Culture
Scientists from the UK, Europe and the USA, including experts from the University of Birmingham, have published a vitamin D consensus paper warning against high doses of vitamin D supplementation.
According to the study, there is currently insufficient scientific evidence to show vitamin D can be beneficial in preventing or treating Covid-19. Its authors advise that the population adhere to Public Health England guidance on supplementation.
A group of scientists from Osaka University, in cooperation with Kaneka Corporation, evaluated the interplanar bond strength of graphene by measuring the elastic constant of graphite, demonstrating that the elastic constant of monocrystalline graphite (Figure 1, top) was above 45 gigapascal (GPa), which was higher than conventionally believed. Their research results were published in Physical Review Materials.
Liver cancer is one of the deadliest cancers. It is insidious and does not present symptoms until it has progressed considerably, at which point, treatment options are limited and chances of survival are low. The most common type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC is most frequently seen in patients with chronic liver conditions such as hepatitis B or C and cirrhosis, and it takes the lion's share in mortality rates from liver cancer.
MEDIA ADVISORY
Bottom Line: Lower levels of ACE2 nasal gene expression in children may explain why children have a lower risk of Covid-19 infection and mortality. The SARS-CoV-2 virus uses ACE2 to enter the host. ACE2 nasal gene expression could potentially be used as a biomarker to evaluate Covid-19 susceptibility.
Results: ACE2 gene expression in nasal epithelium, the first point of contact for SARS-CoV-2 and the human body, was lowest in younger children and increased with age.
Scientists from the Antibody and Vaccine group at the University of Southampton have discovered a way to transform antibody drugs previously developed to treat autoimmunity into antibodies with powerful anti-cancer activity through a simple molecular "switch".
May 20, 2020, Alexandria, Va.-- The June 2020 issue of Journal of Dental Research brings together a collection of the latest research on the oral microbiome. This issue includes reviews and reports of new tools for analyzing microbial communities and for cultivating microbial species.
Rice has always been the most important food in Asia and the world. About half of the population on earth use rice as their main food source. The origin, spread, evolution, and ecological adaptation of cultivated rice are still one of the most important issues which currently concerned by global archaeologists, biologists, and agricultural scientists.
Hundreds of new links have been found between people's DNA and the heart's electrical activity, according to a study of almost 300,000 people led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
The results could one day lead to advanced screening methods to discern who is at greatest risk of developing disease, and could help reveal new genetic targets for research and drug development.
As the UK and most other countries went into lockdown, the need to save lives from the coronavirus rightly took priority over longer term health issues.
But experts writing in The BMJ today warn that "if we don't prepare for emerging from the pandemic, we will see the toll of increased alcohol harm for a generation."
A new Tel Aviv University-led study published on May 20 in Nature offers new evidence that the complexity of contemporary analytical methods in science contributes to the variability of research outcomes.
Clinician burnout is a growing public health concern, with the National Academy of Sciences reporting that 35-54% of U.S. nurses and physicians exhibit substantial symptoms of burnout.
Shortly after the explosion in microcephaly cases caused by Zika virus in Brazil in 2015-16, several scientific studies were published with evidence that the pathogen is capable of crossing the human placenta, the organ that keeps the fetus connected to the mother's body during pregnancy. From then on, the states began following a protocol established by the National Ministry of Health requiring collection of placental samples to help diagnose the disease in women with symptoms during pregnancy.
As is the case with most fatal diseases, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is already taking a disproportionate toll on black Americans and other disadvantaged minorities. As of April 14 in the United States, 32 percent of deaths from COVID-19 occurred among black Americans who comprise of only 13 percent of the population. These numbers indicate that they have a 2.3-fold excess risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to white Americans.
Results from a study led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital may help to improve the diagnosis and treatment of allergies, pointing to a potential marker of these conditions and a new therapeutic strategy. The research is published in Nature.
Many insects' breathing pores open and close rapidly during respiration; oxygen diffusion analysis suggests that this spiracle fluttering enables high oxygen intake and low water loss, according to a study publishing May 20, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by H. Frederik Nijhout and Michael C. Reed of Duke University, USA, and Sean D. Lawley of the University of Utah, USA.