Culture
A new analysis of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, reveals that the pathogen can infect and replicate in cells that line the inside of the human intestines. The results show that the intestines are a target organ for the virus and could explain why some patients with COVID-19 experience gastrointestinal symptoms. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold across the world, scientists have prioritized understanding how exactly SARS-CoV-2 infects and damages human cells.
Researchers at EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), the University of Dundee and the Wellcome Sanger Institute analysed over 2700 genomes from C. elegans worms in order to better understand the causes of mutations. Their findings, published today in Nature Communications, characterise how DNA mutations result from the combined action of DNA damage and inaccurate DNA repair mechanisms.
Scientists have called for labelling to warn the public about levels of arsenic in rice, after their research found half of rice varieties studied exceeded maximum limits on the deadly toxin.
CHICAGO (May 1, 2020): Stay-at-home orders caught many medical practices and health care systems off guard, leaving them ill-equipped to rapidly adopt an efficient telemedicine platform so they could keep providing time-sensitive care to non-COVID-19 patients. To help organizations rapidly introduce telemedicine as an alternative option, a urology group in North Carolina developed a guide that enabled them to convert all in-person visits to telemedicine in three days.
Newcastle University researchers have developed a new class of self-forming membrane to separate carbon dioxide from a mixture of gases. Operating like a coffee filter, it lets harmless gases, such as nitrogen, exit into the atmosphere and then the carbon dioxide can be processed.
The team believe that the system may be applicable for use in carbon dioxide separation processes, either to protect the environment or in reaction engineering.
The failure of the NHS to provide adequate protective equipment for its employees--including basic items such as gloves and masks--has been among the many unpleasant shocks of the covid-19 crisis for healthcare professionals.
Yet there is a murkier scandal about the procurement of these everyday items that the NHS has yet to face, writes Jane Feinmann, freelance journalist in The BMJ today.
Low income workers in developing countries face a higher risk of income loss during the Covid-19 lockdown as it is less possible to conduct their jobs from home, suggests a new study from UCL, Bank of Thailand, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and GRIPS, Tokyo.
The study, published in Covid Economics: Vetted and Real-Time Papers, used Thailand as a case study but the findings are highly relevant for other countries with similar labour market structures - specifically, those with a large share of self-employment and low social safety net.
A growing number of new cancer drugs have come on the market in recent years, yet the cost of therapies in Europe and the United States have risen. This is driving up healthcare costs, which poses a challenge not only for the Swiss social insurance system, but for patients all over the world. But are the high prices of cancer drugs justified? Does the cost correspond to the particular drug's effectiveness in combating the disease? An international research team from the University of Zurich and Harvard Medical School carried out a study to examine these questions.
As the new coronavirus continues to claim lives, the race is on to develop fast, convenient and accurate diagnostic tests for COVID-19. Now, researchers from CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society specializing in scientific information solutions, have compiled a special report published in ACS Central Science. Drawing from published journal articles and a variety of other published resources, this report provides a detailed overview of COVID-19 diagnostic tests, trends and resources.
Below please find a summary and link(s) of new coronavirus-related content published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. The summary below is not intended to substitute for the full article as a source of information. A collection of coronavirus-related content is free to the public at http://go.annals.org/coronavirus.
In the United States, hepatocellular or liver cancer deaths have doubled since 1979. Hepatitis C virus is the leading cause of liver cancer. Around 1998, lifesaving drugs to treat hepatitis C - prohibitively expensive for some - were approved and launched. Historically, other lifesaving drugs such as active antiretroviral drug therapy for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and surfactant for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) of the newborn have led to increasing racial inequalities in mortality following their introduction in the U.S.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- With the coronavirus pandemic temporarily shuttering hair salons, many clients are appreciating -- and missing -- using hair dye to cover up grays or touch up roots. Whether done at a salon or at home, frequent coloring, however, can damage hair and might pose health risks from potentially cancer-causing dye components.
Now Northwestern University researchers have developed a new hair dye process that is much milder than traditional hair dyes. The dye uses synthetic melanin to mimic natural human hair pigmentation.
The global demand and consumption of agricultural crops is increasing at a rapid pace. According to the 2019 Global Agricultural Productivity Report, global yield needs to increase at an average annual rate of 1.73 percent to sustainably produce food, feed, fiber and bioenergy for 10 billion people in 2050. In the US, however, agricultural productivity is struggling to keep pace with population growth, highlighting the importance of research into traditional practices as well as new ones.
A new mathematical approach uses data on people's commutes between and within U.S. counties to identify important geographic regions. Mark He of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleagues present this work in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on April 29, 2020.
For most people, coffee is a necessary start to the day. For three scientists based in Toronto, coffee is a good research subject in a world with a changing climate.
These scientists explored the tissues of coffee roots to look for signs of a "core microbiome," or for signs of microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, that form partnerships with the coffee plant.