I could hear the mournful wailing from the street as I approached my house. No question, that was my 16-year-old Jack Russell terrier “singing the blues.” Once inside, I found Zoe in the kitchen staring at the light gray wall as she continued her plaintive tune. She’d had those odd behaviors for a year: getting…
When in distress with cancer and its treatments, I think of Shakespeare “in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes” and all alone lament my downcast state. I am not completely bereft, then, because his poem supports my complaint. Why are sonnets so bracing, I wonder as I launch into a neo-Shakespearean sort of pity party.…
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian government, stung by a report that found burning plastic for fuel is poisoning residents in an East Java village, is allowing the illegal burning to continue while it challenges the environmental study. Tofu makers in the village, Tropodo, who have long burned waste plastic to fuel their kitchen boilers, have…
The connective tissue cells known as fibroblasts are vitally important for our recovery from injury. Sensing tissue damage, they gravitate to the site of a wound, instigating an inflammatory response that mends damaged tissue. A new Tel Aviv University study published in Nature Communications on September 26 finds that fibroblasts also play a devastating role…
A so-called “tooth-on-a-chip” could one day enable more personalized dentistry, giving dentists the ability to identify dental filling materials that work better and last longer based on a patient’s own teeth and oral microbiome. The miniaturized tooth system is a thin slice of a human molar placed in between transparent rubber slides that are etched…
Environmental and lifestyle issues were popular this year, with pick up from both ESC journals and congresses. Here is a list of the top ten ESC stories that generated the most media coverage worldwide: Check out all 2019 ESC press releases here. Have a safe and joyful holiday season. We look forward to sharing more…
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Eating watermelon in the form of powdered supplements helped adult obese mice avoid some detrimental health effects of an unhealthy diet, according to a new Oregon State University study. The study is published in the Journal of Nutrition. A significant next step in this research would be a human clinical trial, said…
For the first time, scientists have discovered the molecular mechanism behind how a common virus can wreak havoc on bone marrow and organ transplant patients, according to a paper published in the journal Cell & Host Microbe. The finding could help researchers develop better drugs to prevent related transplant complications. Cytomegalovirus, also known as CMV,…
Diverse diseases like breast cancer can present challenges for clinicians, specifically on a cellular level. While one patient’s tumor may differ from another’s, the cells within the tumor of a single patient can also vary greatly. This can be problematic, considering that an examination of a tumor usually relies on a biopsy, which only captures…
In most cases, your genes have less than five per cent to do with your risk of developing a particular disease, according to new research by University of Alberta scientists. In the largest meta-analysis ever conducted, scientists have examined two decades of data from studies that examine the relationships between common gene mutations, also known…