Transmission risk of COVID-19 from sewage spills into rivers can now be quickly quantified

Scientists have identified that the COVID-19 virus could be transmitted through fecal-contaminated river water. A team of researchers, including water quality, epidemiology, remote sensing and modeling experts, led by Dr. Jamie Shutler at the University of Exeter, have developed a fast and simple way to assess the potential risk of water-borne transmission of the COVID-19 […]

Research team profiles histone mutational landscape of human cancers

Researchers in the Muir Lab at Princeton University’s Department of Chemistry have completed the first comprehensive analysis of cancer-associated histone mutations in the human genome, featuring both biochemical and cellular characterizations of these substrates. Their study reports that histone mutations that perturb nucleosome remodeling may contribute to the development or progression of a wide range […]

The Best Online Dating Apps Of 2021

Despite how much everyone loves to hate it, more people online date than you may think. That’s right, according to the Pew Research Center, three in 10 adults in the United States report having used a dating site or app at some point in their lives. Of course, usage varies significantly by age and sexual orientation, […]

Neanderthal-derived protein may reduce the severity of COVID-19

Researchers at the Lady Davis Institute (LDI) at the Jewish General Hospital have discovered that increased levels of the protein OAS1 are associated with reduced mortality and less severe disease requiring ventilation among patients with COVID-19. Using drugs that boost OAS1 levels could be explored to try to improve these outcomes. The findings are published […]

Study shows mother’s diet may boost immune systems of premature infants

Medical researchers have long understood that a pregnant mother’s diet has a profound impact on her developing fetus’s immune system and that babies—especially those born prematurely—who are fed breast milk have a more robust ability to fight disease, suggesting that even after childbirth, a mother’s diet matters. However, the biological mechanisms underlying these connections have […]

Discovery offers potential for stripping tumors of T cell protection

Immunologists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered that tumors use a unique mechanism to switch on regulatory T cells to protect themselves from attack by the immune system. Surprisingly, the mechanism does not affect regulatory T cell function outside the tumor and may therefore limit the immune-associated toxicities of targeting regulatory T cells. […]

Russia detects first case of H5N8 avian flu in humans

Russia said Saturday that its scientists had detected the world’s first case of transmission of the H5N8 strain of avian flu from birds to humans and had alerted the World Health Organization. In televised remarks, the head of Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said scientists at the Vektor laboratory had isolated the strain’s genetic […]