The British Medical Journal published a paper that revealed a correlation between the administering of the A/H1N1 2009 influenza vaccine and an increased risk of narcolepsy in children and adolescents in England. The study, conducted by researchers from the Health Protection Agency and two Cambridge hospitals, confirmed previous findings from Finland and Sweden which first suggested this possible association in 2010 and 2012.
Pregnant women who were given H1N1 influenza vaccine in 2009 were less likely to face adverse fetal outcomes such as preterm birth. Also, they gave birth to heavier infants. These are the conclusions of a study published on Clinical Infectious Diseases, coordinated by Dr. Saad Omer, of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta.
That graphene is the material of the future has been said in all the word's languages, or better, at least in all the European ones. The reason is that on 28 January 2013, the EU announced that it will allocate the unprecedented amount of one billion euro to subsidize research on this innovative material, which in 2010 earned its two inventors, the Russians Andre Geim e Kostya Novoselov
The digital revolution has radically changed the processes of production and dissemination of scientific results. Scientific societies, journals’ editorial boards and funding agencies now seem to be aware of the fact that a robust and effective form of data sharing is essential in order to fully exploit new achievements, optimize the use of resources and contribute to the transparency of science. Today, it would seem that the process is now well under way, and it is only a question of time before the results arrive.
The notion that premature babies are likely to face cognitive impairment during their life has been challenged by two recent and independent studies.
David Charles Baulcombe answers to the audience questions after his specch during the Evolution Day 2013 at the Natural History Museum in Milan.
Measles, mumps and rubella outbreaks still represent an healthcare issue, even though major advancements have been done towards their eradication. A poor inclination towards Mmr (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccination may constitute a major cause of increased risk to contract one of these diseases amongst specific population groups like migrants, alternative medicine users, some religious groups, healthcare professionals.
Heritable variation between members of a population is normally attributed to genetic variation. Genes affecting fitness may be present or absent in different individuals or they may have dna mutations affecting their expression or the properties of the encoded protein. However, there are examples of heritable variation that are not associated with changes to the sequence of dna. Plants with differences in flower shape or fruit colour, for example, may have the same dna sequence.
Avoiding close contacts with infected people could not be enough as a defense against flu.
Tumors release microvescicles containing protein and RNA fragments, called exosomes, into cerebral spinal fluid, blood, and urine. Exosome Diagnostics, a company based in New York, has developed a diagnostic test able to separate exosomes from bio-fluids and to extract their relevant genomic information.
