As extreme and slow onset weather events increase, so too are the public health issues that come with those changes

WASHINGTON The U.S. current account deficit narrowed sharply in the second quarter as surpluses on services and primary

San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy has officially resumed his throwing program as he tries to return from offseason elbow surgery in time for the season opener

Duke Dennis recently criticized fans' involvement in the dissemination of IShowSpeed's accidental flash incident

By Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu HANOI Some pilots have left Vietnam's restructuring Bamboo Airways in the last

Real Madrid says Karim Benzema will not have his contract renewed for next season

Bats could hold the key to unlocking new ways to combat cancer, a new study suggests. A paper published by Oxford University Press, looks at the rapid evolution of bats for their abilities to both host and survive infections such as Covid-19 as well as cancer. The animals are known to have a strong immune system which helps fight off many viruses and diseases. These mammals are also thought to have played a role in the emergence of Covid-19 and scientists say such characteristics are interesting to investigate due to the implications it might have on human health. According to the research, understanding the mechanisms of the bat’s immune system that allows these animals to fight off viral infections – may pave the way to understanding how to prevent disease outbreaks from animals to people. To conduct the study, researchers sequenced the genomes of two bat species - the Jamaican fruit bat and the Mesoamerican mustached bat. The team used advanced technology from Oxford Nanopore Technologies and bat samples collected by the American Museum of Natural History in Belize. They then compared the bat genomes to those of other mammals. The results revealed that bats possessed genetic adaptations in proteins which are related to DNA repair and cancer suppression. It was found that bats had adaptations in six DNA repair-related proteins and 46 cancer-related proteins. The study also found that bats had more than double the number of altered cancer-related genes compared to other mammals, which provided further evidence that they have the ability to suppress cancer. “By generating these new bat genomes and comparing them to other mammals we continue to find extraordinary new adaptations in antiviral and anticancer genes,” said the paper’s lead author, Armin Scheben. “These investigations are the first step towards translating research on the unique biology of bats into insights relevant to understanding and treating ageing and diseases, such as cancer, in humans.” The results open up new paths for understanding and studying the links between cancer and immunity, which offers hope that these insights from bats might possibly lead to new treatments for human illnesses. According to the United States Department of the Interior, there are over 1,400 species of bats worldwide and are mostly found in extreme deserts and polar regions. In the US and Canada, there are about 45 species of bats. Read More British bats ‘can help identify coronaviruses with potential to infect humans’ Coronavirus origins still a mystery 3 years into pandemic Groundbreaking migraine treatment offers ‘new hope’ for patients World Sepsis Day: What is the condition and its symptoms? Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor says he’s ‘asymptomatic’ after end-of-life diagnosis

Newly appointed Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino says there is no question of Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets moving to South Florida...

Australia are adamant they will be "ready for anything" India throw at them in the Cricket World Cup final after controversy hit the tournament...

Thousands of Israeli academics and artists have urged U.S. President Joe Biden and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to shun Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his scheduled visit to the U.S. next week

Maxie Baughan, a College Football Hall of Famer from Georgia Tech and a nine-time Pro Bowler in the NFL, has died

Australian trade union Collieries' Staff and Officials Association (CSOA) said on Tuesday its members voted to extend their