Tag: humans

As temperatures rise as a result of climate change, ticks carrying the deadly bacterial disease Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) may shift their feeding preferences away from dogs and toward humans, according to new research. The findings, which were presented today (Nov. 16) at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and

Scientists have found that insulin has met an evolutionary cul-de-sac, limiting its ability to adapt to obesity and thereby rendering most people vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes. A recent study from scientists at Indiana University School of Medicine, the University of Michigan and Case Western Reserve University has determined that the sequence of insulin has

Is middle age really the “golden age” when people are the most optimistic in life? Researchers from Michigan State University led the largest study of its kind to determine how optimistic people are in life and when, as well as how major life events affect how optimistic they are about the future. “We found that

Humans likely got the deadly Chinese coronavirus from SNAKES sold at the Wuhan market, study suggests Huanan Seafood Market in China is in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak Chinese officials said the virus may have originated in an animal at the market Different strains of viruses carry proteins that let them effect certain species  When

Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered how a brief disruption to a molecular pathway in the guts of mice before they are born can compromise adult immunity to a common and often deadly intestinal virus. The researchers found that in utero inhibition of molecular signalling in the ‘lymphotoxin pathway,’ long known as important

Rhythm is a fundamental aspect of music, dance and language. However, we do not know to what extent our rhythmic skills depend on ancient evolutionary mechanisms that may be present in other animals. “In our study, we explored whether other animals can detect an isochronous beat (in which all signals are separated by the same

For nearly a century, efforts to develop a vaccine to prevent genital herpes have failed. At least nine prospects, including several that made it to late-stage human testing, have flopped in the last decade. Considering that history, University of Pennsylvania scientists are justifiably excited about their vaccine against the herpes simplex 2 virus, even though

Researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School have uncovered a potential mechanism behind cancer suppression in bats that may lead to future therapies for human cancers. The research shows that bat cells accumulate less toxic chemicals than human cells, where these chemicals are moved out of the system mediated by a cell surface pump protein, known as

(HealthDay)—You’ve probably never heard of Q fever, but the bacterial disease may be sickening—and killing—more Americans than once believed, a new study suggests. Caused by a bacteria carried by livestock, Query (Q) fever is a rare disease first discovered in 1947 and is found mostly in dry, dusty areas of California and the Southwest. “Q

Some of you may have made a New Year’s resolution to hit the gym to tackle that annoying belly fat. But have you ever wondered how physical activity produces this desired effect? A signaling molecule called interleukin-6 plays a critical role in this process, researchers report December 27 in the journal Cell Metabolism. As expected,

Due to technological advancements in recent years, medical science has made huge leaps — many with vast implications for medical and neuroscientific research. For instance, scientists devised an innovative method that allowed them to record a million neurons at once, as well as to decode neural activity in real time. The techniques gave researchers access

How does our nervous system motivate us to get off the sofa and walk to the fridge, or even to the supermarket, to get food? A research team led by Alexander Gottschalk from Goethe University investigated this using the threadworm Caenorhabditis elegans. The results indicate how foraging behaviour in higher animals might have evolved. Finding

Today, we hear about dangerous viral infections around the world on a regular basis. Social media and internet access may be an obvious explanation for their seeming increase. But it doesn’t just seem this way. The number of viruses and the infections they cause are truly increasing. Scientific advances, the way humans live today and

After a series of bank robberies that took place in the US in 2014, police arrested Steve Talley. He was beaten during the arrest and held in maximum security detention for almost two months. His estranged ex-wife identified him as the robber in CCTV footage and an FBI facial examiner later backed up her claims.

Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have begun to unravel how serotonin acts, based on data collected in a first-of-its-kind experiment that utilized electrochemical probes implanted into the brain of awake human beings. The neurotransmitter serotonin is associated with mood and helps shape the decisions we make. The readings were collected during brain