Category: Features
Study confirms human placenta resembles a tumour
Scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge and collaborators in the UK have confirmed that the placenta is unlike any other human organ and instead resembles that of a tumour. According to the scientists, the placenta harboursmany […]
Night shift work heightens cancer risk
Night shift work has been found to cause circadian rhythm disruptions and can alter the expression of tumour-related genes, making one more vulnerable to the DNA damage that leads to cancer. According to Hans Van Dongen, Director of Washington State […]
Regulating white blood cells help control excessive inflammation
An international research team, led by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences has discovered a new way to stop excessive inflammation by simply regulating a type of white blood cell that is critical to the immune response. This discovery […]
Pregnant women pass along protective COVID antibodies to their babies
New research has found that the protective antibodies pregnant women make against COVID-19 are often passed on to their foetuses – conveying natural immunity, amongst other benefits. Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine also suggest that vaccinating mothers-to-be may also have […]
Psychedelic “microdosing” found to have similar effects to placebo
New research led by a team at Imperial College London, UK, suggests there is little difference in reported benefits between a microdose – low doses of psychedelics such as LSD – and a placebo. Despite very little empirical evidence showing […]
Optimal daily mix of 2 fruit and 3 vegetable servings ensures longevity
“The American Heart Association recommends filling at least half your plate with fruits and vegetables at each meal,” said Anne Thorndike, chair of the Association’s nutrition committee and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. However, […]
New vaccination strategy could better help the body fight off UTIs
A urinary tract infection (UTI) can be painful, pesky and persistent. While oral drugs may help, bacteria responsible for the UTI – which primarily afflicts women – never fully clears from the bladder, and may cause chronic infection. Scientists at […]
World-first trial tests novel MDMA therapy on alcoholism
A small, open-label trial by a team of UK researchers has explored the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy as a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Results suggest MDMA is safe, well-tolerated and significantly more effective than any current treatment for […]
Why Zoom calls are likely tiring you out, and how to fix it
Video conferencing has become a way of life, but there are psychological consequences of spending hours per day on video chat platforms. Stanford communication Professor Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL), has studied prolonged […]
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine now stable at warmer temperatures
The mRNA COVID-19 vaccine developed by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech late last year was advised to be kept at ultra-cold temperatures to prevent degradation – the ultra-cold storage requirement has inevitably been a difficult and expensive problem to overcome […]
