At the moment, medical device repair is something that it's high demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, medical repair isn't always easy - much like device manufacturers who make our phones and laptops, the corporations that produce medical devices can sometimes make their repair information difficult to access, if that's something that's at all possible.
Scientists from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a binding site where drug compounds could activate a key braking mechanism in many types of cancer cells. The discovery is said to be a critical step toward developing a potential new class of anti-cancer drugs to enhance the activity of a prevalent family of tumor suppressor proteins.
An alert from the World Health Organization this week did a bit of a mythbuster on the subject of alcohol during our current global pandemic. Misinformation spread over social networks and person-to-person in text chains over the past few weeks suggested high-strength alcohol could "kill the COVID-19 virus." According to the World Health Organization: "It does not."
The FDA announced expansions of clinical trials and potential for expanded access programs for two treatments for COVID-19. The FDA announced this latest national effort to bring blood-related therapies for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic this afternoon. The two potential treatment products are called convalescent plasma and hyperimmune globulin.
Manufacturers in the UK expect the government to give them the green light to move their facilities from normal operations to making medical supplies. Dyson is in one group, another group is led by Airbus. Both groups have announced that they have only to be given the go-ahead by the UK government by next week. In separate news, the UK's ALSO joined the EU effort to ramp up ventilator production worldwide.
A popular, but pricey, spice called saffron may be able to improve sleep quality in adults who often experience unrestful nights, according to a new study. The research comes from the same team that previously linked saffron with an antidepressant effect, at least in people who have up to moderate depression and who are also taking a prescription antidepressant medication.
Biotech company Moderna has announced the release of its mRNA-1273 vaccine against the novel coronavirus behind the outbreak in China and multiple other countries. This vaccine is released for human use, according to Moderna, which says that it has shipped some vials of the product to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a part of the NIH.
Antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs' are a growing concern, spurring efforts to develop new types of treatments that can eradicate these bacteria. Here to help is a machine-learning algorithm developed by researchers with MIT; it identified a new compound that can destroy several varieties of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, among them being certain bacteria that are now resistant to all available antibiotics.
As the number of cases of coronavirus COVID-19 grows worldwide, the US CDC has detailed the primary ways in which the SARS-like illness could be spread, and which routes it is most concerned with. The first person-to-person infection in the US was confirmed at the end of January 2020, and since then the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have held several briefings to outline exactly what people should - and shouldn't - be worried about.
As coronavirus continues to spread, the World Health Organization has officially given it a name: COVID-19. Previously referred to as the "2019 novel coronavirus," this new name should not only help scientists and media organizations refer to this specific outbreak, but it also lays down a model for future coronavirus outbreaks that may occur.
Researchers have created a machine-learning algorithm called SELSER that analyzes EEG data to determine whether a patient is likely to respond well to the popular antidepressant called sertraline, according to the National Institute of Health. The algorithm works by looking for a particular neural signature involving complex brain activity patterns linked to positive outcomes from taking this medication.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (itself part of the National Institutes of Health) announced some disappointing news today, confirming that it has ended testing of an experimental vaccine regimen that was created to prevent HIV after finding that the regimen was ineffective. With these trials ended, the NIAID will look to other potential HIV preventatives that are currently emerging.