‘Roadmaps’ of the brain reveal regions vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease

Much like a supply truck crossing the countryside, the misfolded proteins that damage neurons in Alzheimer’s disease travel the “roads” of the brain, sometimes stopping and sometimes re-routing to avoid roadblocks, reports a study published in Science Advances by researchers at Van Andel Institute and University of Pennsylvania.

Saliva can be more effective than nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 testing

The collection of nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) samples for COVID-19 diagnostic testing poses challenges including exposure risk to healthcare workers and supply chain constraints. Saliva samples are easier to collect but can be mixed with mucus or blood, and some studies have found they produce less accurate results. A team of researchers has found that an …

Case study shows patient on ketogenic diet living fully with IDH1-mutant glioblastoma

A British man who rejected the standard of care to treat his brain cancer has lived with the typically fatal glioblastoma tumor growing very slowly after adopting a ketogenic diet, providing a case study that researchers say reflects the benefits of using the body’s own metabolism to fight this particularly aggressive cancer instead of chemo …

Cell phone use while driving may be tied to other risky road behaviors in young adults

A new study from researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center found that 18- to 24-year-olds who use cell phones while driving are more likely to engage in other risky driving behaviors associated with “acting-without-thinking,” a form of impulsivity. These findings suggest the importance of developing …

Children cannot understand sadness and happiness in people wearing facemasks

The U-Vip (Unit for Visually Impaired People) research team led by Monica Gori at the IIT- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology) has recently published a study which shows for the first time how children aged from 3 to 5 years old have problems in recognizing the emotions of people wearing surgical masks. …