The global COVID-19 pandemic has affected the physical lives of most people. But now there are also indications that the pandemic has negative consequences for the mental health of the people being infected, the healthcare professionals and the population as a whole. This is shown in a new Danish review of 43 scientific articles that…
Two mutations identified in individuals with developmental and epileptic brain disease can be traced back to the same ion channel. Researchers have now elucidated how both independent mutations affect the channel’s function: by making it overly active and highly sensitive to stimulation. The findings are an important step towards unraveling what causes the patients’ symptoms.…
A new study suggests that denser places, assumed by many to be more conducive to the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, are not linked to higher infection rates. The study, led by a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, also found that dense areas were associated with lower COVID-19…
Against the background of the current coronavirus pandemic, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is to establish an interdisciplinary commission for pandemic research. The commission will be made up of 18 members representing all research disciplines, and its task will be to strengthen the knowledge-driven research which is essential to pandemic and epidemic research…
Women seem to care more about security, whereas good looks matter more to men. It used to be that way, and it still is in most places, regardless of the major social changes that have occurred over time. Women often prefer men older than themselves, and men often want younger women. When the wishes of…
Unbeknown to most patients, their race is incorporated into numerous medical decision-making tools and formulas that doctors consult to decide treatment for a range of conditions and services, including heart disease, cancer and maternity care, according to a new paper published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The unintended result, the paper concludes,…
ROME — When three people in the northern Italian region of Liguria tested positive for the coronavirus last week, they gave their doctors permission to punch into a national server anonymous codes generated by a new contact tracing app on their phones. Moments later, the phones of people who had also voluntarily downloaded the app…
Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki, who in 1967 first identified a disease in children that remains mysterious today and that has recently been in the news in relation to Covid-19, died on June 5 in Tokyo. He was 95. The illness, which produces inflammation around the heart and can be fatal, became known as Kawasaki disease. The…
Are children who consume prodigious amounts of sugary drinks at higher risk for cardiovascular disease? Can a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and legumes reduce the risk of hip fractures in older adults? Should sweetened yogurts be a part of a healthy diet for toddlers making their first foray into solid food? These and other…
The police in China are collecting blood samples from men and boys from across the country to build a genetic map of its roughly 700 million males, giving the authorities a powerful new tool for their emerging high-tech surveillance state. They have swept across the country since late 2017 to collect enough samples to build…