Disease

A new article from a team of neuroscientists is warning a future ‘silent wave’ of neurodegenerative disease may be spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers suggest the SARS-CoV-2 virus can increase a person’s risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have developed a test, called the Gut Microbiome Health Index, that can predict a person’s general health status by measuring the levels of 50 gut microbial species.

A new type of nanoparticle developed at MIT deposits volatile molecules onto proteins linked to various diseases, to act as synthetic biomarker and reveal signs of pneumonia and other lung conditions in exhaled breath.

Building on the growing link between poor oral health and gastrointestinal disease, research from the University of Michigan has homed in on the possible mechanisms by which periodontitis can exacerbate the gut inflammation seen in patients with IBD.

In a new study led by the University of Verona, researchers have used plant viruses to make new nanoparticles that show promise in mice for treating autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

A study modeling the impact of rising temperatures on suitable habitats for disease carrying mosquitoes has found such regions are expanding at a steady rate, with warnings the mosquitoes could become common in southern Europe within 10 years.

Trans fats are known to be damaging to health, contributing to conditions like cardiovascular disease. Now we may know more about how they cause this damage, as scientists at Tohoku University have found that certain fatty acids speed up cell death.

One consequence of cancer and other diseases spreading throughout the body can be the hardening of the extracellular matrix surrounding cells. Scientists have now developed a new way to non-destructively detect such changes using sound waves.

Ebola, Marburg, SARS, MERS, and now the new coronavirus Covid-19, all share one thing in common – they are thought to have originated in bats. But how do bats live with the viruses that seem to so easily kill other organisms?

A journal article is offering the most thorough insights to date into the clinical characteristics of the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus. The study examined 99 cases, describing common symptoms and types of patients likely to contract the virus.

New research hints at the possibility that more effective, less toxic mosquito traps and repellents could one day be made, based on chemicals in orchids to which mosquitoes are attracted and repelled.

As the new year kicked off, a never-before-seen virus began to spread across China. So what do we know so far about this mystery virus? And how dangerous is the looming epidemic?