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Have we found a new malaria vaccine?

A new study published in the journal Nature in April 2020 reports on a malaria protein antibody that appears to protect resistant children from severe disease, showing promise in the fight against malaria, a new study found. Almost 500,000 people die of malaria every year.

22 Apr 2020

Sweat-powered electronic skin can be used for multiple purposes

One of the ways we experience the world around us is through our skin. From sensing temperature and pressure to pleasure or pain, the many nerve endings in our skin tell us a great deal.

22 Apr 2020

The other COVID risks: How race, income, zip code influence who lives or dies

It started with a headache in late March. Then came the body aches.

22 Apr 2020

Risk prediction model identifies people at higher risk of pancreatic cancer

Bottom Line: A risk prediction model that combined genetic and clinical factors with circulating biomarkers identified people at significantly higher than normal risk of pancreatic cancer.

22 Apr 2020

Study shows new diagnostic option for catching degenerative eye disease in its earliest stages

A paper published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics (JBO), "Imaging hydroxyapatite in sub-retinal pigment epithelial deposits by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy with tetracycline staining," demonstrates a potential new diagnostic option for catching a degenerative eye disease in its earliest stages.

22 Apr 2020

Antibody testing in L.A. county reveals the magnitude of coronavirus spread

After weeks of physical and social distancing measures in place, many in the U.S. are worrying about how soon they can return to normal life. However, to lift restrictions, it is critical to ascertain accurate numbers of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) carriers. Doing so will decrease the chance or even avoid the second wave of infections.

22 Apr 2020

Researchers uncover how cancer cells don their invisibility cloaks

Immunotherapy drugs that target a protein called programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) on the surface of cancer cells have quickly become a mainstay to treat many forms of cancer, often with dramatic results. But exactly how cancer cells turn on this protein was not completely understood.

22 Apr 2020

Slightly elevated blood glucose levels can trigger major changes in insulin-producing cells

In diabetes, tiny clusters of insulin-producing "beta cells" in the pancreas don't produce enough of the hormone to keep people healthy, and their blood glucose levels climb.

22 Apr 2020

Convalescent plasma can be donated by COVID-19 survivors at Grifols’ donor centers

Grifols, a global healthcare company with a track record of more than 100 years and a recognized leader in the development and production of plasma-derived medicines, today announced it has begun identifying, screening and selecting volunteer donors who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their plasma in select U.S. cities.

22 Apr 2020

Nanostics to create new blood test to forecast the severity of COVID-19 in patients

Nanostics Inc., a diagnostic healthcare company that focuses on developing tests to determine a patient's disease risk, announced today plans to develop and validate ClarityDX COVID-19; a simple blood test to predict the severity of COVID-19 disease in patients.

22 Apr 2020

Researchers identify biological mechanism in depressed individuals

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers report that in depressed individuals there are increased amounts of an unmodified structural protein, called tubulin, in lipid rafts - fatty sections of a cell membrane - compared with non-depressed individuals.

22 Apr 2020

New findings could make immunotherapy treatments effective for more cancer patients

Scientists have developed a new way to map the molecules on tumour cells that flag their presence to the immune system, according to a study published today in eLife.

22 Apr 2020

Researchers are exploring potential therapy for controlling infectious diseases

The engineering of specific virus-targeting receptors onto a patient's own immune cells is now being explored by scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS), as a potential therapy for controlling infectious diseases, including the COVID-19-causing virus, SARS-CoV-2.

22 Apr 2020

P-BEST: Fast efficient COVID-19 virus testing before symptoms appear

A highly promising new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 reports an efficient new method to conduct high-throughput testing of blood samples for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is causing the rapidly spreading pandemic of COVID-19 disease throughout the world. The method could revolutionize the diagnosis of new cases before they become symptomatic.

22 Apr 2020

Study shows how tumor cells respond to lack of nutrients

Some solid tumors have a very high growth rate, which often leads to a lack of vascularization due to the impossibility to develop, at the same time, the blood vessels that accompany and nourish it.

21 Apr 2020

Immunity to coronavirus infection may help stem the pandemic

The raging coronavirus pandemic is causing immense fear and uncertainty across the world. One of the most distressing aspects of COVID-19 disease is the seemingly large number of unknowns. These include the burning question of immunity. Does a person who was sick with the COVID-19 and then recovered or was infected without symptoms, have immunity against re-infection?

21 Apr 2020

Air pollution, dementia, and cardiovascular disease

A new study published in March 2020 in the journal JAMA Neurology shows an association between air pollution and the development of dementia. However, the role played by cardiovascular disease (CVD) is yet to become apparent.

21 Apr 2020

Scientists identify new biomarker to detect subclinical atherosclerosis

Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares and the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria-Fundación Jiménez Díaz in Madrid have demonstrated that a proteins present in early atheroma plaques--accumulations of cholesterol in the wall of arteries--could be used as a biomarker to detect atherosclerosis in the subclinical phase, before the appearance of symptoms.

21 Apr 2020

Army doctors develop COVID-19 isolation chamber to protect health care providers

Army doctors working at hospitals within the Defense Health Agency have prototyped an isolation chamber that can be placed over the head and chest of patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

21 Apr 2020

New study may offer a breakthrough in treating telomere diseases

Capping decades of research, a new study may offer a breakthrough in treating dyskeratosis congenita and other so-called telomere diseases, in which cells age prematurely.

21 Apr 2020