Vly News - Professional news Platform

Tasmanian Biosecurity officials have stopped trying to contain the blueberry rust fungus — saying “the benefits of containment no longer outweigh the burden.” Key points: Fungal diseases cause extensive defoliation and can kill plants with severe infections Tasmania has struggled unsuccessfully to contain it Listing it as endemic means that restrictions on infected properties will be removed and farmers will have to live with, and manage The fungus that first arrived in the island nation in 2014 can cause extensive defoliation of blueberry crops and sometimes plant death. Tasmanian Biosecurity said it proved impossible to stop the spread of the fungus, which spreads via spores in the air, contaminated clothing or equipment. “The containment approach we’ve taken over the last few years is clearly not working anymore,” said chief plant protection officer Andrew Bishop. “It worked really well for the first few years, and was always meant to try and slow down the spread to allow manufactur

This uncommon genetic disease was found to be caused by variations in the gene encoding the Glutamate Ionotropic Receptor AMPA Type 1 Subunit protein. A new genetic disease slows children’s brain development. A new genetic disease that causes the brains of some children to grow abnormally and delay intellectual development has been discovered by scientists. Most people with this disease, which is still so new that it doesn’t have a name, struggle with significant learning challenges that negatively impact their quality of life. Changes in the gene coding for a protein known as Glutamate Ionotropic Receptor AMPA Type Subunit 1 (GRIA1) is the underlying cause of this unusual genetic disorder, according to an international team of researchers from the universities of Portsmouth, Southampton and Copenhagen. Variant discovery will assist clinicians in developing focused treatments to assist patients and their families and will pave the way for prenatal screening and diagnosis. The GRIA1 gen

Summary: New machine learning algorithms are able to accurately detect cognitive impairment by analyzing voice recordings. Source: Boston University It takes a lot of time—and money—to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. After running a lengthy face-to-face neuropsychological exam, the doctor must copy, review, and analyze each response in detail. But researchers at Boston University have developed a new tool that could automate the process and eventually allow it to move online. Their machine learning-powered computational model can detect cognitive impairment from audio recordings of neuropsychological tests—no in-person appointment required. Their findings were published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association . “This approach brings us one step closer to early intervention,” said Ioannis Paschalidis, co-author of the paper and BU College of Engineering Distinguished Professor of Engineering. He said faster early detection of Alzheimer’s could prompt larger

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss and avoidable blindness in working-age Australians. It is now three years since the launch of KeepSight, Australia’s diabetes eye disease screening initiative that is turning attention to diabetes-related vision loss. In Part 2 of National Diabetes Week (10-16 July), Outlook check with some of the program’s key stakeholders. Black Taryn, Diabetes Australia – national program and policy director The daily burden of living with diabetes can be significant. It is estimated that people with diabetes face up to 180 diabetes-related decisions every day – that’s more than 65,000 extra decisions a year. Combined with busy personal and professional lives, remembering and scheduling regular eye exams can be ignored or put on a priority ‘list’. Add to that the global pandemic and significant disruption to routine health care over the past two years, and it’s no surprise that people’s regular eye exams may have fallen by the wayside

Ghana has reported its first suspected case of Marburg virus disease (MVD), after initial samples were taken from two patients who died after showing positive symptoms for the dengue virus. Key points: WHO says it is working with Ghanaian authorities to prepare for a possible outbreak The Ghana Health Service says no new cases have been reported since samples were taken two weeks ago There are 34 people quarantined The samples have been sent to the Pasteur Institute in Senegal, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Collaborative Center, for processing before being officially confirmed as cases. The patients, who were both from the southern Ashanti region but were not related, were showing symptoms including diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting. They were taken to a district hospital in the Ashanti area, but later died. “No new cases have been reported since the two samples were taken two weeks ago,” the Ghana Health Service said in a statement. The service said 34 people who had contac

Washington [US], July 9 (ANI): Exposure to copper in the environment and the protein alpha-synuclein in the human brain may play an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. The researchers were able to show how the protein takes on an unusual shape when exposed to large amounts of copper ions. These findings could help develop new strategies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The causes of Parkinson’s disease are not fully understood. Long before the onset of characteristic muscle tremors, the appearance of faulty proteins in the brain can be the first sign. Researchers at Empa and the University of Limerick in Ireland have now taken a closer look at the abnormal shape of these alpha-synucleins in the form of a protein ring. By doing so, they were also able to visualize at the nanoscale the relationship with environmental pollution by copper. It highlights the development of neurodegenerative diseases and the role of biometals in the disease proces

Australia’s largest sample collection of wild birds has been established by experts across the country, including a Deakin University researcher. This is what is shown about zoonotic diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest zoonotic disease – caused by germs that spread from animals to humans. But an outbreak of monkeypox and Japanese encephalitis means keeping up with viral traffic has never been more important. Experts say it is only a matter of time before another new infectious virus outbreak strikes. A new virus that combines human influenza and avian influenza is a prime candidate for the next pandemic. Bird flu is causing problems globally and in Australia. In 2020 alone, nearly half a million Victorian birds were culled following several outbreaks involving three strains of the virus. While avian influenza viruses generally attach themselves to infecting birds, they sometimes make potentially lethal jumps to other animals, including humans. Fortunately, research to an

Credit: Public Domain CC0 The increased incidence of potentially cancer-causing liver disease in children is associated with prenatal exposure to several endocrine-disrupting chemicals, report Mount Sinai researchers. This is the first comprehensive study of the association of prenatal exposure to these chemicals and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The researchers used cytokeratin-18 as a new marker of disease in children. The findings, reported in JAMA Network Open in July, underscoring the importance of understanding prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals as a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is a rapidly growing problem in children that can lead to severe chronic liver disease and liver cancer in adulthood. “These findings may inform more efficient early-life prevention and intervention strategies to address the current epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver dise