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CARB-X awards $1.8 million to Visby Medical to develop a portable rapid PCR test for gonorrhea

Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) will award up to US$1.8 million to biotechnology company, Visby Medical, to develop a portable rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic to detect the presence of the pathogen that causes gonorrhea, Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), and its susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, a former frontline oral antibiotic that can no longer treat resistant NG.

9 Feb 2024

New cervical cancer detection method promises to reduce unnecessary screenings

The BMC Medicine study introduces the CerMe detection method, using PCDHGB7 hypermethylation to effectively triage high-risk HPV-positive women, potentially reducing unnecessary colposcopy referrals.

8 Feb 2024

AI's ability to detect COVID-19 from coughs faces real-world challenges

A Nature Machine Intelligence study reveals that while AI classifiers can predict COVID-19 from audio recordings, their effectiveness diminishes when accounting for confounding factors, highlighting the challenges in applying AI diagnostics in real-world settings.

8 Feb 2024

Study reveals high insomnia rates in non-hospitalized COVID-19 survivors

Researchers investigated insomnia prevalence and its association with anxiety and depression in the non-hospitalized COVID-19-recovered community.

7 Feb 2024

New study sheds light on sex differences in allergic airway inflammation

Researchers explored how sex hormones and chromosomes influence allergic inflammation and gene expression in four-core genotype (FCG) mice exposed to house dust mites (HDMs).

7 Feb 2024

Promising influenza drug candidate shows activity against resistant variants

Influenza A viruses with induced resistance to a new candidate antiviral drug were found to be impaired in cell culture and weakened in animals, according to a study by researchers in the Center for Translational Antiviral Research at Georgia State University.

6 Feb 2024

Resveratrol can combat Alzheimer's via inflammatory suppression, study shows

Study demonstrates Resveratrol's ability to mitigate Alzheimer's Disease (AD) symptoms by inhibiting proinflammatory responses and promoting antioxidant enzyme expression in microglial cell lines, offering insights into its neuroprotective mechanisms.

5 Feb 2024

Long-COVID recovery insight: Fatigue and cognitive deficits improve over two years

Study reveals improvements in cognitive deficits and fatigue among long-COVID patients over two years, with specific risk factors like depressive symptoms and old age predicting non-recovery.

5 Feb 2024

XBB.1.5 updated COVID vaccine booster offers 54% increased protection against symptomatic infection

Early estimates show the 2023-24 updated monovalent XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccine offers significant protection against symptomatic infection, with effectiveness varying by age and time since vaccination.

4 Feb 2024

New sequencing tool speeds up SARS-CoV-2 outbreak response and informs treatment

Announcing a new article publication for Zoonoses journal. In the context of two Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreaks involving local transmission and an international flight, the authors of this article used meta-transcriptome and multi-amplicon sequencing to successfully acquire the complete viral genome sequences from clinical samples with varying viral loads.

1 Feb 2024

Is there an association between vitamin D, immunocompetence, and aging?

The role of an individual’s immunocompetence in the responsiveness to vitamin D.

1 Feb 2024

Immunocompromised patients show prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection and unique mutations

study identifies risk factors for prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection in immunocompromised patients, revealing that B-cell dysfunction, solid organ transplantation, and AIDS lead to longer infections and unique spike mutations.

31 Jan 2024

Immune protein Ku70 key in fighting bowel cancer

Study establishes Ku70's role in tumor suppression, showing that reduced expression or mutations in this DNA repair protein significantly increase intestinal cancer risk.

30 Jan 2024

Study reveals significant health benefits of golden berries in diabetic and obese rats

The effects of a Golden Berry (Physalis peruviana)-enriched diet on insulin resistance and obesity.

30 Jan 2024

Netherlands sees unexpected surge in Mycoplasma pneumoniae cases, younger population more affected

A study in the Netherlands reports a significant rise in Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections since October 2023, with a notable decrease in the median age of patients compared to the last epidemic.

28 Jan 2024

The association between handgrip strength and functional outcomes in long COVID-19

The association between dynapenia with long coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

26 Jan 2024

RT-PCR genotyping outperforms whole-genome sequencing in speedy and accurate COVID-19 variant tracking

A study in JAMA Network Open shows RT-PCR genotyping assays as a faster, cost-effective alternative to WGS for SARS-CoV-2 variant surveillance, offering high accuracy and scalability.

24 Jan 2024

Lung cancer prediction using biomarkers based on bronchoalveolar fluid microbiomes

The lung microbiomes of patients with benign and malignant pulmonary diseases.

23 Jan 2024

Discovery of toxic and protective short RNAs associated with Alzheimer's disease and superior memory capacity

Researchers explored how Death Induced by Survival gene Elimination through the analysis of RNA-induced silencing complex-bound short RNAs in Alzheimer's disease models influences neuronal survival and correlates with neurotoxicity in AD.

22 Jan 2024

Innovative COVID-19 test prototype uses bioluminescence for speedier results

Researchers used a luciferase-independent luminescence test to investigate whether the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein possesses pseudo-luciferase activity for Cypridina luciferin.