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Cambridge scientists have identified a signature in the blood that could help predict how well an individual will respond to vaccines. The discovery, published today in Nature Communications, may explain why, even among vulnerable patient groups, some individuals have better responses to vaccines than others.

A team of medical scientists and engineers affiliated with several institutions in China has developed a microneedle-based patch that adheres to surfaces to inject drugs, inspired by the mechanism used by the blue-ringed octopus to deliver venom. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their patch and its performance during testing.

A new study led by scientists from TUD Dresden University of Technology reveals that the cells in the fruit fly brain possess a remarkable ability to shift their energy production to fats and send signals to the body’s other organs, prompting them to start delivering lipids from fat stores to the brain during periods of starvation. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

THE merger between Atlas Mara and Access Bank Zambia will be done within the course of this years and it is expected to grow bigger once the development takes place.

A new drug developed by QIMR Berghofer could transform the treatment of COVID-19 by potentially protecting against infection by any SARS-CoV-2 variant and reversing the persistent inflammation that is a major driver of debilitating long COVID.

In the midst of a global opioid epidemic, a team of scientists is exploring natural killer (NK) cells as an alternative treatment for neuropathic pain. In an Opinion piece published June 27th in the journal Trends in Neurosciences, the researchers gather existing evidence for the impact of NK cells in pain, pointing to their ability to prune the damaged nerve cells that may cause it. They urge the scientific community to explore biological mechanisms underlying NK cell activity to move towards a realistic pain therapy that is both effective and safe.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have used powerful new brain imaging techniques to reveal a neurochemical imbalance within regions of the frontal lobes in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The research findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

Body mass index has long been used by doctors as the standard method for measuring health—and often still is. But earlier this month, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a new policy that cautions medical professionals from using the body mass index (BMI) as a stand-alone clinical tool during patient consultations. In 2022, England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) also made similar changes to obesity guidelines, recommending that waist-to-hip ratio be used alongside BMI.

People with obesity who suffer a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) may be at risk for prolonged mTBI-related symptoms, likely due to increased systemic inflammation, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Measuring human brain activity down to the cellular level—until now, this has been possible only to a limited extent. With a new approach developed by researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), it will now be much easier. The method relies on microelectrodes and the support of brain tumor patients who participated in studies while undergoing “awake” brain surgery. This enabled the team to identify how our brain processes numbers.