COVID-19 vaccine not associated with birth defects detectable on ultrasound

The exclusion of pregnant patients in initial COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials left many patients and doctors wondering how the vaccine might affect pregnant patients and their unborn babies. But a new Northwestern Medicine study finds the vaccine is not associated with birth defects that are detectable on ultrasound. “This is yet another important piece of […]

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Scientific publishers unite to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than a dozen scientific publishers have halted transactions or promotion of their products and services to research organisations in Russia and Belarus. ‘We have taken the unprecedented step of suspending sales and marketing of products and services to research organisations in Russia and Belarus,’ the publishers […]

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Few Patients Have Infected Heart Devices Removed Despite Lifesaving Benefits

Medicare patients whose implantable heart devices became infected were less likely to die from the complication if they had the hardware removed compared to patients who only received antibiotics, according to the largest study on the topic, led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute. The study showed that just 18% of patients with device infections underwent […]

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Bus rapid transit improves property values

A new study reveals that while few cities in the U.S. have high-quality bus rapid transit systems, those that do see benefits to nearby property values. Researchers investigated the impact of bus rapid transit (or BRT) systems on property values near 11 BRT systems in 10 U.S. cities, noting previous research found that traditional bus […]

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Loss of neurons, not lack of sleep, makes Alzheimer’s patients drowsy

The lethargy that many Alzheimer’s patients experience is caused not by a lack of sleep, but rather by the degeneration of a type of neuron that keeps us awake, according to a study that also confirms the tau protein is behind that neurodegeneration. The study’s findings contradict the common notion that Alzheimer’s patients sleep during […]

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People around the world like the same kinds of smell

What smells we like or dislike is primarily determined by the structure of the particular odour molecule. A collaborative study involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and the University of Oxford, UK, shows that people share odour preferences regardless of cultural background. The study is published in the journal Current Biology. “We wanted to examine if […]

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Jellyfish eyes will enable researchers to peer into inner workings of evolution

Some jellyfish have simple eyes; some have complex ones. Other jellyfish have no eyes at all. Indeed, recent research has shown jellyfish eyes in different species have evolved separately and independently many times in different ways over many millennia, making them an ideal model to better understand how the trait expresses itself genetically. Now, a […]

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Freshwater mussels can inhibit bacterial diseases

Researchers from the University of Jyväskylä found brown trout better survived a Flavobacterium disease outbreak if the fish had larvae of freshwater pearl mussel in their gills. In another study, duck mussels were observed to filter and remove Flavobacterium from the water. Flavobacteria are a severe problem for fish farming and cause substantial economic losses. […]

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