Michael Richard Clifford, a 66-year-old retired astronaut living in Cary, N.C., learned before his third spaceflight that he had Parkinson’s disease. He was only 44 and in excellent health at the time, and had no family history of this disabling neurological disorder. What he did have was years of exposure to numerous toxic chemicals, several…
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An international group of researchers have discovered that inhibiting AHR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor), a protein with roles in regulating immunity, stem cell maintenance and cellular differentiation, enables the immune system to combat replication of zika virus in the organism far more effectively. In experiments performed at the University of São Paulo’s Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICB-USP)…
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WASHINGTON, DC —New research released by Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and Resources for the Future (RFF) examines the environmental and job creation benefits of plugging orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells. The report authors estimate that a federal program to plug roughly half a million abandoned and so-called «orphaned» oil and…
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Researchers at Tel Aviv University, led by Prof. Yaniv Assaf of the School of Neurobiology, Biochemistry and Biophysics and the Sagol School of Neuroscience and Prof. Yossi Yovel of the School of Zoology, the Sagol School of Neuroscience, and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, conducted a first-of-its-kind study designed to investigate brain connectivity in…
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A phase 1/2 trial involving 1,077 healthy adults found that the vaccine induced strong antibody and T cell immune responses up to day 56 of the ongoing trial. These responses may be even greater after a second dose, according to a sub-group study of 10 participants Compared to the control group (given a meningitis vaccine),…
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Researchers at EPFL are able to get paralyzed rodents walking again by stimulating the animals’ damaged spinal cords. This promising treatment has already helped paraplegics regain mobility during clinical trials at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). Now, using artificial intelligence, the researchers can pinpoint which neurons are involved in the gait reacquisition process. The results, which…
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If you’ve ever wondered why we get goosebumps, you’re in good company — so did Charles Darwin, who mused about them in his writings on evolution. Goosebumps might protect animals with thick fur from the cold, but we humans don’t seem to benefit from the reaction much — so why has it been preserved during…
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Phase 2 randomised controlled trial of a recombinant adenovirus type-5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine (Ad5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine) was conducted in China in April 2020 and involved more than 500 people The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the immune response and safety of the vaccine, and to determine the most suitable dose for a phase…
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Which sleep stage is most important for learning: REM or non-REM? Does sleep improve learning by enhancing skills while people snooze, or by cementing those skills in the brain so that they’re less likely to forget them? Do these processes occur every time someone sleeps, or only after they have…
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Boston, Mass. — In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease was characterized by many as a flu-like respiratory infection mainly affecting the lungs. Now, physicians recognize that the coronavirus can impact organs throughout the body. In a collaboration among physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Columbia University Irving Medical…
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