So why are we so hellbent on suppressing fevers? Fear is one reason, said Dr. Gordon, the Brooklyn pediatrician, who said frantic parents often call in the middle of the night when a child’s fever spikes. She suggested that doctors warn parents ahead of time to expect a nighttime rise in a child’s fever and…
The first pertussis vaccines were developed and tested in the 1920s and 1930s and were in universal use by the end of the 1940s. And they worked. Dr. James Cherry, a distinguished research professor of pediatrics at David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an expert on pertussis who…
Two studies in today’s Nature Neuroscience, led by researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and Harvard Medical School (HMS), implicate mosaic mutations arising during embryonic development as a cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The findings open new areas for exploring the genetics of ASD and could eventually inform diagnostic testing.…
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation announced that seven scientists with novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named 2021 recipients of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award. Five initial grants of $400,000 over two years were awarded to early career scientists whose projects have the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of…
University of Wyoming researchers headed a study that shows nonnative birds in Oahu, Hawaii, have taken over the role of seed dispersal networks on the island, with most of the seeds coming from nonnative plants. “Hawaii is one of the most altered ecosystems in the world, and we are lucky enough to examine how these…
Reston, Virginia–Physicians who follow artificial intelligence (AI) advice may be considered less liable for medical malpractice than is commonly thought, according to a new study of potential jury candidates in the U.S. Published in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM). The study provides the first data related to physicians’ potential liability…
‘This effort truly represents a “moonshot” in COVID-19 research’ Scientists identify target to treat COVID pneumonia and reduce severity Clinical trials with new experimental drug to begin early in 2021 Goal is to develop treatments that make COVID-19 no worse than a common cold First comparison between immune mechanisms driving COVID-19 pneumonia with other pneumonias…
How are networks of neurons connected to make functional circuits? This has been a long standing question in neuroscience. To answer this fundamental question, researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School developed a new way to study these circuits and in the process learn more about the connections between them. “Neural networks are…
Conditions are ripe for transforming the U.S. mental health care system, with scientific advances, the growth of Medicaid and political consensus on the importance of improving mental health creating the possibility that goals once thought out of reach may be possible, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Broad changes will be needed to improve…
Human papillomavirus (HPV) can infect the mouth and throat to cause cancers of the oropharynx. A new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, has found that having more than 10 prior oral sex partners was associated with a 4.3-times greater likelihood of having HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. The…