Autophagy: the beginning of the end

Autophagosomes first form as cup-shaped membranes in the cell, which then grow to engulf the cellular material designated for destruction. The formation of these membranes is catalyzed by a complex machinery of proteins. “We have a very good knowledge of the factors involved in autophagosomes formation”, explains group leader Sascha Martens, “but how they come…

New weight-loss hope for those with highest obesity risk: Underserved, low-income patients

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – Low-income Louisiana patients enrolled in a tailored obesity intervention program lost much more weight than counterparts receiving usual care. Study results were published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine. This population, who traditionally face the most barriers to weight loss and the highest levels of obesity, found success…

Study: Why people with knee osteoarthritis experience different kinds of pain

(Boston) — Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis worldwide, affecting more than 300 million people. It causes substantial pain, functional limitations, and disability in patients. The pain experience in patients with knee osteoarthritis changes over time. People initially experience primarily weight-bearing related pain, such as with jogging and stair-climbing. Over time, the pain…

2020 Virtual National Health Research Forum

Day One (All times East Coast Time) Day 1 September 8, 2020 11 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks Mary Woolley, President & CEO, Research!America Elections 2020 Speaker: Steve Clemons, Editor-At-Large, The Hill 11:50 a.m. Panel: Securing a Science-Strong Future Moderator: Victor Dzau, MD, President, National Academy of Medicine Panelists: Valerie Conn, President, Science Philanthropy…

Historical case studies on pandemics

Whether it’s the plague, cholera or currently COVID-19: epidemics are part of human history. Long before there were vaccinations or microscopes for the investigation of pathogens, societies had to develop coping strategies. These are described in the brochure “Distant Times so Close: Pandemics and Crises reloaded”, which is the first in a series of historical-archaeological…

New peer reviews of COVID-19 preprints from the MIT Press journal RAPID REVIEWS COVID-19

CAMBRIDGE, MA – September 2, 2020–Rapid Reviews: COVID-19 (RR:C19), is an open-access overlay journal published by the MIT Press that accelerates peer review of COVID-19-related research preprints to advance new and important findings and prevent the dissemination of false or misleading scientific news. For the month of August, the preprints selected for review covered a…

The Lancet: Preliminary results from Russian trials find that vaccine candidates led to no serious adverse events and elicit antibody response

The new paper reports the findings of two open-label, non-randomised phase 1/2 trials looking at a frozen formulation and a freeze-dried formulation of a two-part vaccine. The two-part vaccine included two adenovirus vectors – recombinant human adenovirus type 26 (rAd26-S) and recombinant human adenovirus type 5 (rAd5-S) In the phase 1 part of each trial,…