Health

Scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have tested a new vaccine, COVID-19, which proved effective against mutated variants of coronavirus. The results of the study were published in the journal bioRxiv.

Twenty-four people took part in the clinical trial, most of whom were over 64 years old and had already received four or five doses of the vaccine before. The updated COVID-19 vaccine caused a 10-fold increase in antibodies not only against XBB, but also against newer and more mutated strains such as BA.2.86.

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Scientists at Texas A&M University have developed a new family of polymers capable of destroying pathogenic bacteria without causing antibiotic resistance. The results of the study are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

According to the authors of the scientific paper, the new compounds act through a mechanism against which microbes do not develop resistance. These molecules belong to cationic polymers, which are a promising class of bioactive agents that disrupt bacterial cell membranes.

In the study, the scientists synthesised the polymers from a molecule of nonbornane, a hydrocarbon consisting of two cycles. In a process called cycle-opening metathesis polymerisation, nonbornan condenses with a molecule of N-methylpyridinium to form a large molecule consisting of the same repeating motif.

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Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a vibrating capsule that creates a feeling of satiety when swallowed. This is reported in an article published in the journal Science Advances.

Experiments showed that in animals who were given this pill 20 minutes before eating, there was a release of hormones that signal satiety, and food intake decreased by about 40 per cent.

When the stomach swells, specialised cells called mechanoreceptors sense this distension and send signals to the brain via the vagus nerve. As a result, the brain stimulates the production of insulin, as well as hormones such as C-peptide, PYY and GTP-1. All these hormones help people digest food, feel satiated and stop eating. At the same time, levels of ghrelin, a hormone that triggers feelings of hunger, are reduced.

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Scientists at the University of Leeds have identified a rare condition that causes newborn babies to have extra fingers and toes, as well as various birth defects. According to the study, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, the anomaly is caused by a genetic mutation in the MAX gene.

The researchers compared the DNA of three people with a rare combination of physical traits, namely polydactyly and macrocephaly, when the head circumference is much larger than average. It turned out that they all had alterations in the Myc-associated factor X (MAX) gene, which is a transcription factor and is involved in the regulation of cell function.

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Scientists have identified a wide range of factors in the development of dementia at an early age. The results of the study, published in the journal JAMA Neurology, refute the notion that genetics is the only cause of this disease.

Specialists analysed data on more than 350 thousand UK Biobank participants under the age of 65. A wide range of risk factors were assessed, from genetic predisposition to lifestyle and environmental influences.

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