Researchers at Kumamoto University, Japan, have generated mice lacking the estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) gene, both fiber-specific and muscle stem cell-specific, which resulted in abnormalities in the growth and regeneration of skeletal muscle in female mice. This was not observed in male mice that lacked the ERβ gene, suggesting that…
The long-term biological effects of COVID-19 stress on kids’ future health and development
One fortunate aspect of COVID-19 is that children have been less directly affected by the disease. But despite the relatively low incidence of severe illness in children, the response to the pandemic may have long-term adverse effects on the health and well-being of children and adolescents. As researchers in psychology,…
Challenging yet positive parenting style benefits children’s development
When one talks about parenting, an image of the sensitive, caring mother—but not father—responding to a young child’s emotional needs often comes to mind. Research on dads has long suggested that men may interact differently with their children, sometimes pushing the child to take risks beyond their comfort zone and…
Researchers discover how protein can inhibit cancer development in mice
Proteins are found throughout our cells and regulate biological processes that are important for survival. But some of them also regulate processes that can make us sick. Now, an international research team, with researchers from the University of Copenhagen at the forefront, has achieved a much better understanding of one…
One hundred fifty five drugs and 79 vaccines under development worldwide
A total of 155 drugs and 79 vaccines are currently being developed worldwide to combat COVID-19. The Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment (AIHTA) has compiled these astonishing figures as part of a new product line. The Vienna-based institute, which specialises in scientific decision support in the health care sector,…
Scientist uses ‘mini brains’ to model how to prevent development of abnormally small heads
A City of Hope scientist is one step closer to discovering what weakens a pathogen that appears to cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads. Interestingly, it takes studying “mini brains” to understand why certain unborn babies infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV) enter the world with shrunken brains, said…
Drugs previously in development for SARS could be effective for COVID-19
A potential drug target has been identified in a newly mapped protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease first discovered in 2019 (known as COVID-19). The structure was solved by a team including the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and…
Honeybee brain development may enhance waggle dance communication
Changes in a vibration-sensitive neuron may equip forager honeybees for waggle dance communication, according to research recently published in eNeuro. Forager honeybees share information about the location and value of food sources by moving their body from side to side and beating their wings. The observing bees interpret the waggle…
New knowledge on the development of asthma
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have studied which genes are expressed in overactive immune cells in mice with asthma-like inflammation of the airways. Their results, which are published in the journal Immunity, suggest that the synthesis and breakdown of fats plays an important part in the process. The job…
Group A strep genome research expedites vaccine development efforts
The global search for a group A streptococcal (Strep A) vaccine has narrowed after researchers identified a common gene signature in almost all global Strep A strains by sequencing thousands of genomes in a project spanning 10 years and more than 20 countries. Strep A, is a bacterial pathogen that…
Healthy brain development is a human right, researcher argues
We know that the environment in which children and young adults are raised influences healthy brain development. Now, a psychologist at Yale is taking a stance against the negative effects of a particularly harrowing environment in her own backyard: the U.S. prison system. In a paper published May 22 in…