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New analytical tool uses air travel data to predict COVID-19 spread

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters a new phase, punctuated by emerging hot spots and continuing global spread, a new analytical tool developed by RAND Corporation researchers allows policymakers to predict regional risks of importing cases of COVID-19.

5 Jun 2020

Tear-gassing protesters during an infectious outbreak ‘a recipe for disaster’

In nationwide demonstrations sparked by the killing of George Floyd in police custody, protesters have been frequently pepper-sprayed or enveloped in clouds of tear gas.

5 Jun 2020

DNA sequencing and analysis of drug-resistant bacteria set up in the Philippines

Antibiotic resistance surveillance in the Philippines has moved into the genomic era, enabling better tracking of dangerous bacteria. Researchers at the Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance (CGPS housed at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and The Big Data Institute, University of Oxford), and the Philippine Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, set up local DNA sequencing and analysis of drug resistant bacteria in the Philippines.

5 Jun 2020

Sleep fragmentation associated with inflammation and atherosclerosis

Disrupted nightly sleep and clogged arteries tend to sneak up on us as we age. And while both disorders may seem unrelated, a new study from the University of California, Berkeley, helps explain why they are, in fact, pathologically intertwined.

5 Jun 2020

Study: Campylobacter infection is associated with child stunting

Gastrointestinal infection with Campylobacter plays a major role in the stunting of children in urban Bangladesh, say the authors of a new study.

5 Jun 2020

Precautions for intimacy, sex, during COVID-19

Amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, safe sex practices are as important as other measures to prevent infection. Little focus has been given to sexual health, but a new study highlights how couples can reduce the transmission of the novel coronavirus.

5 Jun 2020

New report documents trends before the legalization of cannabis in Michigan

Nearly twelve years ago, Michigan voters approved the use of medical cannabis by residents with certain health conditions. A year and a half ago, they voted to approve its use by all adults, for any reason.

5 Jun 2020

U.K. doctors test lipid ibuprofen as COVID-19 treatment

The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) Ibuprofen is being tested as a potential treatment for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Doctors in the United Kingdom rolled out a clinical trial of the everyday painkiller to see if it reduces respiratory failure in patients experiencing severe COVID-19 disease.

4 Jun 2020

Next-generation sequencing of COVID-19 virus offers powerful metagenomic data

Next-generation sequencing of the COVID-19 virus is providing powerful metagenomic data, which, combined with clinical data, will inform the search for effective treatments, as reported in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology.

4 Jun 2020

Assessing the integrity of remdesivir clinical trial during COVID-19 pandemic

As acknowledged in the first remdesivir double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial addressing treatment for COVID-19 recently published in Lancet (Wang, et al., April 29, 2020), a statistician at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey was called on to guard the integrity of that trial.

4 Jun 2020

A SARS-CoV-2 antibody magnetic immuno-detection test

A new report, released on the preprint server bioRxiv by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, describes the development of an innovative serologic test that could provide a fast, easy, and inexpensive method of detecting high titers of antibody in the serum of SARS-CoV-2 infected people.

4 Jun 2020

Malaria risk in deforestation hotspots linked to demand for agricultural commodities

A paper recently published in Nature Communications is the first to show a connection between demand from certain developed countries for agricultural commodities and the growing risk of malaria in the countries that supply those goods.

4 Jun 2020

Alpaca-derived antiviral agent neutralizes SARS-CoV-2

Researchers at Karolinska University Hospital and the University of Cape Town have identified an antibody fragment that targets the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein and potently neutralizes the virus.

4 Jun 2020

Efforts to curb congenital syphilis falter in COVID’s shadow

U.S. public health officials are closer to identifying a road map for curbing the rising rates of syphilis infections in newborn babies, but with so many resources diverted to stopping the spread of COVID-19, many fear the rate of deadly infections will only get worse.

4 Jun 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Protests and the pandemic

Following the death of George Floyd while in custody in Minneapolis, protests have mushroomed around the U.S. to decry police violence, raising concerns among public health officials about the potential for further spread of the coronavirus.

4 Jun 2020

Psychological distress has increased among US adults during COVID-19, shows survey

A new survey conducted during the pandemic by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University found a more-than-threefold increase in the percentage of U.S. adults who reported symptoms of psychological distress--from 3.9 percent in 2018 to 13.6 percent in April 2020.

4 Jun 2020

Hydroxychloroquine not able to prevent development of COVID-19, UMN trial shows

Today, University of Minnesota Medical School researchers published the results from the first randomized clinical trial testing hydroxychloroquine for the post-exposure prevention of COVID-19.

4 Jun 2020

Researchers find link between stroke-related brain blood vessel abnormality and gut bacteria

In a nationwide study, NIH funded researchers found that the presence of abnormal bundles of brittle blood vessels in the brain or spinal cord, called cavernous angiomas (CA), are linked to the composition of a person's gut bacteria.

4 Jun 2020

Cases of alcohol-related liver disease will rise dramatically in coming years, shows study

Alcohol-related liver disease is currently the most common reason for liver transplantation in the United States. In recent years, high-risk drinking of alcohol--defined as exceeding daily drinking limits (more than 4 or 5 standard drinks for women and men, respectively) at least weekly for a whole year--has increased in nearly all sociodemographic groups, especially in women.

4 Jun 2020