A good night’s sleep prepares us for the next day. Conversely, inadequate sleep diminishes performance in tasks requiring attention, memory, and executive functions that have real world consequences. ‘Readiness scores’ currently provided by consumer fitness and sleep trackers were designed to predict physical performance rather than how we would handle daily tasks and social interactions. […]
Relief could be on the way for people with painful hand osteoarthritis after a Monash University and Alfred Health-led study found an affordable existing drug can help. Until now there has been no effective treatment. Published in The Lancet, the paper investigated methotrexate, a low-cost, effective treatment for inflammatory joint conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis […]
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and is among the top 10 conditions contributing to Years Lived with Disability — a measure reflecting the impact an illness has on quality of life before it resolves or leads to death. To date, no treatments are approved that slow disease progression. Researchers from Boston […]
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have become ubiquitous throughout the environment, and increasing evidence has demonstrated their deleterious effects. A group of smaller, fluorinated compounds are becoming replacements for these “forever chemicals,” though research suggests the smaller versions could also be harmful. Now, a study in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology reports that the levels […]
Generating specific cell lineages from induced pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cells is the holy grail of regenerative medicine. Guiding iPSCs toward a target cell line has garnered much attention, but the process remains challenging. Now, researchers from Japan have discovered that an anti-nucleolin DNA aptamer, iSN04, can determine a cell’s lineage during differentiation. […]
Pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes have recently been associated with a higher risk of developing heart disease later in life. But a new Northwestern Medicine study has found obesity before or during pregnancy is the actual root cause of future cardiovascular disease. Prior to this study, scientists were unsure which factor — […]
Researchers from the United States, Brazil, and Spain, including scientists with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, published an analysis in a special edition of the British Medical Journal with a timely and controversial recommendation: It’s time for an international shift in the way we think about ultra-processed food. “There is converging and consistent […]
Scientists have uncovered why night shift work is associated with changes in appetite in a new University of Bristol-led study. The findings, published in Communications Biology, could help the millions of people that work through the night and struggle with weight gain. Scientists from Bristol and the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Japan, […]
In cases where standard therapies fail, a medication called XEN1101 reduces seizure frequency by more than 50% in some patients and sometimes eliminates them altogether, a new study shows. Unlike several treatments that must be started at low doses and slowly ramped up, the new drug can safety be taken at its most effective dose […]
Researchers have identified a ‘guard mechanism’ for a protein which attacks microbes in infected cells, opening the possibility of new treatments for Toxoplasma, Chlamydia, Tuberculosis and even cancer. A study, led by the University of Birmingham and published in Science has discovered the lock and key mechanism that controls the attack protein GBP1. GBP1 is […]