Medical

What occurs in the brain when we are deep in slumber? What are the different stages of sleep and what role do they play in learning and memory formation? What about in anxiety and pain? Do neurons and neurotransmitters also play a role? These are the questions we will tackle in this Special Feature, using…

Share on PinterestThere is little evidence to suggest that living at high altitudes protects against COVID-19.A recent analysis found that, compared with lowland areas, there is a lower incidence of severe COVID-19 in Tibet and parts of Bolivia and Ecuador that are more than 2,500 meters above sea level.Lead study author Christian Arias-Reyes — from…

Share on PinterestMany politicians have incorrectly promoted hydroxychloroquine as an effective COVID-19 treatment.Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images. For many professionals in the science and healthcare communities, the return of hydroxychloroquine to public discussion came as a shock.Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalarial drug that researchers initially hoped could be a potential treatment for COVID-19. Over the last…

Share on PinterestBCG vaccination, often administered shortly after birth or during childhood, may slow the spread of COVID-19.There would have been approximately 80% fewer COVID-19 deaths in the United States by March 29, 2020, if the country had employed mandatory BCG vaccination since at least 2000, according to the new research.The number of these deaths…

Share on PinterestA previously unknown type of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) may provide a safe method of getting medication across the blood-brain barrier.The blood-brain barrier poses a crucial challenge for doctors hoping to deliver drugs and other therapeutic substances directly to the brain.A new study from researchers at Tufts University in Boston, MA, describes a way…