Category: Science and Tech
Israel researchers discover 100,000 new RNA viruses
(Jerusalem Post) RNA viruses infect cells by injecting RNA into the cytoplasm of the host cells to transcribe and replicate viral proteins. Since the appearance of COVID-19, viruses have gotten a very bad name in the general public. These tiny intracellular parasites of living organisms are the most numerous biological entities on Earth and cause disease […]
Dec 27, 2022
One of our best Covid-19 treatments doesn’t work anymore. What now?
(Vox) Covid-19 is once again trending upward in the United States, with new cases reaching more than 450,000 and deaths climbing up to 3,000 per week. But hospitals will have to face this year’s winter surge without a valuable tool. In late November, the Food and Drug Administration revoked its emergency use authorization for bebtelovimab, a monoclonal antibody […]
Dec 20, 2022
Are Subphenotypes for Long COVID Beneficial?
(MedPageToday) A recent study opens in a new tab or window published in Nature Medicine, “Data-driven identification of post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection subphenotypes” by Hao Zhang, PhD, et al. used a data-driven framework to stratify patients suffering with post-acute SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), also referred to as long COVID, into different subcategories of sequelae. The bulk of the patients in the […]
Dec 20, 2022
Voluntary Recall of Three Detect Covid-19 Test Lots
(FDA) Detect, Inc. is voluntarily recalling specific lots of the Detect Covid-19 Test™, our molecular, over-the-counter test used to identify SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) in self-collected nasal swabs. The recall affects a total of 11,102 tests shipped to customers from July 26th, 2022 through August 26th, 2022. The test was granted Emergency Use […]
Dec 13, 2022
COVID-19 Viral Rebound Occurs With Molnupiravir, No Antivirals
(US Pharmacist) Viral rebound sometimes occurs after treatment with Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir; ritonavir) for the treatment of COVID-19. Apparently, viral rebound also occurs with molnupiravir but not very commonly, according to a new study. Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong sought to examine the incidence of viral rebound in patients with COVID-19 who were […]
Dec 13, 2022
Scientists Eye Monoclonal Antibodies for Malaria as Drug Resistance Looms
(Bloomberg) Most people are by now familiar with the monoclonal antibody drugs used to prevent and treat severe Covid-19 infections. But antibody drugs have a variety of other uses in medicine from cancer treatment to preventing viral illnesses like RSV. They have even shown promise in slowing disease progression from Alzheimer’s.
Dec 6, 2022
Covid Rebound with Pfizer’s Paxlovid Less Than Expected
(Bloomberg) On the (Paxlovid) rebound, Pfizer Inc.’s antiviral medication caused recurrences or prolonged infections more often in real life than in clinical studies. (A rebound of coronavirus occurred in 2.3% of patients on Paxlovid versus 1.7% receiving placebo in a late-stage trial, Pfizer scientists said in September.)
Dec 6, 2022
Deep Learning Model Predicts 10-Year Cardiovascular Disease Risk from Chest X-Rays
(Diagnostic Imaging) Based on a single existing chest X-ray image, the deep learning model predicts future major adverse cardiovascular events with similar performance to an established risk scoring system and may help identify people for preventive use of statin medication. Researchers have developed a deep learning model that predicts the 10-year risk of major adverse […]
Nov 29, 2022
Clinical Center Doctors Testing 3D-Printed Miniature Ventilator
(NIH) Through strategic partnerships, our Clinical Center doctors learned about and joined an international group of engineers, physicians, respiratory therapists, and patient advocates using their engineering skills to create a ventilator that was functional, affordable, and intuitive. After several iterations and bench testing, they devised a user-friendly ventilator. Then, with the assistance of 3D-printing technology, […]
Nov 29, 2022
What Covid taught scientists and the public about the flu
(NBC News) For nearly three years, the medical and scientific world scrutinized Covid. That research helped experts gain a new understanding of a much older virus: the flu. On March 3, 2020, the head of the World Health Organization began a daily press briefing exhorting countries around the world to do more to stop the spread […]
Nov 22, 2022