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Marathon running alters brain myelin for energy use

According to a study published by Nature Metabolism, marathon runners experience reversible changes in their brain myelin.

8 Apr 2025

Single dose of osanetant reduces fear response in female mice after trauma

A new Brevia (peer-reviewed research report) published in Brain Medicine reveals that a single dose of the drug Osanetant, administered shortly after a traumatic event, significantly dampens fear expression in female mice.

8 Apr 2025

GP38 identified as key viral toxin and vaccine target in Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus research

A recent study published in Science Translational Medicine involving scientists from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in collaboration with scientists from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the University of California-Berkeley have advanced discoveries surrounding the viral glycoprotein GP38 expressed by the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV).

8 Apr 2025

Unexpected function of gene network in gut microbes revealed

Could a gene regulatory network in gut microbes have evolved its elaborate and tightly regulated molecular machinery only to pump out antibiotics indiscriminately? Researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) show this is an auxiliary function.

8 Apr 2025

Study links gut microbe shifts in migrants to cardiovascular risk

An Amsterdam UMC-led study has found that migrants, this case from West Africa to Europe, experience a 'clear change' in their microbiome composition as compared to their non-migrant peers in West Africa, which expose them to an increase of cardiovascular disease.

8 Apr 2025

Babies as young as three months can sense their own heartbeat

Body signals such as heartbeat and breathing accompany us constantly, often unnoticed as background noise of our perception. Even in the earliest years of life, these signals are important as they contribute to the development of self-awareness and identity. However, until know little has been known about whether and how babies can perceive their own body signals. A recent study from Wiener Kinderstudien Lab at the University of Vienna demonstrates for the first time that babies as young as 3 months can perceive their own heartbeat. In addition, the team, headed by researchers from the University of Vienna, together with colleagues from the University of Potsdam and Royal Holloway University of London, also investigated for the first-time infants' perception of their own breathing and found developments during the first two years of life. The results are now published in the prestigious journal eLife. The perception of internal body signals is closely linked to emotional awareness, mental health, and self-perception. Early in life the ability to perceive one's own body signals may be particularly important, as it often forms the basis for interactions with caregivers - for example babies rely on their caregivers to respond appropriately to signs of hunger or discomfort. Moreover, the development of self-awareness and identity partly depends on the perception and experience of one's own body. The study shows that even 3-month-old babies can perceive their own heartbeat and that this ability remains relatively stable during the first two years of life. At the same time, the findings indicate that the perception of breathing improves significantly during the second year. Interestingly, the ability to perceive the heartbeat and breathing does not appear to be related - much like in adults. Measuring body awareness in babies is challenging, as, unlike adults, you cannot simply rely on verbal report. Therefore, the research team used innovative methods by tracking the infants' eye movements as they watched child-friendly figures. These figures moved either in synchrony with the child's heartbeat or breathing, or with a slight time delay. Results showed that even at an early age, babies recognize the correspondence between their own heartbeat or breathing rhythm and the animated figures. They looked longer at the screen when the figures were in synchrony than when they were delayed. "The babies must have recognized that the figures moved simultaneously with their heartbeat or breathing, and then they paid more attention," said the study's lead author, Markus Tünte from the University of Vienna. These findings open up exciting perspectives for future developmental psychology research. In particular, it is important to explore how early body awareness relates to the development of emotional and social skills, as well as the role parents play in shaping early body perception. In the long term, such research could be used to promote healthy body awareness and, consequently, the mental health of children.

8 Apr 2025

New drug compound offers pain relief without opioid side effects

University of Florida scientists have helped identify a novel drug compound that selectively activates pain-altering receptors in the body, offering a potentially safer alternative to conventional pain medications.

8 Apr 2025

Scientists find early signs of T cell exhaustion in early infection stages

Even in the case of uncomplicated infections, the body prepares itself early on for the possibility of a more severe course. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz Munich has now uncovered this mechanism.

8 Apr 2025

How air pollution may be undermining your brain—one breath at a time

Research reveals air pollution, particularly from industry and fuels, negatively affects cognitive function in older adults, with language skills most impacted.

8 Apr 2025

Powerful new tool promises major advances in cancer treatment

New Australian technology is set to transform the way that gastrointestinal cancers are detected and treated with precise, minimally invasive surgery.

8 Apr 2025

Understanding the origins of health disparities through historical data

Over the past century, health inequalities have shifted from being driven mainly by infectious diseases, poor sanitation, and hazardous working conditions to being shaped by chronic diseases, lifestyle factors, and unequal access to modern healthcare.

7 Apr 2025

Faulty gene linked to increased risk of punctured lung in thousands

As many as one in 3,000 people could be carrying a faulty gene that significantly increases their risk of a punctured lung, according to new estimates from Cambridge researchers. Previous estimates had put this risk closer to one in 200,000 people.

7 Apr 2025

New studies reveal how cytokines affect mood and behavior

Physicians have long observed a mystifying phenomenon: After a bout of infection or an autoimmune disease flare-up, some people experience prolonged mood swings, emotional dysregulation, and changes in behavior.

7 Apr 2025

AI model enhances detection of antibiotic resistance in deadly bacteria

Drug-resistant infections - especially from deadly bacteria like tuberculosis and staph - are a growing global health crisis.

7 Apr 2025

Human dental stem cells can be transformed into excitable neuronal cells, study shows

The cells with electrophysiological activity obtained at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) are opening up new avenues for the study of neurodegenerative diseases and the development of future autologous transplants.

7 Apr 2025

Blocking an enzyme to overcome immunotherapy resistance in melanoma patients

About 65% of melanoma patients do not respond to immunotherapy. New work by the team of Prof. Max Mazzone (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology) discovered that an enzyme called HPGDS (expressed in a specific subset of macrophages), plays a key role in immunotherapy resistance.

7 Apr 2025