mediator

Researchers at Boston University have identified a peptide, PACAP, in the brain as a key contributor to heavy alcohol drinking. By inhibiting PACAP in the brain’s BNST area, their study significantly reduced alcohol consumption, suggesting new avenues for treating alcohol addiction.Alcohol ranks as the world’s most widespread addictive substance. In the United States, the annual cost of excessive alcohol consumption amounts to $249 billion, and it leads to roughly 88,000 fatalities each year, along with numerous chronic…

As Hollywood was bracing for the possibility of the first simultaneous strike by Hollywood writers and actors in more than sixty years, the Screen Actors Guild said it had agreed to a “last-minute request” to work with a federal mediator in contract negotiations with film and TV studios.But the union said it would not extend its Wednesday night deadline to reach a deal before its 160,000 members go on strike, citing their frustration with the studios’ negotiating tactics.“We will not be manipulated by this cynical ploy to…

Negotiators for SAG-AFTRA and the major studios have agreed to bring in a federal mediator to help resolve a bitter contract dispute, even as the union raised fresh doubts about whether a strike could be averted.Amid rising tensions, the union said in a statement Tuesday that it had agreed to a “last-minute request” from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to tap a neutral third party to help resolve an impasse in negotiations. But the guild accused the AMPTP of leaking information about the mediation…

Christian Bale says he acted as an ad hoc “mediator” on the set of the 2014 crime film American Hustle.Director David O Russell has been said to have regularly fought with Bale’s co-star Amy Adams during production.In 2016, Adams claimed that Russell had made her cry “most” days while filming took place, saying: “I was really just devastated on set.”“He was hard on me, that’s for sure,” she told GQ, revealing that she had no intention of working with the filmmaker again.In a new interview with GQ, Bale opened up about his…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating disease that currently has no cure, but scientists may have uncovered a new therapy involving a lipid that regulates inflammation. Tests in mice showed that administering the lipid reduced symptoms and slowed disease progression, hinting at an underlying mechanism for the condition.MS is an autoimmune disorder characterized by chronic inflammation, as the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin, the protective coating around neurons. Over time, the destruction of this coating…