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Excess cardiac myosin worsens damage to heart tissue during a heart attack

A prevalent heart protein known as cardiac myosin, which is released into the body when a person suffers a heart attack, can cause blood to thicken or clot--worsening damage to heart tissue, a new study shows.

2 Apr 2020

Can cats and dogs catch or spread COVID-19?

A recent report from Hong Kong that two dogs had tested positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 had pet owners in a tizzy. This was compounded by news that a cat owned by a COVID-19 patient had developed symptoms of the illness in Belgium – such as breathing trouble and diarrhea – a week after the owner tested positive. The cat’s vomit and feces were subsequently found to be positive for the viral genome.

2 Apr 2020

Visualization tool enables doctors to get an overview of critical care bed capacities

Computer scientists in the team led by Professor Daniel Keim, professor of data analysis and visualization at the University of Konstanz, developed a visualization tool called "Coronavis".

2 Apr 2020

MIT launches new technique to mass manufacture disposable face shields

The shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to healthcare professionals has become increasingly problematic as Covid-19 cases continue to surge.

2 Apr 2020

COVID-19: What the illness looks like

With increasing information about COVID-19 disease gathered first-hand, a more accurate picture of the clinical features is coming together.

2 Apr 2020

Mediterranean diet best for lowering LDL cholesterol

A new study published in The BMJ in April 2020 suggests that almost any remedial diet can result in a certain amount of weight loss and a better cardiovascular risk profile over the next six months, compared with the usual diet. However, at the 12-month mark, the dieter has mostly gained back the weight, while most cardiovascular risk factors are back at their original levels.

2 Apr 2020

Promising vaccine patch candidate for COVID-19

In a breath of fresh air, scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine reported that they had developed a potential new vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is causing the current COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine has been tested in mice. When administered through a small patch only the size of a fingertip, the vaccine was found to generate protective neutralizing antibodies against the virus, in adequate quantities.

2 Apr 2020

Magnetic stimulation of rectal nerves could help treat fecal incontinence

An ongoing study by the Medical College of Georgia on the role of magnetic stimulation of the rectal nerves to achieve better bowel control in patients with fecal incontinence is showing early promise. The technique is called translumbosacral neuromodulation therapy, or TNT.

2 Apr 2020

Starving pancreatic cancer cells of cysteine may induce tumor ferroptosis

A new study from Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center suggests a compound in development for a rare kidney stone disease may have potential against pancreatic cancer.

2 Apr 2020

Designing face shields to protect healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented need to provide personal protective equipment for hospital staff.

2 Apr 2020

AI to predict risk of an individual patient's need for ventilator

As coronavirus patients are hospitalized, it is difficult for doctors to predict which of them will require intensive care and a respirator. Many different factors come into play, some yet to be fully understood by doctors.

2 Apr 2020

Studies shed light on the link between obesity and use of prescription opioids

Two new studies from the Boston University School of Public Health shed light on the relationship between obesity and the use of prescription opioids in the United States.

2 Apr 2020

Tulane University adds second avenue for COVID-19 testing

Tulane University has added a second avenue for COVID-19 testing, this one taking place at a Tulane School of Medicine repurposed research lab where results can be processed within a day.

2 Apr 2020

IMDEA Networks researcher launches study to estimate the actual incidence of pandemic

Antonio Fernández Anta, Research Professor at IMDEA Networks, has launched a study to estimate the actual incidence of the pandemic in eleven countries.

2 Apr 2020

Russian Science Foundation funds eleven Kazan University projects

Eleven Kazan University projects receive funding from the Russian Science Foundation. The results were published on 1st April 2020.

2 Apr 2020

New study offers clues to why autism is more common in boys than in girls

A new study in Neuron offers clues to why autism spectrum disorder is more common in boys than in girls. National Institutes of Health scientists found that a single amino acid change in the NLGN4 gene, which has been linked to autism symptoms, may drive this difference in some cases.

2 Apr 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: All coronavirus all the time

The medical and economic needs laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic are forcing some immediate changes to the U.S. health system. Congress, in its latest relief bill, provided $100 billion in funding for the hospital industry alone.

2 Apr 2020

Web portal provides information on how to decontaminate used N95 masks

As health workers and first responders in the United States try to stem a pandemic without adequate protective gear, health officials are forced to consider a stopgap - decontaminating and reusing N95 masks to shield those whose jobs expose them to the virus that causes COVID-19.

2 Apr 2020

Nanoneedle technology licensed for early detection of disease, biomarker discovery

A Boston-based startup company, NanoMosaic LLC, intends to commercialize a high-throughput, high-sensitivity platform for analyte detection developed at Harvard University.

2 Apr 2020

Pandemic-stricken cities have empty hospitals, but reopening them is difficult

As city leaders across the country scramble to find space for the expected surge of COVID-19 patients, some are looking at a seemingly obvious choice: former hospital buildings, sitting empty, right downtown.

2 Apr 2020