Health
09 Apr 2019
Stressed? Take a 20-minute nature pill
Just 20 minutes of contact with nature will lower stress hormone levels, reveals new study; Frontiers in Psychology
459 news posts in Health
Health
02 Apr 2019
Quantum physics and origami for the ultimate get-well card
Scientists have combined the simplicity of paper with the complexity of quantum physics for point-of-care testing in low-resource environments; Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
Health
01 Apr 2019
More scrutiny needed for less-deadly foodborne bacteria
Foodborne pathogens in the Bacillus cereus group cause diarrhea and vomiting. Credit: Penn State. — by Penn State University, USA Employing advanced genetic-tracing techniques and sharing the data produced in real time could limit the spread of bacteria — Bacillus cereus — which cause foodborne illness, according to researchers who implemented whole-genome sequencing of a pathogen-outbreak investigation. “Here, in our study, we use this approach for the first time on Bacillus cereus,” said Jasna Kovac, assistant professor of food science, Penn State. “It is our hope that whole-genome sequencing of Bacillus will be done more often as a result of our research, as it allows us to differentiate between the various species of Bacillus cereus group and project the food-safety risk associated with them.” Characterization of Emetic and Diarrheal Bacillus cereusStrains From a 2016 Foodborne Outbreak Using Whole-Genome Sequencing: Addressing the Microbiological, Epidemiological, and Bioinformatic Challenges► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) Done in response to an outbreak of foodborne illness in upstate New York in 2016, the project marked the first time researchers conducted whole-genome sequencing to investigate a Bacillus cereus outbreak to link isolates from human clinical cases to food. The outbreak, which lasted less than a month, stemmed from contaminated refried beans served by a small Mexican […]
Health
29 Mar 2019
New drug resistance process found in bacteria
This is the research team in charge of the study. From left to right: Ivan Erill, Pilar Cortés, Jordi Barbé and Miquel Sánchez-Osuna. Credit: UAB. — by Autonomous University of Barcelona A team of researchers has discovered a new process capable of generating resistance to synthetic antibacterial drugs within bacterial populations long before they are put to clinical use. The research was led by Jordi Barbé, researcher at the Molecular Microbiology Group of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), and by Ivan Erill from the Department of Biology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). The findings were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology. Researchers analysed the large volume of bacterial genomes available with the aim of identifying the origin of mobile genetic elements carriers of a resistance to sulfonamides frequently detected in the superbacteria found in hospitals. Origin of the Mobile Di-Hydro-Pteroate Synthase Gene Determining Sulfonamide Resistance in Clinical Isolates► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) Through a comparative analysis of sequences and phylogenetic techniques, the researchers were able to establish that sulfonamide-resistant genes appeared in two ground bacteria families (Rhodobiaceae and Leptospiraceae) over 600 million years ago thanks to a mutation in the drug’s target gene. The […]
Health
27 Mar 2019
Can you ‘catch’ cancer?
Parasitic worms cause cancer – and could help cure it; Frontiers in Medicine
Health
25 Mar 2019
Superbugs have colonized the International Space Station – but there’s a silver lining
An antimicrobial coating made of precious metals reduced growth of bacteria on contamination-prone surfaces inside the ISS, where extreme conditions can foster antibiotic-resistant superbugs; Frontiers in Microbiology
Health
18 Mar 2019
Dormant viruses activate during spaceflight – NASA investigates
The stress of spaceflight gives viruses a holiday from immune surveillance, putting future deep-space missions in jeopardy; Frontiers in Microbiology
Health
08 Mar 2019
New method uses AI to screen for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Scientists have developed a new AI tool that can screen children for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder quickly and affordably: Frontiers in Neurology
Health
07 Mar 2019
Bedtime protein for bigger gains? Here’s the scoop
Downing a casein shake just before sleep increases muscle mass and strength gains from resistance training, without ‘making you fat’ — but is the effect any different to your regular post-workout protein supplement? Frontiers in Nutrition
Health
04 Mar 2019
New target could help protect vision following optic nerve trauma
A new study sheds light on the mechanism of prolonged neuronal degeneration following optic nerve injury, which could provide treatment targets for preserving eyesight; Frontiers in Neuroscience
Health
20 Feb 2019
Blindfolded training could help doctors save young lives
Doctors’ leadership in pediatric resuscitation improved most when they wore a blindfold during simulation training; Frontiers in Pediatrics
Health
19 Feb 2019
Oral contraceptives could impair women’s recognition of complex emotions
Healthy women who use birth control pills are poorer judges of subtle facial expressions than non-users, according to new research; Frontiers in Neuroscience
Health
18 Feb 2019
Tat vaccine could provide a functional cure for HIV
Recipients of the vaccine develop characteristics of spontaneous ‘post-treatment controllers’, whose immune system can control the reactivation of HIV after discontinuing therapy; Frontiers in Immunology
Health
13 Feb 2019
What can a snowflake teach us about how cancer spreads in the body?
Studying fractals could lead to novel approaches in drug therapy to treat cancer and other diseases; Frontiers in Physiology
Health
11 Feb 2019
Salivary RNA test for early autism diagnosis
Results from multi-institutional research collaboration show saliva-based RNA panel distinguishes children on autism spectrum from non-autistic peers; Frontiers in Genetics