Preliminary re-analysis of genomic data collected at the Wuhan market suggests that the initial transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from an infected animal to a human, which started the COVID-19 pandemic, occurred right there. On the other hand, a recent thorough analysis of bat coronavirus genomes studied at the Wuhan Institute of Virology did not confirm that the strains under investigation belonged to the closest ancestors of SARS-CoV-2. Is it finally clear how the pandemic originated?

At the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress on Preventive Cardiology, held in late April in Athens, Greece, a meta-analysis was presented that provides insight into how the heart, blood vessels, and the entire body benefit from choosing to take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.

A research team led by scientists from the University of Cambridge and King’s College London focused on symptoms not commonly associated with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) but which may represent prodromal signs of these conditions: nightmares and hallucinations. Greater attention is warranted as recognizing these symptoms could contribute to earlier diagnosis of SARDs and serve as warning signals for identifying disease flares.

Neuroscientists from the USA appear to have advanced our understanding of the placebo effect in pain relief. Their findings, recently published in Nature, open the possibility of influencing the described pain control pathway using drugs or neurostimulation.

It is well known that there is a connection between obesity and asthma. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. A recent study sheds more light on the relationship between asthma and BMI by examining whether and how genetic predisposition to higher BMI correlates with asthma, infections, and associated characteristics in childhood.

Technological advancements have enabled the development of various brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that allow users to control a computer cursor, translate neural activity into words, or convert handwriting into text output. A new invention by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin can perform similar tasks but, unlike its predecessors, does not require lengthy personalized calibration or risky neurosurgical procedures.