Before March, most of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes that researchers worldwide isolated and sequenced encoded an aspartic acid (D) at residue 614 of the viral spike protein. By April, the majority of viral sequences harbored a single mutation in the genome converting the D to a glycine (G). Presently, the 614D variant has been all but […]

The ongoing search for effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease has focused on aggregates of amyloid-β peptides, which are the hallmark of the disease. However, efforts to inhibit one of the proteins responsible for producing amyloid-β, called BACE1, have led to several failed Phase 3 clinical trials. But researchers aren’t giving up hope. A study published […]

Rather than introducing small chunks of DNA as other viruses do, some giant viruses can contribute more than 1 million base pairs to a host’s genome, broadening the ways in which viruses may shape eukaryote evolution. In the ultimate game of genetic hide and seek, scientists at Virginia Tech have identified several instances in which […]

Infusions of donor T cells to fight the cancer often fail, but sodium bicarbonate can counter lactic acid produced by leukemia cells, potentially improving remission rates in mice and humans. Patients with acute myeloid leukemia who relapse after stem cell transplantation have just a small chance of survival: doctors can give them additional donor T […]

Bat species use different strategies to dampen immune activation in response to viruses. Bats act as reservoirs for lots of viruses—including coronaviruses such as those that cause Middle East respiratory syndrome, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and possibly COVID-19—but they don’t often get sick themselves. How they avoid viral illness has been an open question. Researchers […]

Doctors don’t regularly come across undiscovered bits of human anatomy, but a team of physicians recently reported a never-before-described set of salivary glands in patients’ necks. The first hint of this new gland emerged while Wouter Vogel, a radiation oncologist at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NCI), was probing for damage to salivary glands after radiotherapy […]

Presentation of Case. Dr. Kevin L. Ard: A 63-year-old man was evaluated at this hospital in the spring because of fever, confusion, headache, garbled speech, fatigue, vision changes, lymphocytic pleocytosis, and an elevated protein level in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Approximately 5 years…

Plastic has long been a major source of pollution in landfills and in oceans, especially as it degrades into pieces smaller than 5 millimeters, termed “microplastics.” Experimental studies have shown that these particles and the cocktail of chemicals they carry can wreak havoc on physiology, reproduction, development, and behavior in a number of nonhuman species. […]

Accurate assessment of the optic-nerve head, the optic disk, by funduscopy is an important, cost-effective, and noninvasive diagnostic tool for a variety of ocular, neurologic, and inflammatory conditions. Unfortunately, reliable funduscopic assessment is challenging for clinicians working with…

Examination of the optic nerves is a fundamental component of the clinical examination, but direct ophthalmoscopy is usually avoided or poorly performed by general physicians and nonophthalmic specialists. Detection of papilledema, defined as optic-nerve edema from intracranial hypertension, and…