Researchers from 13 countries investigated the impact of COVID-19 related social isolation measures on 2,200 young infants and toddlers between 8 and 36 months of age. Their findings provide insights into the effects of lockdown on language acquisition and screen time in the generation of youngsters growing up during this extraordinary period. Shortly after lockdown…

Divide, differentiate or die? Making decisions at the right time and place is what defines a cell’s behavior and is particularly critical for stem cells of an developing organisms. Decision making relies on how information is processed by networks of signaling proteins. Scientists have now revealed that ERK, a key player in stem cell signaling,…

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common form of cancer affecting children in Switzerland and, unfortunately, is often incurable. Researchers have now found a way to stop the driving force behind this type of leukemia at a molecular level and develop a targeted therapy. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a form of blood cancer that…

Researchers have developed a novel method of measuring growth in the aorta that may help clinicians to identify potentially fatal heart conditions earlier. The technique, called vascular deformation mapping, measures changes in the thoracic aorta by using high-resolution CT imaging to calculate three-dimensional changes in the aortic wall. In the study, VDM significantly outperformed the…

A new study shows that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is less effective than Delta at blocking a cellular defense mechanism against viruses, the so-called ‘interferon response’. Moreover, cell culture findings indicate that eight important COVID-19 drugs and drug candidates remain effective against Omicron. The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant causes less severe disease than Delta although it…

A new study has found that genes have a greater influence than previously thought not only on the number of moles you have but also where they are on your body. Survival of skin cancer is known to be influenced by gender, with female patients demonstrating higher rates of survival linked to the melanoma sites…

The study, involving 281 Ontario children, found that 85.7% of those who received the short course of antibiotics and 84.1% of those who received the longer course of medication were cured two to three weeks later. New research from McMaster University has proven that a five-day course of high-dose amoxicillin will do just as well…

Researchers examined a subset of GABA neurons in the circadian rhythm control center within the hypothalamus of the brain. They eliminated GABA signaling of vasopressin-producing neurons only in mice and found that it impaired circadian behavior. Specifically, time spent being active increased every day. Analysis showed a timing mismatch between the center’s molecular clock and…

Scientists have long struggled to understand what drives a tumor to seed itself elsewhere in the body. New research implicates own pre-existing genetics. Now researchers have shown for the first time that our own pre-existing genetics can promote metastasis. A new study, published May 25 in Nature Medicine, suggests that differences in a single gene,…

Both adults and kids who vape were more likely to report difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions than their non-vaping, non-smoking peers on two annual national surveys. Survey results also suggest that kids were more likely to experience mental fog if they started vaping before the age of 14. While other studies have found an…