Category: Lifestyle
The Best South Africa Etiquette
Mealtimes and Typical Foods The typical diet is a combination of local ethnic group cuisine, Western foods, and Asian foods: much is available in South Africa. All groups enjoy barbecues, for example. Local food is rich in rice, yams and cassava (a root vegetable), plus breads, fresh vegetables. and fruits. Meats are enjoyed when available, […]
Single mutation leads to big effects in autism-related gene
A new study in Neuron offers clues to why autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more common in boys than in girls. National Institutes of Health scientists found that a single amino acid change in the NLGN4 gene, which has been linked to autism symptoms, may drive this difference in some cases. The study was conducted […]
Tailoring an anti-cancer drug for optimal tumor cell killing
In a study published this week in Science, Université de Montreal researchers report key structural and biochemical differences among a class of anti-cancer drugs known as PARP inhibitors. These distinguishing differences were linked to differing capacities of PARP inhibitors to kill cancer cells. The research resolves a long-standing and perplexing quandary over differences between the […]
Study overturns ‘snapshot’ model of cell cycle in use since 1974
Cells have a big decision: Should they replicate or sleep? Healthy cells can go either way. Cancer cells’ replication switches are stuck in the ‘on’ position. Now a study by University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers working at CU Boulder’s BioFrontiers Institute and published today in the journal Science overturns the conventional wisdom of how […]
Starving pancreatic cancer of cysteine may kill tumor cells
A new study from Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center suggests a compound in development for a rare kidney stone disease may have potential against pancreatic cancer. The compound starves tumors of an amino acid, cysteine, which was found to be critical to the survival of pancreatic cancer cells. […]
COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows promise in first peer-reviewed research
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists today announced a potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. When tested in mice, the vaccine, delivered through a fingertip-sized patch, produces antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities thought to be sufficient for neutralizing the virus. The paper appeared today in EBioMedicine, which is […]
Trial drug can significantly block early stages of COVID-19 in engineered human tissues
An international team led by University of British Columbia researcher Dr. Josef Penninger has found a trial drug that effectively blocks the cellular door SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect its hosts. The findings, published today in Cell, hold promise as a treatment capable of stopping early infection of the novel coronavirus that, as of April 2, […]
One size does not fit all: Not all men idolize Western ideals of muscularity
It turns out that there may be some limits to the influence of Western culture on the rest of the world, after all. A new paper in Frontiers in Psychology that examined men’s attitudes towards and behaviors around muscularity in three countries found than non-Western men were generally less hung up about their body image […]