The end of Darwin’s nightmare at Lake Victoria?

Lake Victoria, which came under the spotlight in 2004 by the documentary “Darwin’s nightmare”, is not only suffering from the introduction and commercialisation of the Nile perch. A study lead researchers from the University of Liège (Belgium) has highlighted other worrying phenomena, particularly climatic ones, which have an equally important impact on the quality of…

COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in people with rheumatic diseases

Arani Vivekanantham and colleagues investigated the association between RA and the risk of COVID-19 diagnosis, hospitalization with COVID-19,and COVID-19-related death. This population-based cohort study including all individuals registered in the Information System for Research in Primary Care (SIDIAP)- which covers over80% of the population of Catalonia, Spain. This information was linked to region-wide SARS-CoV-2 testing,…

New study uncovers details behind the body’s response to stress

IMAGE: New research reveals how key proteins interact to regulate the body’s response to stress view more  Credit: McLean Hospital Study Highlights New research reveals how key proteins interact to regulate the body’s response to stress Targeting these proteins may help treat or prevent stress-related psychiatric disorders The biological mechanisms behind stress-related psychiatric conditions, including major…

nTIDE May 2021 COVID Update: Minimal changes in unemployment reflect slow pace of recovery

IMAGE: This graphic compares the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with and without disabilities, capturing pre-pandemic and current unemployment data for January 2020 to May 2021. view more  Credit: Kessler Foundation East Hanover, NJ. June 18, 2021. The May numbers for furloughed workers remained relatively steady, according to today’s National Trends in Disability Employment…

Undiagnosed and untreated disease identified in rural South Africa

IMAGE: Emily Wong, M.D. view more  Credit: Africa Health Research Institute BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A comprehensive health-screening program in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has found a high burden of undiagnosed or poorly controlled non-communicable diseases, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health. Researchers found that four out of five women over the…

Animals’ ability to adapt their habitats key to survival amid climate change

IMAGE: Michael Dillon (left), an associate professor in the University of Wyoming Department of Zoology and Physiology, and Arthur Woods (right), a professor of biological sciences at the University of Montana,… view more  Credit: Sylvain Pincebourde Birds build nests to keep eggs and baby nestlings warm during cool weather, but also make adjustments in nest insulation…

Does cannabis affect brain development in young people with ADHD? Too soon to tell, reports Harvard Review of Psychiatry

June 18, 2021 – At least so far, the currently limited research base does not establish that cannabis has additional adverse effects on brain development or functioning in adolescents or young adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), concludes a review in the July/August issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published in the Lippincott…

Will reduction in tau protein protect against Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementias?

IMAGE: Laura Volpicelli-Daley view more  Credit: UAB BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Will a reduction in tau protein in brain neurons protect against Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementias? A new study, published in the journal eNeuro, suggests the answer is no. If this is borne out, that result differs from Alzheimer’s disease, where reducing endogenous tau levels…

Picky neurons

IMAGE: The agony of choice: despite being in contact with both eyes, neurons in the mouse visual thalamus only transfer information from one retina. view more  Credit: MPI of Neurobiology / Kuhl The visual thalamus is classically known to relay visual stimuli coming from the retina to the cerebral cortex. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute…