Research advances from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Program (IRP) often make headlines. Read the news releases that describe our most recent findings:
The act of cooking offers the chance to unwind and create something special, whether you’re planning to feed a crowd or just yourself. And while you may have noticed feeling good after whipping up that perfect pie or braise, there’s actually a lot of scientific data to suggest that cooking can have a positive impact on mental health.
One meta-analysis (a report of pre-existing research) from the National Institutes of Health looked at 11 studies and found that “cooking interventions” — encouraging people to follow certain recipes or giving people cooking classes — can improve a person’s mental well-being. It specifically found that people who participated in cooking interventions reported having better self-esteem and quality of life, as well as a more positive emotional state after the fact. Another study even discovered that baking can help raise a person’s confidence level.
The finding marks a new effort in conserving an ancient dog breed, with potential to inform human vocalization processes
In a study published in PNAS, researchers used conservation biology and genomics to discover that the New Guinea singing dog, thought to be extinct for 50 years, still thrives. Scientists found that the ancestral dog population still stealthily wanders in the Highlands of New Guinea. This finding opens new doors for protecting a remarkable creature that can teach biologists about human vocal learning. The New Guinea singing dog can also be utilized as a valuable and unique animal model for studying how human vocal disorders arise and finding potential treatment opportunities. The study was performed by researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, Cenderawasih University in Indonesia, and other academic centers.
The New Guinea singing dog was first studied in 1897, and became known for their unique and characteristic vocalization, able to make pleasing and harmonic sounds with tonal quality. Only 200–300 captive New Guinea singing dogs exist in conservation centers, with none seen in the wild since the 1970s.
"The New Guinea singing dog that we know of today is a breed that was basically created by people," said Elaine Ostrander, Ph.D., NIH Distinguished Investigator and senior author of the paper. "Eight were brought to the United States from the Highlands of New Guinea and bred with each other to create this group."
Photograph of a Highland Wild Dog taken in Indonesia. Image credit: Anang Dianto, PTFI Papua Province, Indonesia
A collaborative study conducted by scientists from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense (DOD), and multiple academic institutions has identified blood biomarkers that could help to predict which athletes need additional time to recover from a sports related concussion. This collaboration, known as the Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) consortium, is supported, in part, by DOD and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
In this study, conducted at several sites across the U.S., 127 male and female collegiate athletes who had sustained a sports-related concussion were tested at several time points: shortly after injury, when their symptoms resolved, and one week after returning to play. Each athlete had also undergone preseason, baseline testing.
Using an ultrasensitive assay that can detect minute amounts of protein, the researchers tested blood serum from these athletes and identified two blood proteins that were associated with the length of time needed by the athletes to return to play. Amounts of these two proteins, tau protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were found to be significantly different in athletes who needed less or more than 14 days to return. While further research is needed, the results of this study are an important step towards the development of a test that could help predict which athletes need more time to recover from a concussion and resume activity.
Opioid use among women trying to conceive may be associated with a lower chance of pregnancy, suggests a National Institutes of Health study. Moreover, opioid use in early pregnancy may be associated with a greater chance of pregnancy loss. The study appears in Epidemiology.
“Our findings indicate that women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should, along with their physicians, consider the potential effects opioids may have on their ability to conceive or sustain a pregnancy,” said Kerry Flannagan, Ph.D., the primary author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
According to the authors, much of the research on prescription opioid use has focused on the effects of drug dependency. Little information exists on non-habitual, periodic opioid use around the time of conception and early in pregnancy.
National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., has selected Rena N. D’Souza, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., as director of NIH’s National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). A licensed dentist, Dr. D’Souza is currently the assistant vice president for academic affairs and education for health sciences at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. There she also serves as a professor of dentistry, the Ole and Marty Jensen Chair of the School of Dentistry and professor of neurobiology and anatomy, pathology and surgery in the School of Medicine and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She is expected to begin her new role as the NIDCR director later this year.
“Dr. D’Souza is renowned for her research in craniofacial development, genetics, tooth development and regenerative dental medicine. She has worked as a proponent for NIH for decades, serving on critical advisory committees and as an expert consultant on multiple projects,” said Dr. Collins. “I look forward to having her join the NIH leadership team later this year. I also want to thank NIH Principal Deputy Director Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D., for his valuable leadership as the acting director of NIDCR since January 1, 2020.”
As NIDCR director, Dr. D’Souza will oversee the institute’s annual budget of over $475 million, which supports basic, translational and clinical research in areas of oral cancer, orofacial pain, tooth decay, periodontal disease, salivary gland dysfunction, craniofacial development and disorders and the oral complications of systemic diseases. The institute funds approximately 770 grants, 6,500 researchers and 200 organizations. Additionally, NIDCR supports research training and career development programs for approximately 350 people at various stages of their careers, from high school students to independent scientists.
According to a new study, mortality rates from the most common lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), have fallen sharply in the United States in recent years, due primarily to recent advances in treatment.
The study was led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The findings were published August 12, 2020, in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“Reduced tobacco consumption in the U.S. has been associated with a progressive decrease in lung cancer deaths that started around 1990 in men and around 2000 in women. Until now, however, we have not known whether newer treatments might contribute to some of the recent improvement,” said Douglas R. Lowy, M.D., NCI deputy director and co-author of this study. “This analysis shows for the first time that nationwide mortality rates for the most common category of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, are declining faster than its incidence, an advance that correlates with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of several targeted therapies for this cancer in recent years.”
National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., has selected Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc., as director of NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). A rheumatologist, Dr. Criswell is currently the vice chancellor of research at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She is a professor of rheumatology in UCSF’s Department of Medicine, as well as a professor of orofacial sciences in its School of Dentistry. She is expected to begin her new role as the NIAMS director in early 2021. She will succeed long-time director Stephen I. Katz, M.D., Ph.D., who passed away suddenly in December 2018.
“Dr. Criswell has rich experience as a clinician, researcher and administrator. Her ability to oversee the research program of one of the country’s top research-intensive medical schools, and her expertise in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, make her well-positioned to direct NIAMS,” said Dr. Collins. “I look forward to having her join the NIH leadership team early next year. I also want to thank Robert H. Carter, M.D., for his exemplary work as the acting director of NIAMS since December 2018.”
As NIAMS director, Dr. Criswell will oversee the institute’s annual budget of nearly $625 million, which supports research into the causes, treatment and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases. The institute advances health through biomedical and behavioral research, research training and dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases.
Vaccine currently being evaluated in Phase 3 clinical testing
The investigational vaccine known as mRNA-1273 protected mice from infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to research published today in Nature. Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the biotechnology company Moderna, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, along with collaborators from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, and the University of Texas at Austin conducted the preclinical research. NIAID Vaccine Research Center (VRC) scientists worked with investigators from the University of Texas at Austin to identify the atomic structure of the spike protein on the surface of the novel coronavirus. This structure was used by VRC and Moderna in the development of the vaccine candidate.
The findings show that the investigational vaccine induced neutralizing antibodies in mice when given as two intramuscular injections of a 1-microgram (mcg) dose three weeks apart. Additional experiments found that mice given two injections of the 1-mcg dose and later challenged with SARS-CoV-2 virus either 5 or 13 weeks after the second injection were protected from viral replication in the lungs and nose. Importantly, mice challenged 7 weeks after only a single dose of 1 mcg or 10 mcg of mRNA-1273 were also protected against viral replication in the lung.
Cells heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (orange), isolated from a patient sample.
Discovery provides new target for anti-malaria treatments
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions have discovered another set of pore-like holes, or channels, traversing the membrane-bound sac that encloses the deadliest malaria parasite as it infects red blood cells. The channels enable the transport of lipids — fat-like molecules — between the blood cell and parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. The parasite draws lipids from the cell to sustain its growth and may also secrete other types of lipids to hijack cell functions to meet its needs.
The finding follows an earlier discovery of another set of channels through the membrane enabling the two-way flow of proteins and non-fatty nutrients between the parasite and red blood cells. Together, the discoveries raise the possibility of treatments that block the flow of nutrients to starve the parasite.
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of red blood cell infected with malaria parasites, which are colorized in blue. The infected cell is in the center of the image area. To the left are uninfected cells with a smooth red surface.
Two doses of an experimental vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) induced robust immune responses and rapidly controlled the coronavirus in the upper and lower airways of rhesus macaques exposed to SARS-CoV-2, report scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.
The candidate vaccine, mRNA-1273, was co-developed by scientists at the NIAID Vaccine Research Center and at Moderna, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts. The animal study results published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine complement recently reported interim results from an NIAID-sponsored Phase 1 clinical trial of mRNA-1273. The candidate mRNA-1273 vaccine is manufactured by Moderna.
In this study, three groups of eight rhesus macaques received two injections of 10 or 100 micrograms (µg) of mRNA-1273 or a placebo. Injections were spaced 28 days apart. Vaccinated macaques produced high levels of neutralizing antibodies directed at the surface spike protein used by SARS-CoV-2 to attach to and enter cells. Notably, say the investigators, animals receiving the 10-µg or 100-µg dose vaccine candidate produced neutralizing antibodies in the blood at levels well above those found in people who recovered from COVID-19.
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (red), isolated from a patient sample.
A new study, which analyzed 40 years of Framingham Heart Study data, found an association between lowered rates of hip fractures and decreases in smoking and heavy drinking.The rates of hip fractures in the United States have been declining over the past few decades. Although some experts attribute this change primarily to improved treatments for bone health, a new National Institutes of Health-supported study suggests other factors. These results indicate that modifiable lifestyle factors, along with treatments, may be beneficial to bone health. The findings appear July 27, 2020 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The analysis included information from 4,918 men and 5,634 women who participated in the Framingham Study. These individuals were followed for a first hip fracture between Jan. 1, 1970, and Dec. 31, 2010. The rates for hip fractures, which were adjusted for age, dropped by 4.4% each year across the 40-year study period. The decrease was seen in both men and women.
