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Inflammatory arthritis is the name for a group of diseases that cause joint pain and swelling. This happens because the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and causes inflammation. Types of inflammatory arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and axial spondyloarthritis. Inflammatory arthritis often affects people of working age, and can impact their employment. Work participation is often lower for people with inflammatory arthritis than the general population.

Measuring ethane in the atmosphere shows that the amounts of methane going into the atmosphere from oil and gas wells and contributing to greenhouse warming is higher than suggested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to an international team of scientists who spent three years flying over three areas of the U.S. during all four seasons.

COVID-19 can be mild, or even without symptoms at all. But it can also cause severe disease, leading to respiratory problems, organ failure, and death. Research on the immune mechanisms involved in people with severe COVID-19 has shown that they have widespread inflammation. Early on in the pandemic, several immunomodulatory anti-inflammatory treatments commonly used in people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) were proposed as possible options for people with severe COVID-19.

An international team of researchers co-led by the University of Adelaide and the University of Arizona has analysed the genomes of more than 2,500 modern humans from 26 worldwide populations, to better understand how humans have adapted to historical coronavirus outbreaks.

Researchers from St Petersburg University have analysed data from optical telescopes covering more than eight years and managed to explain the mechanism of polarisation plane rotations in blazars.

Promising findings from a study coordinated by a research team of the University of Trento on medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children affecting the central nervous system. For the first time, scientists have grown organoids in the laboratory to simulate tumor tissue, and have identified the type of cell from which the tumor may originate.

A study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School sheds new light on boys' weapon-carrying behaviors at U.S. high schools. The results indicate that weapon-carrying is not tied to students' race or ethnicity but rather their schools' social climates.

In the animal kingdom, specific growth factors control body axis development. They are produced by a small group of cells at one end of the embryo to be distributed in a graded fashion toward the opposite pole. Through this, discrete spatial patterns arise that determine the correct formation of the head-foot axis. Heidelberg researchers have discovered an enzyme in the freshwater polyp Hydra that shapes this process by limiting the activity of certain growth factors.

Russia is the world's largest forest country. Being home to more than a fifth of forests globally, the country's forests and forestry have enormous potential to contribute to making a global impact in terms of climate mitigation. A new study by IIASA researchers, Russian experts, and other international colleagues have produced new estimates of biomass contained in Russian forests, confirming a substantial increase over the last few decades.

Intra-articular therapies (IAT) are frequently used to treat joint conditions such as gout, rheumatoid arthritis, or osteoarthritis. The procedure involves inserting a needle into the space between the bones of the joint to deliver a medicine. The types of medicines used in IAT techniques vary, from steroids to radiopharmaceuticals.

Scientists using computer modelling to study SARS-CoV-2 have discovered the virus is most ideally adapted to infect human cells -- rather than bat or pangolin cells -- again raising questions of its origin. In a paper published Scientific Reports, Australian scientists describe how they used high-performance computer modelling of the form of the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the beginning of the pandemic to predict its ability to infect humans and a range of 12 domestic and exotic animals.

New research has uncovered a novel trick employed by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus to thwart the immune response, raising hopes that a vaccine that prevents deadly MRSA infections is a little closer on the horizon.

A study from the Centre for Nutraceuticals at the University of Westminster found that plant-based protein shakes may be potential viable alternatives to milk-based whey protein shakes, particularly in people with need of careful monitoring of glucose levels.

The culprit behind a large number of cancerous tumors is known to be a certain protein. Now for the first time, research shows that the same protein is the cause of several rare brain syndromes.

Prof. Wenhui Kuang and colleagues revealed that "cropland redistribution" from high-quality to marginal lands is a hidden driver of food insecurity and environmental crisis. Cropland redistribution to marginal lands resulted in the overall decline of cropland qualities in China during 1990-2015, contributing to a 4.5% reduction in grain production. Cropland redistribution to NE and NW China since 2000 has resulted in serious environmental costs and aggravated the local ecological vulnerability.

Pioneering research, led by a team from Trinity College Dublin and the Marine Research Institute of the Spanish Research Council (IIM-CSIC) in Vigo (Galicia, Spain), suggests 'subterranean estuaries' may be critical in managing sustainable fishing and aquaculture -- two growing industries of global importance.

New research published in the open access journal Frontiers investigating the biological mysteries of sleepwalking found the levels of 'fight or flight' response in those who wander at night is surprisingly lower than those who sleep soundly. Researchers in Canada analyzed the autonomic nervous system of sleepwalkers and found an elevated 'rest and digest' response during deep sleep, which could pave the way towards a greater understanding of the biological processes of sleepwalking.

In a new study published in Circulation research, Chen-Yu Zhang and Xiaohong Jiang's group from Nanjing University and Dongjin Wang's group from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital reported a critical role of PGC1α in maintaining the contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and highlighted the therapeutic potential of PGC1α for atherosclerosis.

Researchers from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have quantified the total river runoff of 13 major rivers at the Third Pole.

A cluster of comet fragments believed to have hit Earth nearly 13,000 years ago may have shaped the origins of human civilization, research suggests.