It’s become the most-talked-about choir practice of 2020: In early March, as the novel coronavirus quickly spread in Washington state, a local choir group met for their weekly rehearsal. Despite taking extra precautions, such as having hand sanitizer at the door and members not hugging or...
All viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have the same goal: invade our cells, use our cells’ internal machinery to make copies of itself, and then release the newly made virus to infect more of our cells. But protease inhibitors, a class of drugs long used to treat HIV...
Around the globe, health officials are recommending that people who’ve been in a city or region that has a high number of COVID-19 cases should go into a 14-day period of self-quarantine. And for people who’ve been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus — for example, at...
In a new Get Science series, we’re exploring how recent insights into RNA’s role in a variety of biological processes are helping scientists develop promising scientific breathroughs that may lead to new medicines for diseases, such as cancer and autoimmune conditions. ...
It’s an experience familiar to almost anyone with a family member or friend who has fought a terminal illness, such as cancer or heart failure. In the final stages of life, it can seem as though their loved one is wasting away. This dramatic loss of muscle and fat is caused by cachexia, a wasting...
This is the first in a two-part series. ...
One of the biggest public health problems of our time is likely soon to face off with a new wave of cutting-edge medicines. As non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, continues to be a growing public health threat, scientists are racing...
If you’ve ever tried an at-home genetic testing kit, you’re familiar with whole-genome sequencing, the technology that allows people to quickly and easily map their DNA. This same technology is now being used to track the genomes of potentially deadly microbes. ...
For people who have atopic dermatitis (AD) — an autoimmune condition that causes painful, itchy, and inflamed skin — symptoms often flare up at night, leading to disrupted sleep. Until recently, there hasn’t been a way to truly capture how much a person’s quality of life is impacted by these...