With the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the world entered a phase of social restrictions which limited routine social and economic activities covering a wide spectrum, accompanied by a soaring and often overwhelming disease and death toll. A new study, released on […]
Researchers are developing new autonomous technologies that can help people check that isolated elderly family members are okay. We are living in a world where elderly parents are increasingly distant from their relatives, as many relocate for work opportunities. There are now more than 4 million people aged 65 and older who are living alone […]
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that more than 50% of children in high-risk populations in the United States are not receiving behavioral health services that could improve their developmental outcomes when it comes to mental and physical health problems. In their study, recently published online by JAMA Network Open, researchers looked […]
Imagine that you are going to conduct research on how different factors affect a child in the womb. Bad habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol or poor eating habits are factors that may affect the child. However, it would be completely out of the question for a researcher to ask a pregnant woman to expose […]
TARM1 is a receptor protein whose role in the functioning of the immune system is unknown. In a new study, scientists from Japan have explored the potential role of TARM1 in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis by analyzing mouse models. They found that TARM1 activated dendritic cells, and development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) was notably […]
Stroke remains a leading cause of death worldwide and one of the most common reasons for disability. While a wide variety of factors influence stroke outcomes, data show that avoiding readmissions and long lengths of stay among ischemic stroke patients has benefits for patients and health care systems alike. Although reduced readmission rates among various […]
Job descriptions for the thousands of types of neurons in the brain typically include a common function: release chemicals called neurotransmitters to communicate across circuit connections called synapses. In a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health, the lab of MIT Professor Troy Littleton will seek to understand how neurons construct synapses of […]
Getting poked in the eye with a sharp object is a cringeworthy thought. However, many patients with posterior eye diseases — back of the eye diseases such as macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy — undergo eye injections through the wall of the eye as a medical treatment on a regular basis. "Direct injections of medications […]
The vast majority of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 clear the virus, but those with compromised immunity—such as individuals receiving immune-suppressive drugs for autoimmune diseases—can become chronically infected. As a result, their weakened immune defenses continue to attack the virus without being able to eradicate it fully. This physiological tug-of-war between human host and pathogen offers […]
Overweight low-income mothers of young kids ate fewer fast-food meals and high-fat snacks after participating in a study – not because researchers told them what not to eat, but because the lifestyle intervention being evaluated helped lower the moms' stress, research suggests. The 16-week program was aimed at preventing weight gain by promoting stress management, […]
