SciGlow | All Science News In One Place
SciGlow is a newsletter of science stories from the major research labs. Headlines link to in-depth articles and editorials. SciGlow keeps scientists and others up-to-date on current research.
Light therapy, consisting of daily exposure to bright, artificial light, is already a recognized line of treatment for people affected by seasonal and nonseasonal depressive disorder. But much less is known about the potential benefits of light therapy for people with bipolar disorder, one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. In a meta-analysis recently … Read more
An innovative lab at Western University known for promoting exercise as a way to reduce tobacco cravings has translated their research and found that brisk walks – as short as 20 minutes – can compete with caffeine in terms of enhancing working memory. Working memory is the ability to store and manipulate information, in the … Read more
According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health. Sensing and treating bacterial infections earlier could help improve patients’ recovery, as well curb the spread of antibiotic-resistant microbes. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have developed color-changing bandages that can sense drug-resistant and drug-sensitive bacteria in wounds and … Read more
Geneticists and heart specialists around the world had previously reported 17 genes to cause long QT syndrome, a little-known inherited heart condition. However, the Clinical Genome Resource’s (ClinGen) expert panel has critically reevaluated the scientific evidence for all 17 reported genes, disputing nine of the genes and revealing only three of the genes to be definitively … Read more
Living near major roads or highways is linked to higher incidence of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis (MS), suggests new research published this week in the journal Environmental Health. Researchers from the University of British Columbia analyzed data for 678,000 adults in Metro Vancouver. They found that living less than 50 metres from … Read more
The University of Queensland has been asked to develop a vaccine for the recent coronavirus outbreak at unprecedented speed, using new technology. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has requested the University use its recently developed rapid response technology to develop a new vaccine, which could be available worldwide in as little as six months. … Read more
A new technology to produce safer ‘hybrid’ viruses at high volumes for use in vaccines and diagnostics for mosquito-borne diseases has been developed at The University of Queensland. Researchers from UQ and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have exploited the benign characteristics of the Binjari virus – inert to humans – to produce ‘dangerous looking’ … Read more
The ability to create new neurons may exist as built-in protection for sensitive brain areas, according to research in mice recently published in JNeurosci. For a quarter of a century, scientists have known that the brain creates new neurons even into adulthood – a process called adult neurogenesis. The question has been: why? Adult neurogenesis occurs … Read more
The prevailing theory in cancer nanomedicine — an approach that enables more targeted therapies than standard chemotherapy — has been that nanoparticles mainly diffuse passively into tumours through tiny gaps between cells in the endothelium, which lines the inner wall of blood vessels that support tumour growth. The researchers previously showed that less than one per … Read more
With major cities across Australia choking on thick clouds of hazardous smoke, an expert from The Australian National University (ANU) has released freely accessible new factsheets on how to best protect yourself from bushfire smoke. The factsheets have been developed by leading air quality and health expert Professor Sotiris Vardoulakis from the ANU Research School … Read more