Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

Study connects hyperglycemia and prolonged cloth mask use to COVID-19-associated mucormycosis risk

A new study conducted in India identifies the role of high blood sugar levels in predisposing patients to mucormycosis infection.

1 Aug 2021

LondonOC develops new, non-invasive technique to apply Xen stent into the eye

The London Ophthalmology Centre (LondonOC) has developed a new, non-invasive technique for the application of Xen stent into the eye to treat acute glaucoma. The micro device and new technique was successfully used to save the sight of former Children’s Laureate, Michael Rosen.

31 Jul 2021

Study: 7 in 10 chronic pain sufferers delayed seeking medical advice during the pandemic

7 in 10 UK chronic pain sufferers delayed seeking medical advice during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving them feeling increased levels of stress, anxiety and worry, new research from Boston Scientific has revealed.

31 Jul 2021

Sharp rise in screen time during the pandemic may be linked to increase in childhood short-sightedness

A rise in cases of short-sightedness (myopia) among children in Hong Kong may be linked to a significant decrease in the time they have been able to spend outdoors and a sharp rise in screen time during the coronavirus pandemic, suggests research published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

31 Jul 2021

Reactive behavior is a common way to handle unexpected uncertainty, study says

People around the world dramatically changed their shopping behaviors at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

31 Jul 2021

Olympics provide an unrealized opportunity to improve global health

Given the increased interest in sports and exercise around the Olympics underway in Tokyo, events such as the Summer Games represent an unrealized opportunity to improve global health, finds a new Lancet study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

30 Jul 2021

New collaboration aims to boost vaccines manufacturing capability in South Africa

The Medicines Patent Pool and the World Health Organization, Afrigen Biologics Limited, the Biologicals and Vaccines Institute of Southern Africa, the South African Medical Research Council and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have signed a letter of intent to address the global imbalance of manufacturing capacity for COVID-19 vaccines.

30 Jul 2021

Facing recall, Newsom draws support from health care allies

Californians upset with Gov. Gavin Newsom's pandemic rules — which shuttered businesses, kept schoolkids at home and mandated masks — helped fuel the September recall election that could spell the end of his political career.

30 Jul 2021

New strategies for trauma centers to address root causes of violence

Trauma surgeons are often the first point of contact with the health care system for victims of violence. However, their role can extend beyond caring for a patient's physical injuries.

30 Jul 2021

Study assesses the impact of sitting time and physical activity on mental health during the pandemic

Reducing the amount of time spent sitting down should be part of public health policy following COVID-19, says a new report from a study by the University of Huddersfield.

30 Jul 2021

Researchers test a library of lipid-based compounds to enable safe delivery of RNA drugs to the lungs

Hokkaido University researchers in Japan created and tested a library of lipid-based compounds to find a way to safely and effectively deliver RNA drugs to the lungs.

30 Jul 2021

Diabetes drug’s new weight loss formula fuels cost-benefit debate

The long list of side effects that follow ads for the newer expensive drugs to treat Type 2 diabetes sometimes include an unusual warning: They might cause weight loss. That side effect is one that many people — especially those with Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity — may desperately want.

30 Jul 2021

Bus stop by bus stop, Denver-area officials microtarget vaccine hesitancy

John Letson had seen too many apocalyptic movies to feel comfortable getting a covid-19 vaccine initially.

30 Jul 2021

BNT162b2 vaccine shows high efficacy at six months

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears to be highly effective in protecting against the SARS-CoV-2 infection, including its relatively resistant beta variant B.1.351.

30 Jul 2021

Prior SARS-CoV-2 infection enhances Johnson and Johnson Ad26.COV2.S vaccine immunogenicity

A new study reports that the Johnson and Johnson vaccine against COVID-19 shows enhanced efficacy when administered to individuals with pre-existing antibodies.

30 Jul 2021

Cash vouchers provide greater incentive for COVID-19 vaccines than lotteries

A new study focuses on cash vs lottery incentives to increase the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among unvaccinated adults in the USA.

30 Jul 2021

In-silico prediction of effective drug combinations for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study published on the bioRxiv preprint server has developed the first computational model, i.e., a signaling network model, that can predict effective repurposed drug combinations to treat different phases of COVID-19 disease. This study has focused on identifying drugs for the treatment of early- and late-stage severe disease.

30 Jul 2021

Large nanodiscs simulate viral entry into host cells

In a paper recently uploaded to the journal Frontiers in Biotechnology by Padmanabha Das et al. (June 12th, 2020), a method of producing significantly larger homogenous nanodiscs up to 90 nm in diameter is described, and the advantages and applications of such nanodiscs are explored: better replicating the actual curvature and membrane symmetry of a real cell membrane, and allowing much larger or multiple membrane proteins to be loaded simultaneously.

30 Jul 2021

Study explains how SARS-CoV-2 variants differ in binding to ACE2 receptor

The current study explored ACE2-RBD interactions with four VoCs including the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants.

29 Jul 2021

Study supports UK’s decision to extend second COVID-19 vaccination to 12 weeks

Findings from a study conducted in the UK support the country’s decision to extend the dosing interval of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination from 3 weeks to 12 weeks in order to prioritize the first dose for those at high risk of severe disease and death.

29 Jul 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Study connects hyperglycemia and prolonged cloth mask use to COVID-19-associated mucormycosis risk

LondonOC develops new, non-invasive technique to apply Xen stent into the eye

Study: 7 in 10 chronic pain sufferers delayed seeking medical advice during the pandemic

Sharp rise in screen time during the pandemic may be linked to increase in childhood short-sightedness

Reactive behavior is a common way to handle unexpected uncertainty, study says

Olympics provide an unrealized opportunity to improve global health

New collaboration aims to boost vaccines manufacturing capability in South Africa

Facing recall, Newsom draws support from health care allies

New strategies for trauma centers to address root causes of violence

Study assesses the impact of sitting time and physical activity on mental health during the pandemic

Researchers test a library of lipid-based compounds to enable safe delivery of RNA drugs to the lungs

Diabetes drug’s new weight loss formula fuels cost-benefit debate

Bus stop by bus stop, Denver-area officials microtarget vaccine hesitancy

BNT162b2 vaccine shows high efficacy at six months

Prior SARS-CoV-2 infection enhances Johnson and Johnson Ad26.COV2.S vaccine immunogenicity

Cash vouchers provide greater incentive for COVID-19 vaccines than lotteries

In-silico prediction of effective drug combinations for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Large nanodiscs simulate viral entry into host cells

Study explains how SARS-CoV-2 variants differ in binding to ACE2 receptor

Study supports UK’s decision to extend second COVID-19 vaccination to 12 weeks

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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