Author: healthadmin
Young people who experience extreme loneliness are more likely to develop certain specialized internet habits, such as uncontrollable viewing of online pornography, while compulsive digital gaming and endless health searches online often predict future social isolation. These patterns suggest that treating social disconnection may help prevent various virtual addictions from taking root. This study was recently published in the journal General psychiatry. Psychology researchers have spent years trying to understand whether the Internet brings people together or isolates them. Two main ideas dominate this discussion. The stimulus hypothesis suggests that digital technologies help people build and maintain friendships. The displacement…
Artificial intelligence voice clones tend to be easier to understand in noisy environments than the actual human voice they imitate. This discovery provides evidence that synthetic speech technology has the potential to significantly improve communication assistance devices for people with language disorders. This study Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Synthetic voices are increasingly part of everyday life, from digital assistants like Siri and Alexa to automated telemarketers and answering machines. With the expansion of generative artificial intelligence, voice cloning has emerged as a new type of synthetic voice. Traditional synthetic voice requires voice actors to spend hours in…
Transvaccenic acid (TVA), the most abundant trans fatty acid found in human breast milk, promotes immune system development and has long-term effects on immune system health in mice, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago. This week, the study scienceshowed that lactating female mice fed a diet rich in TVA passed the nutrient on to their offspring, leading to increased production of immune cells early in development. Genetic analysis also showed that TVA exposure during lactation reprogrammed immune cells and improved responses to pathogens. Mice fed TVA-enriched milk responded faster to viral and common bacterial…
Indian drugmaker Aurobindo will need to divest four drugs from its proposed $250 million deal to resolve anticompetitive concerns in order to complete its acquisition of Pennsylvania generic drug specialist Lanette, the Federal Trade Commission said. “Aurobindo’s acquisition of Lanet would consolidate two of a limited number of competitors in the market for four different generic drugs that provide important relief to patients,” the FTC wrote (PDF) about the proposed consent order. U.S. regulators specified that Aurobindo must sell the product to New Jersey generic drug maker Quagen Pharmaceuticals. “Today’s FTC action will protect millions of patients from the threat…
In both previous Ebola outbreaks in Africa and the current Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, neighboring countries have been the most affected when it comes to cross-border spread. Van Zandvoort et al. note that decision-makers outside Africa may be considering border and travel policies to cut off international transmission routes. We identified and analyzed all known Ebola cases outside Africa and assessed the risk of undetected cases. ortho ebola virus It’s about considering the possibility of transmission outside Africa and weighing it against possible border and travel policies. The authors searched…
Researchers at Brazil’s Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) have identified a molecule on the cell surface that could be a promising therapeutic target for cancer. This molecule plays an important role in tumor progression by regulating cell behavior. This FAPESP-supported study showed that overexpression of the Sindecam-4 (SDC4) receptor provides a protective shield to tumor cells. In laboratory experiments, the researchers silenced the receptor, halting the accelerated growth of tumor cells and causing them to resume responding to their naturally programmed cell death mechanisms. This study also received financial support from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development…
People with genetic mutations associated with obesity are now more likely to be heavier than people with the same mutations born before the recent obesity epidemic. Liam Wright of University College London and colleagues report these findings in the June 19 issue of the Journal. PLOS genetics. Obesity rates among children and adults have risen sharply over the past 50 years. But strangely, rates of extreme obesity are increasing faster than the overall increase in body mass index (BMI), an estimate of body fat based on height and weight. This trend suggests that some people are particularly susceptible to environmental…
A spiral wave of neural activity appears and travels through the brain. Scientists want to know whether these traveling rotational waves play an overall role in sensing and interpreting internal and external stimuli, consolidating memory, and managing motor skills. We have discovered a new type of brain waves that specifically rotate across space and time, rely on circulatory anatomical circuits in the sensory cortex, and influence activity throughout the brain. ” Nick Steinmetz, Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Biophysics, University of Washington School of Medicine (Seattle) His team led the research. Details of these moving, whirling brain waves,…
The experiences we face early in life can leave a mark on our health in ways that reverberate for decades and even throughout our bodies. New research published today in the journal science (DOI:10.1126/science.aea4922) studied a unique group of free-living rhesus macaques who were tracked throughout their lives to record their experiences. Combining these medical histories with genomic data from 12 tissues collected during adulthood, this study provides some of the clearest molecular evidence to date that early life adversity leaves a system-wide lasting impression on the epigenome, the biological layer on the human genome that regulates gene activity. The…
Recent research suggests that inducing certain sleep-like brain wave patterns in awake mice may provide restorative effects to the brain that are normally only obtained by actually falling asleep. The findings show that the physical need for sleep and the memory-enhancing effects of adequate sleep can be replicated without animals losing consciousness. This study was recently published in the journal natural neuroscience. Sleep is a biological necessity for all mammals. It works to reset the brain and body after being awake for a long time. When animals are awake, they learn, move, and experience new things in their environment. This…