Health News

Could our immune system be why COVID-19 is so deadly?

Respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 (causing COVID-19) can often catalyze an overactive immune response that leads to a life-threatening cycle, known as a cytokine storm. Analyzing cytokine responses from patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and similar common respiratory viruses has unearthed glaringly important differences in how SARS-CoV-2 affects cytokines compared to other common respiratory viruses. The […]

Health News

Why Sleeping Naked Is Actually Good For You

There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep in your bed, especially during the winter months when it’s cold outside. Sunk deep in your sheets and covered by your comforter and comfy flannel jammies, it almost feels like your bed is giving you a big bear hug. But even if you love snoozing in layers, you […]

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Why cats and dogs may need their own COVID-19 vaccines

Cats and dogs may eventually need their own COVID-19 vaccines to prevent the coronavirus from evolving further and “spilling” back to humans, according to one group of researchers. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is known to infect a number of animals besides humans, including cats, dogs, minks, tigers and gorillas. However, at this time, […]

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Why it’s too soon for Australia to legalize ecstasy and magic mushrooms to treat mental illness

While the public focus remains on COVID vaccines, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) continues to evaluate a range of proposals around the provision of medical treatments in Australia. The regulatory body is currently considering whether psychiatrists should be allowed to prescribe MDMA and psilocybin to treat mental illness. The TGA will announce its interim decision […]

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Here’s Why You Need Both COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, is finally here. Just three days after the FDA granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), U.S. health care professionals began receiving their first shots. (Those in long-term care facilities are expected to start receiving theirs next week.) The key thing to note: This vaccine has two shots. To be fully effective—we’re taking […]

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Why can’t some people admit defeat when they lose?

When US President-Elect Joe Biden and Deputy Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris gave their victory speeches on Saturday evening, local time, the tally of Electoral College votes showed they had decisively passed the crucial 270-vote threshold, delivering them to the White House this January. Tradition dictates the losing candidate also gives their own speech to concede […]

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Researching why our brains are able learn and memorize

The long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of the strength of hippocampal excitatory synapse involved in learning and memory formation in brain have been separately explained, but the molecular mechanism that comprehensively explains them has not been elucidated. Associate Professor Dr. Tomonari Sumi, Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University, and Assistant Professor Dr. […]