ScienceDaily: Health - September 21, 2023
Top health research news
Genetic biomarker may predict severity of food allergy
Researchers reported for the first time that a genetic biomarker may be able to help predict the severity of food allergy reactions. Currently there is no reliable or readily available clinical biomarker that accurately distinguishes patients with food allergies who are at risk for severe life-threatening reactions versus more mild symptoms.
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New drug delivery system has potential to improve cancer treatments
Biomedical engineers have developed a new hydrogel-based delivery system that balances the acidic environment in a tumor and greatly enhances the cancer-fighting activity of the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin.
Suppressing negative thoughts may be good for mental health after all, study suggests
The commonly-held belief that attempting to suppress negative thoughts is bad for our mental health could be wrong, a new study suggests. Researchers trained 120 volunteers worldwide to suppress thoughts about negative events that worried them, and found that not only did these become less vivid, but that the participants' mental health also improved.
Newly discovered bone stem cell causes premature skull fusion
Craniosynostosis, the premature fusion of the top of the skull in infants, is caused by an abnormal excess of a previously unknown type of bone-forming stem cell, according to a preclinical study.
A team of leading clinicians, engineers, and neuroscientists has made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of treatment-resistant depression. By analyzing the brain activity of patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS), a promising therapy involving implanted electrodes that stimulate the brain, the researchers identified a unique pattern in brain activity that reflects the recovery process in patients with treatment-resistant depression. This pattern, known as a biomarker, serves as a measurable indicator of disease recovery and represents a significant advance in treatment for the most severe and untreatable forms of depression.
Strengthening artificial immune cells to fight cancer
Among available immunotherapies, the use of 'CAR-T' cells is proving extremely effective against certain blood cancers, but only in half of patients. A main reason for this is the premature dysfunction of these immune cells, which have been artificially modified in vitro. A team has now discovered how to prolong the functionality of CAR-T cells. By inhibiting a very specific metabolic mechanism, the team has succeeded in creating CAR-T cells with enhanced immune memory, capable of fighting tumor cells for much longer.
Cognitive behavioral therapy eases how fibromyalgia pain is experienced by the brain
Patients living with fibromyalgia (FM) -- a disease that predominantly affects women and is characterized by chronic pain, fatigue and brain fog -- often find limited treatment options and a scarcity of explanations for their symptoms. Investigators have now found that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can significantly reduce the burden of FM by, in part, reducing pain-catastrophizing, a negative cognitive and emotional response that can intensify pain through feelings of helplessness, rumination and intrusive thoughts. This finding is backed by neuroimaging data, evidencing reduced connectivity between regions of the brain associated with self-awareness, pain and emotional processing.
Artificial Intelligence tools shed light on millions of proteins
A research team has uncovered a treasure trove of uncharacterized proteins. Embracing the recent deep learning revolution, they discovered hundreds of new protein families and even a novel predicted protein fold.
Most people rely on parents for material support into adulthood
A new study finds that only a third of adults in the United States did not rely on their parents for some form of material support between their late teens and early 40s.
Newfound brain circuit explains why infant cries prompt milk release
Hearing the sound of a newborn's wail can trigger the release of oxytocin, a brain chemical that controls breast-milk release in mothers, a new study in rodents shows. Researchers found that once prompted, this flood of hormones continues for roughly five minutes before tapering off, enabling mothers to feed their young until they are sated or begin crying again.
New tool will help to diagnose form of extreme social isolation
A new evaluation tool offers practical guidance for diagnosing an extreme form of social isolation known as hikikimori. The tool is the first structured technique to evaluate people who suffer from a condition first recognized in young people in Japan, but believed to be widely shared in people of all ages across the globe.
Researchers 'bioprint' living brain cell networks in the lab
Researchers have successfully used 'bioinks' containing living nerve cells (neurons) to print 3D nerve networks that can grow in the laboratory and transmit and respond to nerve signals.
Placenta holds answers to many unexplained pregnancy losses
Researchers have shown that placental examination resulted in the accurate pathologic determination of more than 90% of previously unexplained pregnancy losses, a discovery that they say may inform pregnancy care going forward.
Career choice in stem cells: Predetermined or self-selected?
Bricklayer, banker, teacher -- choosing a career is one of the most exciting and important decisions in our lives. At the beginning of embryonic development, our cells are also faced with this decision. Some of them become blood cells, others muscle cells and still others become nerve cells. A team has now unveiled how the antagonism between the two signaling molecules FGF and BMP influences the stem cells' career choice. Particularly interesting is the fact that stem cells can also direct their own fate. These findings help to better understand cell differentiation and could thus be a basis for future developments in the field of targeted culturing of tissue in cell replacement therapies.
Breaking in the black box of pedagogical authority
How does pedagogical authority operate in the classroom? A team has produced one of the first in-depth field studies on this subject. By filming teachers in training over a period of several months, the researchers identified different ways of exercising teaching authority and assessed their effectiveness. They found that strategies based on double addressing -- i.e. addressing several students or groups of students simultaneously, using two different communication channels -- were particularly effective.
At which age we are at our happiest?
At what age are people at their happiest? This seemingly simple question has been studied extensively over the past decades, but a definitive answer has long been elusive. A research team has now shed light on the question in a comprehensive meta-analytic review. The findings show that the respondents' life satisfaction decreased between the ages of 9 and 16, then increased slightly until the age of 70, and then decreased once again until the age of 96.
Job strain combined with high efforts and low reward doubled men's heart disease risk
Men exposed to stressful working conditions who also felt that they put forth high effort but received low reward had twice the risk of heart disease compared to men who were free of those psychosocial stressors.
New research sheds light on where and how we feel different kinds of love.
Yogurt may be the next go-to garlic breath remedy
A new study conducted in a lab -- with follow-up human breath tests being planned -- showed that whole milk plain yogurt prevented almost all of the volatile compounds responsible for garlic's pungent scent from escaping into the air.
New insight into crosstalk between cancer cells and their environment
Most solid tumors become stiff as the cancer progresses. Although researchers recognize that the environment around the cancer cells influences their behavior, it is unclear how it does so. In a new article researchers have collected gene expression data in response to mechanical stiffness in tumors.
Inflammatory bowel disease linked to atopic dermatitis
Adults with atopic dermatitis (AD) have a 34 percent increased risk of developing new-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) compared with individuals who do not have the skin condition, and children have a 44 percent increased risk, according to a new study.
Dopamine regulates how quickly and accurately decisions are made
Computer models provide new insight into how the neurotransmitter dopamine controls learning and decision-making processes.
Scientists develop method to detect deadly infectious diseases
Researchers have developed a way of detecting the early onset of deadly infectious diseases using a test so ultrasensitive that it could someday revolutionize medical approaches to epidemics. The test is an electronic sensor contained within a computer chip. It employs nanoballs -- microscopic spherical clumps made of tinier particles of genetic material -- and combines that technology with advanced electronics.
Understanding and treating pain in children
It is often hard to understand the source of pain in babies and children, and if they experience it often or for a long time, it can do severe damage.
Tiny sea creatures reveal the ancient origins of neurons
A new study sheds new light on the origins of modern brain cells. Researchers find evidence that specialized secretory cells found in placozoans, tiny sea creatures the size of a grain of sand, have many similarities to the neuron, such as the genes required to create a partial synapse. From an evolutionary point of view, early neurons might have started as something like these cells, eventually gaining the ability to create a complete synapse, form axons and dendrites and create ion channels that generate fast electrical signals -- innovations which gave rise to the neuron in more complex animals such as jellyfish. Though the complete story of how the first neuron appeared remains to be told, the study demonstrates that the basic building blocks for our brain cells were forming in the ancestors of placozoans grazing inconspicuously in the shallow seas of Earth around 800 million years ago.
Women given new insight into blood clot risk
New research shows an increased risk of blood clots in women who have any combination of a particular gene mutation, estrogen use, or common medical conditions -- specifically: obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and kidney disease.