Category: Science and Tech
Lab Leak Fight Casts Chill Over Virology Research
NYT Scientists doing “gain-of-function” research said that heightened fears of lab leaks are stalling studies that could thwart the next pandemic virus. Questions about whether Covid leaked from a Chinese laboratory have cast a chill over American virus research, drying up funding for scientists who collect or alter dangerous pathogens and intensifying a debate over […]
Oct 17, 2023
How gene editing could help curb the spread of bird flu
MIT Technology Review The disease kills millions of birds each year, and it has recently started to spread among mammals too. Gene editing could help prevent chickens from catching and spreading bird flu, according to a proof-of-concept study. Researchers used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to alter the DNA of 10 chickens to resist the bird […]
Oct 10, 2023
RedHill’s antiviral, once tested for COVID, works in mice with Ebola
Fierce Pharma RedHill Biopharma, in collaboration with the U.S. Army, announced Oct. 3 that twice-daily oral doses of the medication opaganib boosted survival from about six days in controls to 11 days in animals infected with the virus. In the group treated with the highest dose, 30% of the mice survived, compared to none of […]
Oct 3, 2023
Nobel Prize in medicine awarded to scientists who laid foundation for messenger RNA vaccines
Washington Post The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded Monday to two scientists whose research laid the groundwork for messenger RNA vaccines that transformed the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. Early in her career, Katalin Kariko, 68, a Hungarian-born scientist, saw mRNA’s medical potential and pursued it with ferocious and single-minded tenacity that exiled her to the outskirts […]
Oct 3, 2023
ABC News While there is no specific test to determine if someone is experiencing long COVID, a new study published in Nature used blood tests to find new insight into what biological markers are associated with this collection of mysterious conditions reported by millions of Americans. Researchers used machine learning to help analyze immune markers and hormone […]
Sep 26, 2023
Supercomputer simulation attacks problem of drug-resistant bacteria
Los Alamos National Laboratory Understanding molecular processes can improve the antibiotics and vaccines that fight disease A first-ever, atom-by-atom supercomputer simulation shows how antibiotics kill bacteria and illustrates other processes of the molecular machinery in living cells. The research opens fresh pathways to improving antibiotics, designing new ones to fight drug-resistant bacteria and developing vaccines […]
Sep 19, 2023
Wait, Is That Rapid Test Really Expired?
NYT As Covid cases rise, at-home tests are a critical tool to keep yourself and others safe. Here are answers to a few common questions about when and how to use them. Since the public health emergency expired, lab P.C.R. tests — the gold standard for detecting Covid-19 — have become more expensive and less accessible for many people. […]
Aug 29, 2023
Severe COVID-19 may lead to long-term innate immune system changes
NIH Severe COVID-19 may cause long-lasting alterations to the innate immune system, the first line of defense against pathogens, according to a small study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. These changes may help explain why the disease can damage so many different organs […]
Aug 22, 2023
A new fruit fly toolkit to understand the impact of SARS-CoV-2 virus in human health
Baylor While the COVID-19 pandemic is under control now, the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to mutate and inflict unprecedented suffering on millions of people in the form of numerous little-understood, lingering symptoms that are collectively termed ‘long-COVID.’ Identifying the underlying causes and therapies for long-COVID symptoms and devising strategies to protect against known and emerging viruses […]
Aug 15, 2023
Scientists develop breath test that rapidly detects COVID-19 virus
Washington University School of Medicine Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a breath test that quickly identifies those who are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. The device requires only one or two breaths and provides results in less than a minute. The study is available online in the journal ACS […]
Aug 1, 2023