Health

Scientists have repaired a natural gateway into the brains of mice, allowing the clumps and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease to be swept away. After just three drug injections, mice with certain genes that mimic Alzheimer’s showed a reversal of several key pathological features. Within hours of the first injection, the animal brains showed a nearly 45 percent reduction in …

It’s that time of year when the leaves are turning golden, there’s a chill in the air and the threat of respiratory viruses like Covid-19, influenza or RSV looms across the country. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the 2025-26 fall and winter respiratory disease season to have a similar number of peak hospitalizations due to Covid-19, …

Wildlife officials in Florida have discovered only the second case in the state of a deadly infection known colloquially as “zombie deer disease”, and are enforcing emergency measures to try to prevent a spread. The highly contagious chronic wasting disease (CWD) was found during routine screening in the carcass of a young white-tailed doe that was struck by a vehicle …

MINEOLA, N.Y. — A person living in New York has tested positive for the chikungunya virus in what state health officials say is the first reported transmission of the mosquito-borne illness within the United States in six years The state Department of Health said Tuesday that the virus, which has been spreading in China and elsewhere, was identified in a …

No amount of alcohol is safe, at least for dementia risk  The Washington Post The four ages when alcohol really harms your health (and the decade we’re best at handling it)  The Telegraph Alcohol: Bad for Heart, Brain, and Cognition?  Medscape Moderate drinking dementia risk. Genetic proof  Holistic News If you drink more than eight alcoholic drinks per week, researchers say you could have …

In what could become a game-changing step towards defeating cancer, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a ‘super vaccine’ that completely prevented the disease from forming in laboratory mice. The experimental vaccine, powered by a special immune-boosting formula, helped the animals’ immune systems recognise and destroy cancer cells before they could grow into tumours. In multiple tests, …

Again, the reason for thyroid hormone’s impact on mood isn’t known, but one theory is that T3 in particular may increase levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain, or enhance the sensitivity of receptors for these neurotransmitters. Thyroid hormone receptors are also prevalent in brain regions heavily involved in mood regulation. New treatments  The hope is that this new …

CRISPR gene editing has made its way into every corner of modern biology, but not into every corner of the cell. Although researchers have used these systems to develop treatments for sickle-cell anaemia and blood cancers, to unlock the secrets of multicellularity and to discover the role of thousands of overlooked proteins, there’s one place CRISPR can’t easily reach: mitochondria. …

A new study finds that simply having an air filter in the classroom may not be enough to keep students safe from respiratory illnesses. Mass General Brigham researchers analyzed data taken from 200 classrooms, some of which had portable HEPA purifiers while others had “sham” purifiers that didn’t contain a filter. HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air.  “HEPA filters are …

Sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing – these are the senses we’re probably all familiar with. But we humans may not be limited to just five: some scientists argue for a “sixth sense” – though there are several contenders for what this might be – while others suggest we have way more. One candidate for this elusive extra sense is …