Hope for blindness from a seaweed protein
Its name is opsin. When put into the eye of a patient with retinitis pigmentosa, it enabled recovery of the sight of the shape of some articles.
Stories reduce pain - here’s the proof
A research clearly shows the effects of ‘storytelling’ on a group of children in the Intensive Care Unit of a Brazilian hospital.
A clapperboard for well-being
Cinema as a means of rehabilitation for caregivers, from a recent study undertaken during the pandemic.
Anti-cancer cures using Covid vaccine techniques
Swiss researchers have inserted instructions into a virus to reach the tumour and prompt it to generate a molecule which in turn eradicates the tumour.
Florida, a genetic battle with the mosquito (not without controversy)
Experiments (genes alteration) against Aedes aegypti , responsible for transmitting diseases such as Zika and Dengue, are underway.
Two DNA “switches” extend life (a great deal)
Researchers have mapped the genetic code of people aged over 105, in search of the secrets of a very long life.
At last, an effective vaccine against malaria
Published the preliminary results for a new drug against malaria that showed 77% of vaccinated children were immune.
US honey shows traces of 1950s nuclear arms tests
Radioactive substances left in the atmosphere by atomic experiments aren’t hazardous, but they are still there seven decades later.
Art makes me feel better
A recent report eprovides a snapshot of how the arts have enabled individuals face the pandemic in Europe.
The Covid Effect: silence returns to the ocean’s depths
The drastic drop in maritime traffic has led to a considerable reduction of noise in the oceans. 2020 has been declared “Year of the Quiet Ocean”.
Mapping the viruses that can make the “jump”
A new archive catalogues infective microorganisms typically found in wild fauna and which seem capable of passing to other species, including man.
Space bacteria for astronaut “farmers”
Three unknown strains have been identified on the International Space Station orbiting Earth.
New vaccine against “difficult” brain tumours
For the first time, a vaccine targeting one of the most difficult forms of brain cancer to treat namely diffuse glioma, has proven to be effective and safe
New artificial valves that grow with the heart
Experiments conducted at the University of Minnesota, could help children with congenital defects
Is it possible to vaccinate 80 million people in 3 months? Yes, it is
Vaccinating 80 million people in just three months, i.e. administering the vaccine to the entire population of Italy, Switzerland and Austria
The placebo effect? Real, strong and still mysterious
The power of autosuggestion can be very strong, but the details of the brain mechanisms that lead to these results had never been revealed.
Women at a disadvantage in US research laboratories
Female researchers are still underrepresented in key roles compared to their male colleagues.
140,000 different types of viruses in our gut
Surprising study published in the journal Cell. Many of these viruses infect gut bacteria.