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Study: Dopamine neurons respond to reward-predicting cues

Animals must make predictions about future rewards when making decisions during daily life. Specific reward-related patterns of neuronal activity are known to underlie such decisions.

19 Mar 2021

Mass vaccination needed to protect against future resurgences of COVID-19

The first long-term seroprevalence study of residents in Wuhan, China, has found that 6.9% of people in the city had antibodies against COVID-19 in April 2020, and 82% of these people had an asymptomatic infection.

19 Mar 2021

Opioid use is linked with other forms of substance misuse, mental health problems

Opioid use has dramatically increased in the 21st century, especially among young adults. A new study from the University of Illinois provides insights on usage patterns among Illinois high school students to help inform prevention and treatment strategies.

19 Mar 2021

Lower dose of tamoxifen may reduce risk of breast cancer

While the drug tamoxifen reduces the risk of developing breast cancer and prevents recurrence, the side-effects cause many women to discontinue their treatment.

19 Mar 2021

“Crisis Response” is the motto of the 2021 Local Health Authority Day

Coping with the pandemic is a task for the society as a whole. In this connection, the around 400 municipal health authorities are a central pillar for the protection of public health in Germany.

19 Mar 2021

Chemical cocktail shows promise for producing muscle stem cells

A UCLA-led research team has identified a chemical cocktail that enables the production of large numbers of muscle stem cells, which can self-renew and give rise to all types of skeletal muscle cells.

19 Mar 2021

Specific neurons release dopamine to regulate pain differently in male and female mice

Males and females, generally speaking, experience and respond to pain differently, but scientists have yet to understand all the brain circuits involved in these differences.

19 Mar 2021

Widely used technique for autism screening is being misused, say psychologists

Reporting in the Lancet Psychiatry today, psychologists at the University of Bath highlight that a widely used technique for autism screening is being misused, which may have prevented many people from receiving an autism diagnosis over the past decade.

19 Mar 2021

Study: Transcendental meditation can significantly reduce severity of PTSD symptoms

Veterans with PTSD who practiced the Transcendental Meditation technique showed significant reductions in PTSD symptom severity, according to a new study published today in Journal of Traumatic Stress.

19 Mar 2021

Study shows how ACE2 mutations influence SARS-CoV-2 spike binding in humans and animals

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison aimed to better understand how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with various mammalian angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors. This way, they can identify the factors that influence intra- and cross-species virus transmission.

18 Mar 2021

Engineering immunogens to focus immune response to SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have designed constructs by adding more glycans and adding the receptor-binding motif from related sarbecoviruses to focus the immune response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor-binding motif. Such immunogens could potentially also neutralize other variants and coronaviruses.

18 Mar 2021

Identifying druggable targets on an essential SARS-CoV-2 protein

In a research paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv by Newman et al. (March 15th, 2021) the structure and role of one such protein: NSP13, is investigated, with two appealingly druggable targets being identified, possibly opening a new route towards a novel SARS-CoV-2 antiviral agent.

18 Mar 2021

Fighting SARS-CoV-2 with materials science

In a recent editorial in the journal Emergent Materials, Dr. Huseyin C. Yalcin from Qatar University Biomedical Research Center and Dr. Ajeet Kaushik from Florida Polytechnic University announce several important developments in their timely special issue entitled “Materials Science in the Battle against COVID-19”.

18 Mar 2021

UK SARS-CoV-2 variant 40% more transmissible than previous strains

Researchers in Japan have estimated that the B.1.1.7 strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that recently emerged in England is 40% more transmissible than strains previously circulating in the country.

18 Mar 2021

UNH study: More than 50% of at-risk children are not receiving behavioral health services

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that more than 50% of children in high-risk populations in the United States are not receiving behavioral health services that could improve their developmental outcomes when it comes to mental and physical health problems.

18 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination should be carefully targeted towards certain groups, say researchers

Researchers in the UK have provided important insights into the impact that vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – may have on infection rates, disease prevalence and immune escape by the virus.

18 Mar 2021

Study examines the impact of transition to online learning on students with disabilities

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic changed the higher education experience for students across the United States, with more than 90 percent of institutions reporting a shift in education delivery with the arrival of COVID-19.

18 Mar 2021

Study explores how CAR T immunotherapy could be used to treat solid tumors

A study recently published in the journal Science looked into how CAR T immunotherapy could be used to treat solid tumors in addition to leukemias. The programming of CAR T cells opens avenues for applying cell therapies to, for example, breast cancer or ovarian cancer in the future.

18 Mar 2021

Habitual gamblers use already proven strategies to maximize rewards

In their pursuit of maximum reward, people suffering from gambling disorder rely less on exploring new but potentially better strategies, and more on proven courses of action that have already led to success in the past.

18 Mar 2021

Drinking electrolytes instead of water can help prevent muscle cramps

If you reach for water when a muscle cramp strikes, you might want to think again. New research from Edith Cowan University has revealed drinking electrolytes instead of pure water can help prevent muscle cramps.

18 Mar 2021