rewarding to female mice, according to new research in JNeurosci. Untangling the involved signaling pathways could unveil sex-based treatments for alcohol use disorders.

28 May 2020

Monash study confirms new approach to measure consciousness

An international study involving Monash physicists has confirmed a new approach to measure consciousness, potentially changing our understanding complex neurological problems.

28 May 2020

SCN study outlines impacts of targeted skills training on Canada’s regenerative medicine sector

Today, Canada’s Stem Cell Network (SCN) released a study entitled, Training Tomorrow’s Research Leaders, outlining the impacts of nearly 20 years of targeted skills training on Canada’s emergent regenerative medicine sector.

28 May 2020

Frog brain discovery may pave the way for repairing birth defects in humans

A team of researchers from Tufts University, Universitat de Valencia, and Harvard University has discovered that the brains of developing frog embryos damaged by nicotine exposure can be repaired by using “ionoceuticals” that can help in the recovery of bioelectric patterns in the embryo.

28 May 2020

Faulty ApoE4 gene increases risk for Alzheimer’s and for COVID-19

It has not been clear whether dementia worsens the infection or if it has resulted from the patient's old age and the severity of care home outbreaks. Now, a new study sheds light on the reason why people with dementia are at a high risk of developing severe disease caused by the coronavirus disease.

27 May 2020

Canadian study of COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs finds lower overall mortality

A Canadian case series of all patients with COVID-19 admitted to six intensive care units (ICUs) in Metro Vancouver found patient outcomes were substantially better than reported in other jurisdictions. The paper is published in CMAJ.

27 May 2020

Is air pollution a risk factor for COVID-19 infection?

The COVID-19 pandemic began at the very end of 2019 in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China. However, its spread soon began to threaten the health of the whole country and then of the world, leading to nearly 5.7 million cases and over 355,000 dead as of today. A new study, published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020, explores the effects of air pollution on COVID-19 infections in China.

27 May 2020

Research provides new evidence for potential blood-based biomarker for Alzheimer's

A potential blood-based biomarker for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases seems even more promising thanks to new research from a Massachusetts General Hospital-led study.

27 May 2020

Research provides guidance for treating pancreatic cancer patients during COVID-19 pandemic

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic not only affects patients who have the virus, but strikes the entire healthcare system including the care for patients with cancer.

27 May 2020

Molecular pair offers hope for development of new Parkinson's treatment

A promising molecular pair has offered hope that could lead to the development of a new treatment to slow down Parkinson's disease, a study by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Harvard University has found.

27 May 2020

SARS-CoV-2 RNA in blood tests not associated with infectious virus

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has challenged hospitals and laboratory services worldwide. Diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 initially lagged but is now primarily based on the use of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect viral nucleic RNA in the samples. However, viral RNA has also been reported in several small series of cases, though its significance and frequency remain unclear.

27 May 2020

Simple urine-testing method for people with kidney stones offers results in 30 minutes

An improved urine-testing system for people suffering from kidney stones inspired by nature and proposed by researchers from Penn State and Stanford University may enable patients to receive results within 30 minutes instead of the current turnaround time of a week or more.

27 May 2020

Masks can help reduce asymptomatic spread of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols

Growing evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can be spread by asymptomatic people via aerosols -- a reality that deeply underscores the ongoing importance of regular widespread testing, wearing masks and physical distancing to reduce the spread of the virus, say Kimberly Prather and colleagues in a new Perspective.

27 May 2020

ACE2 receptors in the kidney not linked to high BP or RAS blockers

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to smolder and flare up in various parts of the world, researchers are still trying to make sense of the virus, its routes of spread, its target tissues, and the immune responses it induces. One crucial piece of knowledge is that the primary viral receptor is a human enzyme called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

27 May 2020

Researchers to explore the idea of using ultraviolet light to kill novel coronavirus

The idea of UV sterilization is not a new one, but little or no scientific data about its potency against COVID-19 have been collected, until now.

27 May 2020

Is vitamin D really linked to excess COVID-19 mortality?

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused many deaths, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, over many different countries. However, the reasons for the differential mortality from region to region are far from clear, despite intensive research.

27 May 2020

How India's lockdown has affected mental health

India’s public landscape has transformed dramatically over the last couple of months, with the most prolonged lockdown that the present generation can remember. Declared on March 24, 2020, the lockdown ensured that hundreds of millions of people were effectively confined to home, except when they ventured out, armed with a self-attested affidavit, to stock up on essentials.

27 May 2020

Study shows children and adults have a comparable expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry-related genes

A recent paper by researchers from China demonstrated comparable expression levels of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cell entry mediators in adults and children, suggesting that previously implied difference in viral-entry associated genes is likely not responsible for milder symptoms in children. The study is currently available on the medRxiv preprint server.

27 May 2020

COVID-19 only kills 1% of people in remote Papuan village with limited resources

A researcher from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and a tropical medicine expert who lives in Wamena, Indonesia have published a unique account of a village in the Papuan highlands of Indonesia that has experienced what was presumed to be an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

27 May 2020

Medical Research News

Studies advance the understanding of sensory disconnection during sleep and anesthesia

Fluctuating estrogen levels could make alcohol more rewarding to women

Monash study confirms new approach to measure consciousness

SCN study outlines impacts of targeted skills training on Canada’s regenerative medicine sector

Frog brain discovery may pave the way for repairing birth defects in humans

Faulty ApoE4 gene increases risk for Alzheimer’s and for COVID-19

Canadian study of COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs finds lower overall mortality

Is air pollution a risk factor for COVID-19 infection?

Research provides new evidence for potential blood-based biomarker for Alzheimer's

Research provides guidance for treating pancreatic cancer patients during COVID-19 pandemic

Molecular pair offers hope for development of new Parkinson's treatment

SARS-CoV-2 RNA in blood tests not associated with infectious virus

Simple urine-testing method for people with kidney stones offers results in 30 minutes

Masks can help reduce asymptomatic spread of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols

ACE2 receptors in the kidney not linked to high BP or RAS blockers

Researchers to explore the idea of using ultraviolet light to kill novel coronavirus

Is vitamin D really linked to excess COVID-19 mortality?

How India's lockdown has affected mental health

Study shows children and adults have a comparable expression of SARS-CoV-2 entry-related genes

COVID-19 only kills 1% of people in remote Papuan village with limited resources

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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