Study uncovers the molecular events by which popular antidepressants work

Some highly effective medications also happen to be highly mysterious. Such is the case with the antidepressant drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs: They are the most common treatment for major depression and have been around for more than 40 years, yet scientists still do not know exactly how they work. Nor […]

Loss of a specific enzyme increases fat metabolism and exercise endurance in mice

Sugars and fats are the primary fuels that power every cell, tissue and organ. For most cells, sugar is the energy source of choice, but when nutrients are scarce, such as during starvation or extreme exertion, cells will switch to breaking down fats instead. The mechanisms for how cells rewire their metabolism in response to […]

Research could be a game-changer for hockey goalies

Hockey goaltenders could have a new competitive advantage in stopping the puck thanks to researchers at Brock University. Professor of Kinesiology Kelly Lockwood and graduate student Colin Dunne have found an adjustment to the goalie skate that significantly increases the speed at which a goaltender can drop into the butterfly position to make a save. […]

Researchers discover the microbiome’s role in attacking cancerous tumours

Researchers with the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) have discovered which gut bacteria help our immune system battle cancerous tumors and how they do it. The discovery may provide a new understanding of why immunotherapy, a treatment for cancer that helps amplify the body’s immune response, works in […]

Levels of anxiety, addiction, suicidal thoughts are soaring in the pandemic

(HealthDay)—The pandemic is taking a big toll on Americans’ psyches: A new government report found that about 41% of adults surveyed in late June “reported an adverse mental or behavioral health condition.” That’s a big rise from 2019. For example, the data shows that the number of Americans suffering from an anxiety disorder had tripled […]

Stroke at 39 fuels ‘Nurse Knuckles’ to transform career

Because of her last name, Donulaé Knuckles has long answered to “Nurse Knuckles.” Yet the grit and determination the name conjures fits, too. Raised by a single mom in Detroit, she prioritized her education. Regularly studying deep into the evening, she graduated near the top of her high school class. She earned a full scholarship […]

Multiple sclerosis drug blocks HIV infection and transmission in human immune cells

An immunomodulatory drug called fingolimod, which is approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, blocks human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and transmission in human immune cells, according to a study published August 13 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Postdoctoral Fellow Rachel Resop and Assistant Professor Alberto Bosque of The George Washington University, and […]

How picornaviruses enter the host cell

Picornaviruses comprise a family of viruses that can cause a number of diseases, including polio, meningitis, and in rare cases, myocarditis, encephalitis and paralysis. In a new biomedical science dissertation from Linnaeus University, Helena Vandesande has studied, among other things, how picornaviruses infect the host cell and take over its machinery to replicate more virus […]

Woman has veins in her vagina ‘closed off’ to cure painful sex with boyfriend

A woman has had the veins in her vagina "closed off" after a condition left her with chronic pain every time she got intimate. Victoria Jenkins, 34, started experiencing stabbing pains during sex around four years ago. The freelance clothing designer, from north London, was diagnosed with pelvic congestion syndrome. She was forced to take […]