Africa could be past the peak of virus pandemic: WHO

Africa’s coronavirus outbreak may have passed its peak, the World Health Organization (WHO) continental chief said Tuesday, warning against complacency to avoid a second wave. WHO Africa regional director Matshidiso Moeti told a conference of African health ministers that numbers of new cases were declining. “We are seeing that we have had what seems to […]

New NHS type 2 diabetes diet: How does the regimen work and how healthy is it?

News broke today that the NHS will begin offering a prescribed diet of shakes and soups to those with type 2 diabetes. NHS England announced the plan today, saying that 5,000 diabetic people would be offered the diet in order to help them ‘to help people stay well, maintain a healthy weight and avoid major […]

Study reveals the unfolding of neuronal fate

In an interdisciplinary study combining developmental biology and computational biology, researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Medical University of Vienna (together with researchers in US, Italy and France), have revealed a dynamic transcriptomic roadmap of the development of somatosensory neurons and extracted mechanistic insights of cell fate decision. Results from this study are published in Nature […]

Unique protein structures could hold the key to Parkinson’s disease

Scientists at the University Bath have discovered a series of protein structures that are thought to be highly relevant to the onset of Parkinson’s disease. It is hoped that further analysis of these structures will open up a new avenue for potential treatment for a disease that is the fastest growing neurological condition in the […]

Gene targeting overcomes the resistance of brain cancer to therapy

New insight into a gene that controls energy production in cancer stem cells could help in the search for a more effective treatment for glioblastoma. A McGill-led study published in Nature Communications reveals that suppressing the OSMR gene can improve the effectiveness of radiation therapy. This approach, led by the laboratory of Arezu Jahani-Asl, Assistant […]

New research reveals the suffering of temporary migrants during the COVID-19 crisis

In the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown in March, many temporary visa holders working in heavily casualised industries, such as hospitality and retail, lost their jobs and struggled to meet basic living expenses. These included international students, backpackers, graduates, sponsored workers and refugees, among others. Despite the devastating financial impact on these temporary migrants, […]

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 […]

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 […]