C. elegans study reveals hidden mechanism of swallowing

Model illustrating the functions of pezo-1 in the PI valve-mediated pharyngeal plunge. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54362-3 A research team led by Professor Kim Kyuhyung at the Department of…

Five years on from the pandemic, long COVID keeps lives on hold

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Three years ago, Andrea Vanek was studying to be an arts and crafts teacher when spells of dizziness and heart palpitations suddenly started to make it…

Been drinking and your heart’s fluttering? You may have ‘holiday heart’

Credit: CC0 Public Domain It’s the time of year for workplace Christmas parties, and gatherings with family and friends. Maybe you’ll drink a lot in one go. Then you feel…

Opioid abuse can change the brain

“This is your brain on drugs,” the old anti-drug admonition says, and now a new study has found there’s something to that chestnut. Opioid addicts experienced structural and functional changes…

What is the drug captagon and how is it linked to Syria’s fallen Assad regime?

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain After the fall of the al-Assad regime in Syria, large stockpiles of the illicit drug captagon have reportedly been uncovered. The stockpiles, found by Syrian rebels,…

Will we have a COVID wave, spike or blip this Christmas? It depends where you live

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain As the holiday season approaches, COVID cases are rising again in Australia, particularly in Victoria and Tasmania. This is now the fourth year running with a…

Collaborative seeks to change children’s lives through genetics

Overview of participants and data included in the CRDC. Credit: npj Genomic Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41525-024-00441-9 A 14-year-old girl was having back pain after a car accident and visited an…

A low omega-6, omega-3 rich diet and fish oil may slow prostate cancer growth

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A study led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators offers new evidence that dietary changes may help reduce cancer cell growth in patients undergoing…

Japanese researchers test pioneering drug to regrow teeth

Handout images from the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital show before (top) and after images of the regrowth of teeth in a ferret (centre) and mice (R and L). People…

U.S. adult obesity rate fell in 2023, as use of GLP-1 meds rose

The U.S. obesity rate declined for the first time in a decade last year, coinciding with the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss meds, a new study finds. Data on almost 17…