News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Two babies have received the first-ever gene therapy for Tay-Sachs disease after over 14 years of development. Tay-Sachs is a severe neurological disease caused by a deficiency in an enzyme called HexA. This enzyme breaks down a fatlike substance that normally … Read more
Alzheimer’s is an insidious brain disease marked by a slow mental decline that can develop unnoticed for decades before symptoms arise, but hidden signs of the condition might exist much sooner. New research suggests that the thinning of a person’s retina – the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye – in … Read more
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage around the world, another disease could be on its way out. Only 14 cases of infection with Guinea worm—a parasite that causes painful skin lesions—were reported in humans in 2021. This is the lowest tally ever for an infection that, as recently as the 1980s, was found in … Read more
Scientists may have discovered a new way of tackling the lingering, debilitating effects of Lyme disease, the tick-borne illness that can lead to flu-like symptoms and a rash called erythema migrans. The latest research suggests that dead fragments of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, continue to hang around in the body … Read more
Long before Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed, once-trusty proteins start to knot together in the brain in a process that may be hastened by poor sleep. Now, scientists have uncovered a possible mechanism linking disruptions in circadian rhythms and the build-up of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, by studying the rhythmic operation of immune cells and … Read more
The first evidence of a respiratory infection in a dinosaur suggests that a 15-year-old diplodocid suffered from coughing, sneezing and fever before dying Earth 10 February 2022 By Matthew Sparkes An artist’s impression of Dolly the dinosaur Woodruff et al. (2022) and Corbin Rainbolt The fossil record has revealed dinosaurs with broken bones, osteoarthritis and … Read more
Protein plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease may build up in the brain if sleep is disrupted because this affects cells that normally destroy them, according to a study involving mouse immune cells Health 10 February 2022 By Alex Wilkins Artist’s impression of amyloid plaques forming between neurons nobeastsofierce Science / Alamy Stock Photo The immune … Read more
In popular imagination, the Black Death is the most devastating pandemic to have ever hit Europe. Between 1346 and 1353, plague is believed to have reached nearly, if not every, corner of the continent, killing 30-50 percent of the population. This account is based on texts and documents written by state or church officials … Read more
Since 2013, medical experts in West Africa have been playing whack-a-mole with what looks like the same strain of Ebola virus, and we don’t really know why it continues to pop back up. Even though we keep hammering away at the virus with effective antibody treatments and vaccines, this incredibly fatal infection keeps re-emerging … Read more
As we battle against our own pandemic, sea stars are being killed in the millions by a horrible condition that melts them into a sickly goo. Sadly, there’s no straightforward way to help these animals, such as protecting them with a vaccine, so conservation biologists have been desperately trying to find another way. In … Read more