More men than women develop Parkinson’s disease and new work presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies says that it is do to sex differences in how brain cells change. Parkinson’s disease affects about 9 million people and becomes increasingly prevalent with age.
America had an illegal alien problem long before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, but with the border to Mexico so porous, homeland security quickly focused on heightening surveillance - and this racialized Latino immigrants, according to a sociology paper which used media accounts and government reports, often drawn on anecdotes, to make their case.
In history, 941 A.D. was unspectacular. Small local politics happened, a temple was built, Kievian Rus and the Byzantine Empire had another outbreak of hostilities - but in modern times, it has an interesting distinction. It was the year Europe's oldest living inhabitant was born.
SEATTLE -- Youth cyberbullying is dramatically more likely to occur between current or former friends and dating partners than between students who were never friends or in a romantic relationship, suggests a new study that will be presented at the 111th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).
"A common concern regarding cyberbullying is that strangers can attack someone, but here we see evidence that there are significant risks associated with close connections," said Diane Felmlee, the lead author of the study and a professor of sociology at The Pennsylvania State University. "The large magnitude of the effects of close relationships on the likelihood of cyberbullying, even after controlling for many other factors, was particularly surprising."
SEATTLE -- Death and mourning were largely considered private matters in the 20th century, with the public remembrances common in previous eras replaced by intimate gatherings behind closed doors in funeral parlors and family homes.
But social media is redefining how people grieve, and Twitter in particular -- with its ephemeral mix of rapid-fire broadcast and personal expression -- is widening the conversation around death and mourning, two University of Washington (UW) sociologists say.
G proteins are molecular switches on the insides of cell membranes. They convey important signals to the inner workings of the cells. The associated receptors are targeted by all kinds of medications. Scientists are now shedding light on precisely how the individual amino acids of the G protein move during the switching process. The discovered mechanism signposts new approaches to the design of new active agents.
The majority of smokers who successfully switch to vaping say they have fewer respiratory infections, according to a study led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).
The on-line survey of 941 respondents assessed subjective changes in respiratory symptoms in smokers who switched to vaping for at least two months. The results, published in the Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, show that 66 per cent of respondents reported an improvement in respiratory symptoms, 29 per cent reported no change and 5 per cent reported worsening.
Brivaracetam (trade name: Briviact) has been approved since January 2016 as add-on therapy for adults and adolescents from 16 years of age with epileptic seizures. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) had already examined the drug in an early benefit assessment published in May. For several reasons, the indirect comparisons presented by the drug manufacturer were unsuitable to assess an added benefit in comparison with the appropriate comparator therapy. Among other things, the manufacturer had not analysed all relevant outcomes. In the commenting procedure, the manufacturer presented a further indirect comparison.
Nivolumab has been approved since April 2016 as a checkpoint inhibitor for the treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have already undergone chemotherapy. In an early benefit assessment, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has now examined whether in these patients this monoclonal antibody offers advantages over the appropriate comparator therapy.
According to the findings, there is an indication of a major added benefit of nivolumab over docetaxel. An added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy (best supportive care) is not proven in patients for whom treatment with docetaxel or similar drugs is not indicated.
Incidence rates of early prostate cancer have continued to drop since the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in all men, according to an article published online by JAMA Oncology.
The USPSTF recommendation was released in draft form in 2011 and in final form in 2012. A decline in early prostate cancer incidence rates from 2011 to 2012 has been previously reported.
A new study led by Dr. Manel Esteller, Director of the Epigenetics and Cancer Biology Program (PEBC) of Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), ICREA researcher and Professor of Genetics at University of Barcelona (UB) discovers that colorectal tumors present epigenetic heterogeneity that relates to the clinical course of the disease. The paper describing this finding has been published in the journal Gastroenterology, the most prestigious in the field of digestive diseases and official organ of the American Society of Gastroenterology.
Kyoto, Japan -- Termites not only raid people's homes, but also the humble abodes of other happy termite couples.
In new research, Kyoto University scientists have found that male Japanese termites form homosexual couples when no females are around -- and when the chance arises, they take over a heterosexual couple's nest and kill the male so that one of them can mate with the now spouseless female. The research team's observations support a theory that homosexual couplings in invertebrates have evolutionary advantages.
The term "healthy obesity" has gained traction over the past 15 years, but scientists have recently questioned its very existence. A study published August 18 in Cell Reports provides further evidence against the notion of a healthy obese state, revealing that white fat tissue samples from obese individuals classified as either metabolically healthy or unhealthy actually show nearly identical, abnormal changes in gene expression in response to insulin stimulation.
