Gene associated with better immune response, protection after COVID-19 vaccination

Researchers from the University of Oxford have today reported new findings from a study exploring how certain genes can help generate a strong immune response following vaccination with two commonly used COVID-19 vaccines—identifying a particular gene associated with a high antibody response.

Secret structure in the wiring diagram of the brain

In the brain, our perception arises from a complex interplay of neurons that are connected via synapses. But the number and strength of connections between certain types of neurons can vary. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University Medical Center Mainz and the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU), together with a research team from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, as part of the Priority Program Computational Connectomics (SPP2041), have now discovered that the structure of the seemingly irregular neuronal connection strengths contains a hidden order. This is essential for the stability of the neuronal network. The study has now been published in the journal PNAS.

A new system that could improve robot navigation in uneven terrains

As mobile robots become more advanced, they also become easier to deploy in a wide range of real-world settings. One of the factors that will enable their large-scale implementation is their ability to autonomously move around within different types of environments.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-technology-news/a-new-system-that-could-improve-robot-navigation-in-uneven-terrains

With morphing limbs, a robot that travels by land and water

Imagine being able to morph your legs into flippers before you jump in the water. Yale researchers have created a robot that accomplishes this feat through a process they dubbed "adaptive morphogenesis."

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-technology-news/with-morphing-limbs-a-robot-that-travels-by-land-and-water

Aspirin as effective as standard blood thinner to prevent life-threatening blood clots and death after fracture surgery

Patients who have surgery to repair bone fractures typically receive a type of injectable blood thinner, low-molecular-weight heparin, to prevent life-threatening blood clots, but a new clinical trial found that over-the-counter aspirin is just as effective. The findings, presented today at the Orthopedic Trauma Association (OTA) annual meeting in Tampa, FL, could cause surgeons to change their practice and administer aspirin instead to these patients.

New omicron subvariant largely evades neutralizing antibodies

A study at Karolinska Institutet shows that the coronavirus variant BA.2.75.2, an omicron sublineage, largely evades neutralizing antibodies in the blood and is resistant to several monoclonal antibody antiviral treatments. The findings, published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, suggest a risk of increased SARS-CoV-2 infections this winter, unless the new updated bivalent vaccines help to boost immunity in the population.

Europe's high mortality linked to antimicrobial resistance needs action now

The latest and most comprehensive analysis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and its impact in the entire WHO European Region (53 countries) was published in a paper today in The Lancet Public Health. Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington's School of Medicine, Oxford Center for Global Health Research, Center for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, and other collaborators analyzed 23 bacterial pathogens and 88 pathogen-drug combinations to release the following findings:

Talk therapy could improve mental health of people with dementia

People living with dementia may benefit from talking therapies available on the NHS, if they suffer from anxiety or depression, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.