Public Health News and Research

RSS

Prior infection provides protection against SARS-CoV-2 virus in hamsters

In an animal model for COVID-19 that shares important features of human disease, scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of Tokyo and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai show that prior infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus provides protection against reinfection, and treatment with convalescent serum limits virus replication in their lungs.

22 Jun 2020

Study examines impact of COVID-19 on Texas' LGBTQ+ population

Oralia Loza, Ph.D., public health sciences associate professor at The University of Texas at El Paso, and the Borderland Rainbow Center (BRC) have collaborated on a survey that examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the LGBTQ+ population in Texas.

22 Jun 2020

Newly discovered Alzheimer's gene may drive earliest brain changes

A newly discovered Alzheimer's gene may drive the first appearance of amyloid plaques in the brain, according to a study led by researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

22 Jun 2020

Study finds higher arsenic levels in US correctional facility drinking water

The first nationwide analysis of drinking water quality in United States correctional facilities found average arsenic concentrations in drinking water in Southwestern United States correctional facilities were twice as high as average arsenic concentrations in other Southwest community drinking water systems.

22 Jun 2020

Researchers identify mouse model that mimics HFpEF syndrome in humans

A receptor that plays an essential role in safely clearing chronic unresolved cardiac inflammation may offer new targets for treating an increasing type of heart failure associated with age-related obesity, suggests a preclinical study led by researchers at the University of South Florida Health Heart Institute, Morsani College of Medicine.

22 Jun 2020

UMN report: STIs continue to rise among Minnesota youth

While pregnancy and birth rates continue to decline to historic lows for 15 to 19-year-olds, Minnesota youth are contracting sexually transmitted infections (STI) at alarmingly high rates.

22 Jun 2020

Computational tool provides growth rate and acceleration analysis of COVID-19 pandemic

Researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Araçatuba, Brazil, have developed a computational tool that acts like a "COVID-19 accelerometer," plotting in real time the rate at which growth is accelerating or decelerating in more than 200 countries and territories.

22 Jun 2020

Reassuring news on the Oxford vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2

A new paper from the UK vaccine research group, currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server, reveals that a single dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) can induce antigen-specific antibody and T cells responses against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and a booster shot additionally enhances antibody production with an increase in neutralizing titers – particularly in pigs.

22 Jun 2020

New, five-minute urine test measures the health of a person's diet

Scientists have completed large-scale tests on a new type of five-minute urine test that measures the health of a person's diet, and produces an individual's unique urine 'fingerprint'.

22 Jun 2020

Homeless patients with respiratory infections more likely to be treated with ventilators than non-homeless

Researchers from UCLA, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Tokyo found that during a recent six-year period, homeless people in New York state were more likely to hospitalized and treated with mechanical ventilators for respiratory infections than people who are not homeless.

22 Jun 2020

The role of brain cells in spreading HIV

Dr. Lena Al-Harthi speaks to News-Medical about her research into HIV treatment and the role of brain cells in spreading the HIV virus.

22 Jun 2020

Easy to say ‘get tested.’ Harder to do. Here’s how.

Will Bondurant decided to get tested for COVID-19 after attending three racial justice demonstrations over a five-day period in San Francisco, where he lives.

22 Jun 2020

As problems grow with Abbott’s fast COVID test, FDA standards are under fire

In mid-May, the Food and Drug Administration issued a rare public warning about an Abbott Laboratories COVID-19 test that for weeks had received high praise from the White House because of its speed: Test results could be wrong.

22 Jun 2020

Simulation model reveals how sugary drink tax designs could impact health gains, costs

A simulation model of different designs of taxes on sugary drinks, which are linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, suggests that all tax designs would generate substantial health gains as well as lower health costs in the U.S., according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation.

22 Jun 2020

How those with obsessive-compulsive disorder cope with added angst of COVID

Before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the United States, Chris Trondsen felt his life was finally under control. As someone who has battled obsessive-compulsive disorder and other mental health issues since early childhood, it's been a long journey.

22 Jun 2020

How to stay safe in summer as states ease coronavirus restrictions

As states lift some restrictions designed to protect public health against furthering the spread of COVID-19, people across the country are wondering how to safely engage in activities this summer such as gathering with friends, traveling and going to the beach.

22 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 saliva testing that omits the RNA extraction step

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses throughout the world, the lack of consistent diagnostic testing has been a bugbear, preventing public health control of the spread of infection. A new study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports a new testing method that uses saliva, does not require RNA extraction, and can be scaled up quickly and inexpensively.

21 Jun 2020

Environmental conditions affect the stability of SARS-CoV-2, study finds

A new study led by Marshall University researcher M. Jeremiah Matson found that environmental conditions affect the stability of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in human nasal mucus and sputum.

21 Jun 2020

Study finds widespread support for public health measures to limit spread of COVID-19

No mass gatherings. Stay-at-home orders. Nonessential business closures. Use of cloth face coverings. In April, these and other measures were adopted by states to try to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. and across the globe.

21 Jun 2020

The underlying cause of ethnic differences in COVID-19 remains unexplained

Higher rates of severe COVID-19 infections in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) populations are not explained by socioeconomic or behavioral factors, cardiovascular disease risk, or by vitamin D status, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London.

21 Jun 2020