June 22, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the role of structural racism in shaping public health. In the United States, structural racism can shape many aspects of life in Black communities, including income, education, and the criminal justice system. A new study in Minneapolis supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is examining how police violence — one form of structural racism — and COVID-19 have affected the health of Black mothers and babies during the pandemic. The study is being conducted by Rachel Hardeman, Ph.D., a University of Minnesota reproductive health equity researcher who grew up eight blocks from where George Floyd was killed.
How COVID-19 and Community Violence Affect Mothers and Babies
June 21, 2022
Overweight and obesity are concerns for many adults in the U.S. Recently published research supported by the NIDDK, NCATS and others, examined the efficacy of a novel, regulation of cues-based weight loss intervention based on behavioral susceptibility theory and designed to target appetitive traits. Although there are many weight loss interventions that show promise, not all interventions work for everyone, and sustaining weight loss after the intervention period continues to be a significant challenge. This heterogenous response to these interventions are likely due different underlying factors that impact an individual’s ability to lose weight and maintain weight loss. The behavioral susceptibility theory posits that genetically determined appetitive traits, such as eating onset driven by food responsiveness and eating offset driven by satiety responsiveness, interact with the current food environment and result in overeating and weight gain. Previous research suggests that both food responsiveness and satiety responsiveness are highly heritable and durable traits that are shaped by environmental and individual level factors.
June 21, 2022
A robot operating with a popular Internet-based artificial intelligence system consistently gravitates to men over women, white people over people of color, and jumps to conclusions about peoples' jobs after a glance at their face. The work is believed to be the first to show that robots loaded with an accepted and widely-used model operate with significant gender and racial biases.
June 21, 2022
A new study reveals that females are 'significantly' more likely to suffer from Long COVID than males and will experience substantially different symptoms.
June 20, 2022
Some people who experience heart failure have less biodiversity in their gut or have elevated gut metabolites, both of which are associated with more hospital visits and greater risk of death, according to a systematic review of research.
June 16, 2022
More than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, scientists have become increasingly aware of a group of patients -- so-called 'long haulers' -- who remain plagued by a combination of symptoms long after the infection passes. In a new study, researchers describe their findings related to their multidisciplinary clinical work in this area.
June 16, 2022
Over-the-counter COVID tests can quickly show whether you are infected with SARS-CoV-2. But if you have a positive result, there's no equivalent at-home test to assess how long you're protected against reinfection. Researchers now report a simple, accurate glucose-meter-based test incorporating a novel fusion protein. The researchers say that consumers could someday use this assay to monitor their own SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels.
A glucose meter could soon say whether you have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies
June 16, 2022
A common hormone disorder among women of reproductive age has been linked to an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events and pregnancy outcomes at the time of birth, according to a new study.
June 16, 2022
Scientists have identified the biochemical signals that control the emergence of the body pattern in the primate embryo. This will guide work to understand birth defects and pregnancy loss in humans.
Molecular 3D-maps unlock new ways of studying human reproduction
June 16, 2022
During recent decades, the rate of infertility among women in the United States has remained largely the same, according to researchers. Their new analysis of data collected from 1995 and 2019 found that infertility is more common among women who are older, who are non-Hispanic Black and who have less income or education, and women without access to sexual and reproductive health services.
