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Weekly handpicked health news from 30-Aug to 5-Sep 2020
Note: None of the news bits given here are written by Newanced's authors. The links on each of the news bits will redirect to the news source. Content given under each headline is a basic gist and not the full story.
UIC Research Discovers Links Among Poor Sleep, High Blood Pressure, Gut Microbiome
Source: University of Illinois at Chicago
In the first study of its kind, University of Illinois Chicago researchers have found associations among disrupted sleep, elevated blood pressure and changes in the gut microbiome. The research aimed to determine whether a 28-day period of disrupted sleep changed the microbiota in rats. The gut microbiota refers to the collection of microorganisms living in the intestines.
Dartmouth-led Team Engineers New Treatment for Drug-Resistant Bacterial Infections
Source: Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth
A new antibacterial agent that has been engineered to essentially hide from the human immune system may treat life-threatening MRSA infections. A new article provides details on the agent, which is the first lysin-based treatment with the potential to be used multiple times on a single patient, making it ideal to treat particularly persistent drug-resistant and drug-sensitive infections.
Original written by: Julie Bonette
Possible Blood-Clotting Mechanism In COVID-19 Found
Source: Uppasala University
Why so many COVID-19 patients get blood clots (thrombosis) remains uncertain. But scientists at Uppsala University and the University Hospital have now identified a mechanism they believe to be implicated. A particular protein triggers a part of our immune system that can boost the blood’s tendency to coagulate and form clots. The study is now published in Thrombosis and Haemostasis.
Experimental Vaccine That Boosts Antigen Production Shows Promise Against COVID-19
Source: Ohio State University
Scientists manipulated a natural cellular process to ramp up levels of two proteins used by the virus to infect other cells, packaged the protein-boosting instructions in nanoparticles and injected them into mice. Within a month, the mice had developed antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Original written by: Emily Caldwell
Who Should Get the COVID-19 Vaccine First? Penn-Led Team Lays Groundwork for Fair Distribution
Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
When effective COVID-19 vaccines are developed, their supply will inevitably be scarce. The World Health Organization (WHO), global leaders, and vaccine producers are already facing the question of how to appropriately allocate them across countries. And while there is vocal commitment to “fair and equitable” distribution, what exactly does “fair and equitable” look like in practice?
How We Sleep Today May Forecast When Alzheimer’s Disease Begins
Source: University of California - Berkeley
New UC Berkeley research suggests one defense against this virulent form of dementia — for which no treatment currently exists — is deep, restorative sleep, and plenty of it. Neuroscientists Matthew Walker and Joseph Winer have found a way to estimate, with some degree of accuracy, a time frame for when Alzheimer’s is most likely to strike in a person’s lifetime.
Original written by: Yasmin Anwar
Vitamin-D Deficiency May Raise Risk of Getting COVID-19
Source: University of Chicago Medical Center
In a retrospective study of patients tested for COVID-19, researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine found an association between vitamin D deficiency and the likelihood of becoming infected with the coronavirus.
Original written by: Gretchen Rubin
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