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Few things to know before buying at-home genetic testing kits

At-home genetic testing kits, also known as direct-to-consumer or lab-to-consumer DNA tests, are growing in popularity - especially as holiday gifts.

26 Nov 2019

Researchers find pupillary changes in high-school athletes after high-acceleration head impacts

Researchers from the University of Michigan found significant pupillary changes in high-school football athletes after they had sustained a high-acceleration head impact.

26 Nov 2019

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: How’s that open enrollment going?

Open enrollment for 2020 health coverage under the Affordable Care Act is halfway over. So far, sign-ups appear to be lagging behind last year’s, but not dramatically.

26 Nov 2019

Mercy Medical Center to establish the Maryland Bariatric Center

Noted bariatric specialist Kuldeep Singh, MD, FACS, MBA, FASMBS, has joined Mercy Medical Center to establish a new clinical program: The Maryland Bariatric Center at Mercy, scheduled to open in January 2020. Dr. Singh will lead the new center as Medical Director.

26 Nov 2019

Did Joe Biden overstate democratic voters’ opposition to ‘Medicare for All’?

When the subject of "Medicare for All" came up during the Democratic debate last week, former Vice President Joe Biden claimed that the majority of his party does not favor it.

26 Nov 2019

LACV-infected cerebral organoids reveal how to protect neurons from virus-induced death

Scientists have determined that La Crosse virus, which can cause inflammation of the brain, or encephalitis, in children, affects brain cells differently depending on their developmental stage.

26 Nov 2019

Mcl-1 inhibition blocks cell survival in ER+ breast cancers

While estrogen receptor - + breast cancers express high levels of three anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members, pharmacological inhibition of Bcl-2 and/or Bcl-xL fails to induce cell death in ER + breast cancer cell lines, due to rapid and robust Mcl-1 upregulation.

26 Nov 2019

Study examines how our brain fuses with musical rhythm

When listening to a song or watching a dance, humans tend to follow the rhythm of the music. This is because one fundamental aspect of music is its rhythm, the way we synchronize with the temporal regularities of a melody or a dance. A recent study explores how our brain fuses with musical rhythm and the extent to which humans share this ability with other animals.

26 Nov 2019

Splicing factor enhances ability of triple negative breast cancers to grow and metastasize

If your DNA is a cookbook, a single gene is a recipe. But it's a flexible recipe that if edited one way can make a pie; edited another way can make a cake. And that difference can mean cancer, as a team of researchers who looked at those gene editors writes in the 26 November issue of Cell Reports.

26 Nov 2019

Giving a shot of ketamine could help heavy drinkers reduce alcohol intake

A one-off dose of ketamine could help heavy drinkers reduce their alcohol intake, finds a new UCL experimental study.

26 Nov 2019

Innovative migraine prophylaxis could endanger people with chronic high blood pressure

The neuropeptide αCGRP (α calcitonin gene-related peptide) works in two different ways. It leads to inflammation and dilates the blood vessels right at the release point of the nerve cells, for example in the meninges, which can trigger migraine attacks. However, it has a completely different effect on the heart, as has now been discovered by a team of researchers at the University of Zurich.

26 Nov 2019

Study finds increase in medical students' disclosures of disabilities

The percentage of medical students who told their schools that they have a disability rose sharply in recent years, a new study shows.

26 Nov 2019

Broadly expressed metabolic approach could make sarcoma susceptible to targeted therapies

Soft tissue sarcoma cells stop a key metabolic process which allows them to multiply and spread, and so restarting that process could leave these cancers vulnerable to a variety of treatments.

26 Nov 2019

Targeting molecular mechanisms could be beneficial in diabetic wound care

When our skin is damaged, a whole set of biological processes springs into action to heal the wound. Now, researchers from the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research have shown that one of the molecules involved in this, HMGB1, slows down wound healing.

26 Nov 2019

Study finds increase in overall rate of exposure to natural psychoactive substances

Natural substances with psychoactive effects have been used by people for religious, medicinal and recreational purposes for millennia.

26 Nov 2019

New way to thwart HIV infection at early stages

1.7 million. That's how many people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) each year worldwide. 1.7 million people who are condemned to lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) or risk developing fatal AIDS . Out of the 37.9 million people living with HIV (PLWH), 22.3 million have access to ART, allowing them to have an almost normal lifespan.

26 Nov 2019

New analysis shows three different, equally prevalent purposes behind sexting

Let's talk about sext. Sexting is extremely common among adults - but maybe not for the reasons you think.

26 Nov 2019

Industry executives reveal how profits drive rising prices for MS drugs

U.S. Medicare patients with multiple sclerosis often pay, on average, nearly $7,000 out of pocket to treat their condition each year.

26 Nov 2019

Sheffield research receives £800k to develop new gene therapy to treat CVD

Cardiac research in Sheffield has received a major boost from the British Heart Foundation in the form of an £800,000 award to develop a new gene therapy to treat cardiovascular disease (CVD).

26 Nov 2019

Study traces atmospheric source of super-toxic methylmercury in terrestrial food web

Marine fog brings more than cooler temperatures to coastal areas. Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have discovered elevated levels of mercury in mountain lions, the latest indication that the neurotoxin is being carried in fog, deposited on the land, and making its way up the food chain.

26 Nov 2019