All USA & Canada articles – Page 5
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As school returns, so do infections & asthma emergencies. Where kids live can make it worse
A new study highlights how neighborhood conditions shape the seasonal surge of virus-triggered asthma emergencies. It found that children in under-resourced communities face sharply higher rates of asthma flare-ups tied to viral infections during the first weeks of school.
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Portable spectroscopy enables detection of vaginal microbes
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy can rapidly and noninvasively detect specific bacterial species in vaginal fluid, enabling early identification of microbiome imbalances.
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Fast, accurate, low-cost diagnostics - and no lab required
Researchers have developed a breakthrough diagnostic tool that could transform how quickly and reliably we detect illnesses like COVID-19, Ebola, AIDS or Lyme disease. The test uses just a single drop of blood, costs a couple of dollars and delivers results in only 15 minutes.
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Seventy-year-old Parkinson’s drug shows promise against tuberculosis
A medication developed in the 1950s to treat Parkinson’s disease may offer a powerful new tool in the fight against tuberculosis. The study found that benztropine can dramatically reduce levels of TB-causing bacteria by boosting the body’s natural immune response.
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Common food thickeners – long thought to pass right through us – are actually digested
It turns out cellulose-based thickening agents can be digested. Researchers have shown that our gut bacteria can feed on these large molecules – thought to not be possible – thanks to enzymes that normally help us break down dietary fibre.
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Study: Long COVID remains a substantial financial and medical burden
Individuals with long COVID-19 experienced worse financial and employment outcomes – lasting up to three years after their initial infection. Notably, vaccination against COVID-19 was associated with strikingly improved work and financial outcomes.
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What exactly is Long COVID? It depends who you ask
New research finds that the definition of Long COVID varies so widely across published studies that the percentage of people identified as having the condition can differ dramatically, making it harder to treat patients and advance research.
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Common food bacterium could help make vitamins cheaper and greener
A new study reveals how Lactococcus lactis, a common food bacterium, regulates the production of a key precursor in vitamin K₂ (menaquinone) biosynthesis. The bacteria produce enough of this precursor to support their growth while preventing toxic buildup.
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Researchers discover all-new antifungal drug candidate in university greenhouse
A research team at McMaster University has discovered a new drug class that could someday lead to breakthrough treatments for dangerous fungal infections. The new molecules, dubbed coniotins, were isolated from a plant-dwelling fungus called Coniochaeta hoffmannii — the samples of which were collected from the McMaster ...
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Researchers identify a potential biomarker for long COVID
Researchers have identified a potential biomarker for long COVID. The study results detail the detection of SARS-CoV-2 protein fragments within extracellular vesicles (EVs) — tiny, naturally occurring packages that help cells share proteins, metabolites, and other materials.
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AI uncovers new antibiotics in ancient microbes
Researchers used artificial intelligence to identify previously unknown compounds in Archaea that could fuel the development of next-generation antibiotics.
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Ready for market: Yeast process boosts clean, cost-efficient chemical production of succinic acid
A re-engineered yeast strain that efficiently produces succinic acid has been developed, which allows this valuable chemical to be produced at a lower cost.
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Malaria vaccine mimics natural immunity with high precision
A detailed analysis reveals one of the reasons why the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine works so well: the antibodies generated following vaccination are indistinguishable from those found in people who have been infected by the parasites.
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Chemical trick could turn losing malaria drug into a winner
A new generation of malaria drugs failed clinical trials, in part because they were hard to swallow. Chemists have remodeled their structures to make them more soluble, while maintaining their effectiveness against drug-resistant parasites.
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4,000-year-old sheep reveals that livestock played a role in prehistoric plague infections
An ancient Yersinia pestis genome recovered from sheep sheds new light on a mysterious infectious disease that plagued prehistoric Eurasia for over 2000 years.
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Study finds fungus metabolites may help ghost shrimp survive
Researchers have found that chemical byproducts produced by the amphibian-killing fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis—commonly known as Bd—may actually help ghost shrimp survive.
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Early challenges to the immune system disrupt oral health
Researchers identified changes over time in the oral microbiome of children living with HIV, offering insights into how early immune challenges shape not only oral health but also systemic health.
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Bioscientist wins NSF CAREER Award to investigate bacterial toxins, expand inclusion in STEM
Marcos de Moraes has received support to study the molecular mechanisms and evolutionary roles of bacterial toxins known as deaminases, as well as an educational outreach effort aimed at making biosciences open to all, including differently abled persons.
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Scientists develop new approach to fighting many viruses at once
Scientists have developed a research pipeline to fuel the development of “universal vaccines,” that would address broad viral families and mutated viral variants.
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Novel immunologic surveillance study provides new insights into post-pandemic return of respiratory viruses
Non-pharmaceutical interventions such as masking and distancing targeted towards SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic also decreased circulation rates of and population immunity to common respiratory pathogens in children, a new study shows.