Life Science Newsletter: Mayo Clinic on how MS develops, let’s hear it for tropical flies, and more...

Redington Life Sciences News			Special Issue August 2021
In this issue: Mayo Clinic on how MS develops, let’s hear it for tropical flies, Emory says biz travel may affect obesity risks, where rats and humans merge, detecting melanoma w/o surgical biopsy, effects of vaping on baby birthweight, help for Alzheimer’s caregivers, why extreme heat is deadly, new drug combo for prostate cancer, predicting pregnancy complications, and more…

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	Study may improve understanding of how disability develops in MS patients versus those with related diseases Did you know multiple sclerosis (MS) means multiple scars? New research shows that the brain and spinal cord scars in people with MS may offer clues to why they developprogressive disability but those with related diseases where the immune system attacks the central nervous system do not. In a study published in Neurology, Mayo Clinic researchers and colleagues assessed if... Full Details

	Tropical fly study shows that a mother’s age and diet influences the health of her offspring The female tsetse fly, which gives birth to adult-sized live young, produce weaker offspring as they get older, and when they feed on poor quality blood. Full Details

	Single chip tests thousands of enzyme mutations at once Nature, Published online: 23 July 2021; doi:10.1038/d41586-021-02034-3 The technique vastly speeds up understanding of how the proteins function and how to target drugs. Full Details

	Scientists reverse age-related memory loss in mice Age Related Memory Loss In a study published in Molecular Psychiatry , the team show that changes in the extracellular matrix of the brain – ‘scaffolding’ around nerve cells – lead to loss of memory with ageing, but that it is possible to reverse these using genetic treatments. Recent evidence has emerged of the role of perineuronal nets (PNNs) in neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to learn and adapt Full Details

	Rats prefer to help their own kind. Humans may be similarly wired New study reveals brain mechanism that drives rats to act out of kindness Full Details

	Why Extreme Heat Is So Deadly Heat waves kill more people than any other type of severe weather in the U.S. And climate change is making them more frequent and unpredictable Full Details

	Highly accurate protein structure prediction for the human proteome Protein structures can provide invaluable information, both for reasoning about biological processes and for enabling interventions such as structure-based drug development or targeted mutagenesis. Full Details

	Science Saturday: Melanoma test to help some patients avoid surgical biopsy More than 100,00 people in the U.S. are expected to be diagnosed with melanoma this year — double the number of cases compared to 30 years ago, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association. "Melanoma accounts for only about 2% of skin cancers, but it causes a majority of skin cancer deaths," says Alexander Meves, M.D., a Mayo Clinic dermatologist whose laboratory in Mayo Clinic's... Full Details

	How to Avoid the Caregiver-Alzheimer’s Battleground Familial caregivers are supposed to advocate for loved ones, but a person with dementia may sometimes view a carer as an enemy. Perhaps "enemy" is too strong of a word, but some caregiving days are permeated by one battle after another. This gets old quickly for both parties. Who wants to wake up on a battleground every day? Not the caregiver, and certainly not the loved one, yet here we are. Full Details

	Mayo Clinic Minute: Eating disorders affect all genders, races It's the stereotypical image of an eating disorder: a young, white female who is extremely thin. But as Jason Howland reports in the Mayo Clinic Minute, that's not always the case. Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute. Full Details

	New research uncovers how cancers with common gene mutation develop resistance to targeted drugs A new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers has given scientists their first look at the genomic landscape of tumors that have grown resistant to drugs targeting the abnormal KRASG12C protein. Full Details

	Half of young adults with COVID-19 have persistent symptoms 6 months after, study finds A new paper describes persistent symptoms six months after acute COVID-19, even in young home isolated people. The most common symptoms were loss of smell and/or taste, fatigue, shortness of breath, impaired concentration, and memory problems. Full Details

	Study suggests scientists may need to rethink which genes control aging NIH scientists discover that bacteria may drive activity of many hallmark aging genes in flies. Full Details

	Study sheds light on treatment options for devastating childhood brain cancer Medulloblastoma is a rare but devastating childhood brain cancer. This cancer can spread through the spinal fluid and be deposited elsewhere in the brain or spine. Radiation therapy to the whole brain and spine followed by an extra radiation dose to the back of the brain prevents this spread and has been the standard of care. Full Details

	‘Universal Vaccine’ Could Protect Against Future Coronaviruses Mice that received a vaccine made from a hybrid spike protein resisted infection from several coronaviruses, researchers report. Full Details

	Emory study shows frequent business travel may increase obesity risks A new study out of Emory University shows that frequent business travel may pose new health risks not related to COVID-19, such as risks of obesity and chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes. Full Details

	New drug combination attacks prostate cancer on two fronts to keep men healthy for longer Men with particularly aggressive prostate cancers can be treated more effectively by combining an existing targeted medicine, abiraterone, with a new experimental drug to block two of cancer’s growth signals at once, a major new trial shows Full Details

	Women who vape are more likely to have low-birthweight babies, study shows Researchers stress that e-cigarettes are not a healthier alternative to smoking for expectant mothers. Full Details

	Scientists can predict which women will have serious pregnancy complications Nearly all of the organ systems of the mother’s body need to alter their function during pregnancy so that the baby can grow. If the mother’s body cannot properly adapt to the growing baby this leads to major and common issues including fetal growth restriction, fetal over-growth, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia... Full Details

	Human Cells Harness Power of Detergents to Wipe Out Bacteria Researchers have discovered that a molecule found within many of the body’s cells kills germs by dissolving their protective membranes. Full Details

	Lilly’s Donanemab Granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy Status The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has named Eli Lilly’s donanemab a breakthrough therapy for treating Alzheimer’s disease, the company announced in a press release . Lilly said it intends to submit a biologics license application or BLA — which would allow it to market donanemab in the U.S. — to the FDA later this year. The breakthrough therapy designation is intended to speed the development Full Details

	Sleep psychology profiles Are you a trainee or an early career psychologist? Or are you an experienced psychologist seeking to expand your practice and improve outcomes among your patients? Consider choosing the specialty of sleep psychology. Sleep medicine is a fascinating, multidisciplinary field that reflects a variety of clinical backgrounds and talents. Sleep psychology is a subspecialty of sleep medicine that... Full Details