Category Biology/Biotechnology

Patients with psoriasis have reported that glycerin, an inexpensive, harmless, slightly sweet liquid high on the list of ingredients in many skin lotions, is effective at combatting their psoriasis and now scientists have objective evidence to support their reports.

They found that whether applied topically or ingested in drinking water, glycerin, or glycerol, helps calm the classic scaly, red, raised and itchy patches in their psoriasis model, Dr. Wendy Bollag, cell physiologist and skin researcher at the Medical College of Georgia and Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center and her colleagues report in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

The studies also provide more evidence of the different ways glycerin enables the healthy maturation of skin cells through four stages...

Benefits of nitrogen-fixing bacteria could aid efforts towards farming soils on Mars. Clover plants grown in Mars-like soils experience significantly more growth when inoculated with symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria than when left uninoculated. Franklin Harris of Colorado State University, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on September 29, 2021.

As Earth’s population grows, researchers are studying the possibility of farming Martian soils, or “regoli...

Two thirds of patients found relief; benefits lasted one year. Rethinking what causes pain and how great of a threat it is can provide chronic pain patients with lasting relief and alter brain networks associated with pain processing, according to new University of Colorado Boulder-led research.

The study, published Sept. 29 in JAMA Psychiatry, found that two-thirds of chronic back pain patients who underwent a four-week psychological treatment called Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) were pain-free or nearly pain-free post-treatment. And most maintained relief for one year.

The findings provide some of the strongest evidence yet that a psychological treatment can provide potent and durable relief for chronic pain, which afflicts one in five Americans.

“For a long time we have ...

Findings help explain COVID-19 reinfections, Delta variant infections despite vaccination efforts. Using bioinformatics tools and programming, researchers identified five specific mutations that are far more prevalent in Delta Plus infections compared to Delta infections, including one mutation, K417N, that is present in all Delta Plus infections but not present in nearly any Delta infections. The findings provide important clues to researchers about the structural changes to the virus recently and highlight the need to expand the toolbox in the fight against COVID-19.

When Kamlendra Singh flew back to Missouri from India in April, he developed a cough and fever on the plane, despite being vaccinated for COVID-19 and testing negative for the virus right before departure.

Still, ...