findings

Since the start of the global pandemic, researchers have been racing to figure out who is most at risk from SARS-CoV-2, and why.Now, a new population-based study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found evidence of a curious coronavirus advantage for those with allergies.  In an analysis of more than 4,000 people who all lived in households that included minors, researchers noted several curious trends in terms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including that individuals with a food allergy were only about half as…

Smoking cigarettes is the number one risk factor for lung cancer, with tobacco products causing up to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in the United States. Without a doubt, the safest way to protect yourself against lung cancer is to avoid smoking cigarettes, and yet, at the same time, it's also true that not all lifelong smokers are doomed to develop cancer.  In fact, the vast majority don't. Scientists have long wondered why, and a new study adds weight to the idea that genetics has a role to play.Among people who…

The ancient Maya once took enormous pride in their teeth. Long before Europeans were filling their cavities with gold, people in Mesoamerica were flashing grins bedazzled with jade, turquoise, gold, jet, or hematite gems.  Male or female, rich or poor, it appears many individuals visited the dentist as young adults to have their teeth drilled and filled with jewels, precious stones, or minerals.The inlays would have lasted a lifetime and likely had spiritual meaning. But dental bling at this time may not have been purely…

Mars is well-known for its seasonal dust storms, which can sometimes grow to encompass the entire planet.In June 2018, the dust storms became so severe that they obscured most of the planet's surface, causing NASA to lose contact with Opportunity, which eventually proved fatal to the record-breaking rover.  Understanding these storms and what causes them is critical to ensuring that solar-powered robotic missions continue to operate and future crewed missions can remain safe.Specifically, scientists are looking for…

A few years after the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic doctors around the world began to notice an increase in new Parkinson’s disease cases. This link between viral infection and increased Parkinson’s risk has been an ongoing mystery to scientists for well over a century. And the association isn’t just limited to the H1N1 influenza virus behind the 1918 pandemic. A variety of other viral infections have been linked to increased Parkinson’s risk, from Japanese encephalitis to HIV.Early in 2020, as the novel coronavirus…

A new study led by researchers at McGill University challenges current notions of how acute pain is treated. The findings suggest treating some forms of acute pain with anti-inflammatory drugs may actually increase the risk of that pain developing into a chronic condition.The focus of the research was to look at what causes acute pain to transition into a chronic condition. The first step involved studying the expression of certain genes in a cohort of patients with acute lower back pain.The first clue something unusual…