TUESDAY, Feb. 23, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Researchers may have uncovered a key reason some people remain sharp as a tack into their 80s and 90s: Their brains resist the buildup of certain proteins that mark Alzheimer’s disease. The study focused on what scientists have dubbed “super agers” — aContinue Reading

TUESDAY, Feb. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Gene variants associated with a rare autoimmune disorder called Addison’s disease have been pinpointed, according to researchers. “By studying the single largest collection of samples from patients with Addison’s disease, we’ve been able to carry out the first genetic study of the diseaseContinue Reading

THURSDAY, Feb. 11, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Certain genetic factors in people with Down syndrome may increase their COVID-19 risks. Previous studies have found that people with Down syndrome are 10 times more likely to die from COVID-19, and experts have said they should be among those given priority forContinue Reading

TUESDAY, Feb. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Like influenza, could COVID-19 evolve to wax and wane with the seasons? New research suggests it might. Early in the pandemic, some experts suggested that SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — may behave like many other coronaviruses that circulate more widelyContinue Reading

THURSDAY, Jan. 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) — An experimental gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy shows promise, a small study suggests. The severe form of muscular dystrophy — which affects about one in 3,500 males born each year in the United States — causes muscles to progressively weaken and loseContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People who’ve recovered from severe COVID-19 may have stronger long-term immune protection from reinfection than those with milder illness, researchers report. They examined blood samples from 39 COVID-19 patients and 10 people who hadn’t been exposed to the virus (their blood samples wereContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The relationship between humans and man’s best friend is an enduring one. New research suggests that not only did dog domestication likely happen sometime before 23,000 years ago, but the first people to enter the Americas more than 15,000 years ago probably broughtContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2021 (HealthDay News) — New research reveals why Black Americans might be more vulnerable to colon cancer than white people are. The researchers examined age-related “epigenetic” changes in colon tissue. These changes affect how genes work. The investigators found that in both Black and white people, oneContinue Reading

THURSDAY, Jan. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Biomarkers in sperm may help identify men at risk of fathering children with autism, researchers say. For the study, investigators examined sperm epigenetics — the molecular processes that affect gene expression — in 13 men who fathered sons with autism and 13 whoContinue Reading

MONDAY, Jan. 11, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A special calorie-burning type of body fat appears to help protect against an array of chronic ailments, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, a new study suggests. Brown fat generates heat by drawing glucose from the bloodstream, as opposedContinue Reading

MONDAY, Jan. 11, 2021 (HealthDay News) — New research on illness in English bulldogs has discovered a previously unknown genetic health condition — and could save the lives of some beloved family pets. Researchers were attempting to better understand B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (BCLL), a common cancer, when they uncoveredContinue Reading