Science and Health News

D614G mutation, now ubiquitous, increases virus’ ability to infect human cells

A new type of drug that helps target chemotherapy directly to cancer cells has been found to significantly increase survival of patients with the most common form of bladder cancer, according to results from a phase III clinical trial led in the UK by Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust.

Lipids are the building blocks of a cell's envelope - the cell membrane. In addition to their structural function, some lipids also play a regulatory role and decisively influence cell growth. This has been investigated in a new study by scientists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The impact of the lipids depends on how they are distributed over the plasma membrane.

Atherosclerosis, a lipid-triggered chronic inflammatory disease of our arteries, is the main cause of strokes and heart attacks. An international team of researchers led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the LMU University Hospital has developed novel synthetic peptides that can help to prevent atherosclerosis in vitro, that is in the test tube, as well as in animal models.

Osteoporosis is a leading global health challenge. Besides its own adverse effects, it also impairs the function of bone implants - normally made of a metal called titanium (Ti). Because there is less bone than normal in the implantation site, the implants could easily loosen, and persistent inflammation often accompanies.

A disease of the joints, osteoarthritis affects more than 30 million adults and is the fifth-leading cause of disability in the United States. In a new study, scientists have discovered the cellular pathway that leads to osteoarthritis and have identified a commonly used anti-depressant — paroxetine — that inhibits this pathway.

When it comes to understanding the transfer of coronavirus, important new studies have determined that there is a significant difference between COVID-19 positive people who have symptoms, including fever, and COVID positive people who do not.

In recent years, three meta-analyses of clinical studies have come to the conclusion that vitamin D supplementation was associated with a reduction in the mortality rate from cancer of around 13 percent. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now transferred these results to the situation in Germany and calculated: If all Germans over the age of 50 were to take vitamin D supplements, up to 30,000 cancer deaths per year could possibly be avoided and more than 300,000 years of life could be gained - in addition, health care costs could be saved.