One way to make health care more personalized is to use a person's DNA sequence — or genome — to predict their risk of disease. But as the field of precision medicine grows, so have concerns that we may be leaving a large fraction of Americans out. Disease prevalence and severity can vary considerably across […]
Poll: Reduced activity during the pandemic may have increased older adults' fall risk
The COVID-19 pandemic may have increased older adults' risk of falling and injuring themselves, due to changes in physical activity, conditioning and mobility, a new national poll suggests. More than a third of people between the ages of 50 and 80 report their physical activity declined in the pandemic's first 10 months, and more than […]
Let your eco medicine cabinet soothe your conscience
Can you protect your family and the planet? From bamboo plasters to a sugar cane toothbrush, let your medicine cabinet soothe your conscience More and more products on the market claim to care for the Earth as well as for us. It’s essential to find ways to lessen our impact on the world around us, […]
Portugal's first major forensic case attests the importance of toxicological analysis
Announcing a new article publication for Forensic Sciences Research journal. In this review article the author Ricardo Jorge Dinis-Oliveira of the University Institute of Health Sciences (IUCS)-CESPU, Gandra, Portugal continues a three-part investigation of the "Crime of Flores Street" one of the most famous cases of poisoning which occurred in Portugal in the late 19th […]
A PLOS Medicine Collection on Plasmodium vivax—a neglected cause of malaria
Strenuous efforts to prevent and treat malaria in recent decades have brought great benefits, particularly against disease caused by Plasmodium falciparum in countries in Africa and the Americas. But malaria caused by its “stealthier and more resilient cousin”, P. vivax, now needs to be confronted with high priority, say Lorenz von Seidlein and Nicholas White […]
Plant-derived compound isorhamnetin may have antiviral potential against SARS-CoV-2
The lack of new or repurposed drugs to treat patients with severe or critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been one of the biggest hurdles to reducing mortality rates in the ongoing pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A new study, published online in the journal Drug Development Research, describes […]
Study highlights the importance of mask fit when double masking to protect against COVID-19
A study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that wearing two face coverings can nearly double the effectiveness of filtering out SARS-CoV-2-sized particles, preventing them from reaching the wearer's nose and mouth and causing COVID-19. The reason for the enhanced filtration isn't so much adding layers of cloth, but eliminating any gaps or poor-fitting […]
Study shows how alcohol may affect the brain, offers potential treatments for alcohol misuse
The slurred speech, poor coordination, and sedative effects of drinking too much alcohol may actually be caused by the breakdown of alcohol products produced in the brain, not in the liver as scientists currently think. That is the finding of a new study led by researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) […]
Researchers receive $500,000 grant to test novel approach for restoring damaged muscles after injury
Researchers from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center have received a $500,000 grant over three years from the Department of Defense to test a novel strategy using mitochondria transplantation therapy for restoration of neuromuscular structure and function after injury. Poor or incomplete muscle repair after an injury delays or prevents normal function and can […]
New RNA-sequencing method can help detect numerous modified small RNAs
A team led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside, has developed a new RNA-sequencing method– "Panoramic RNA Display by Overcoming RNA Modification Aborted Sequencing," or PANDORA-seq — that can help discover numerous modified small RNAs that were previously undetectable. RNA plays a central role in decoding the genetic information in DNA […]