A new AI algorithm developed by the University of Pittsburgh has achieved the highest accuracy to date in identifying prostate cancer, with 98% sensitivity and 97% specificity.
It’s the banking world’s version of the rich getting richer.
A record $2 trillion surge in cash hit the deposit accounts of U.S. banks since the coronavirus first struck the U.S. in January, according to FDIC data.
The wall of money flowing into banks has no precedent in history: in April alone, deposits grew by $865 billion, more than the previous record for an entire year.
The toxin can block the use of important amino acids required by the bacteria to produce essential proteins needed for survival.
An international team of researchers, led by Durham University, UK, and the Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Genetics/Centre Integrative Biology in Toulouse, France, are aiming to exploit this toxin to develop new anti-TB drugs.
Their findings are published in the journal Science Advances.
Summary: Researchers successfully applied a gene therapy platform to completely correct brain defects in a large animal model of a human genetic disease.
Source: University of Pennsylvania
A lone genetic mutation can cause a life-changing disorder with effects on multiple body systems. Lysosomal storage diseases, for example, of which there are dozens, arise due to single mutations that affect production of critical enzymes required to metabolize large molecules in cells. These disorders affect multiple organs including, notably, the brain, causing intellectual disability of varying degrees.
According to the University of Minnesota trial data supports dexamethasone over Hydroxychloroquine:
Data from a large randomized controlled trial in the United Kingdom showing a benefit from use of the steroid dexamethasone in hospitalized COVID-19 patients was released today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), while two more studies show no benefit for the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.
The NEJM data, which were originally reported in a press release in mid-June by the chief investigators of the RECOVERY (Randomized Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy) trial after an interim analysis, show that in patients needing mechanical ventilation, dexamethasone reduced deaths by 36% compared with usual care. In patients receiving oxygen, the incidence of death was 18% lower for patients on dexamethasone.
Continue reading “Trial data support dexamethasone, but not hydroxychloroquine, for COVID-19” »
Nearly 200 covid-19 vaccines are in development and some three dozen are at various stages of human testing. But in what appears to be the first “citizen science” vaccine initiative, Estep and at least 20 other researchers, technologists, or science enthusiasts, many connected to Harvard University and MIT, have volunteered as lab rats for a do-it-yourself inoculation against the coronavirus. They say it’s their only chance to become immune without waiting a year or more for a vaccine to be formally approved.
Preston Estep was alone in a borrowed laboratory, somewhere in Boston. No big company, no board meetings, no billion-dollar payout from Operation Warp Speed, the US government’s covid-19 vaccine funding program. No animal data. No ethics approval.
What he did have: ingredients for a vaccine. And one willing volunteer.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), long the world’s largest tech trade show, will be all-digital in January 2021, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced on Monday. The CTA cited the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about the spread of the virus as its reasoning for canceling the in-person event.
CES usually takes place in Las Vegas and involves many large gatherings in tightly packed convention halls, as well as smaller meetings between retailers, manufacturers, and other industry professionals.
Per the CTA, the digital CES will be a “new immersive experience.” The organization did not provide many details about what the online event will look like, but it claims it will be “highly personalized.” The organization still plans to hold CES 2022 in Las Vegas.
The discovery could lead to long lasting brain implants that can both treat neurological disease and enable mind controlled prosthetics and machines.
A group of researchers from the University of Michigan has created a new ultra-low-power brain implant. The scientists say that the estimated reduction in power requirements is about 90% for their new creations. Not only have they reduced the power requirements for the implants, they have also made them more accurate.
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Cannabis sativa, especially one high in the anti-inflammatory cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD), has been proposed to modulate gene expression and inflammation and harbour anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Working under the Health Canada research license, we have developed over 800 new Cannabis sativa lines and extracts and hypothesized that high-CBD C. sativa extracts may be used to modulate ACE2 expression in COVID-19 target tissues. Screening C. sativa extracts using artificial human 3D models of oral, airway, and intestinal tissues, we identified 13 high CBD C. sativa extracts that modulate ACE2 gene expression and ACE2 protein levels. Our initial data suggest that some C. sativa extract down-regulate serine protease TMPRSS2, another critical protein required for SARS-CoV2 entry into host cells.
While our most effective extracts require further large-scale validation, our study is crucial for the future analysis of the effects of medical cannabis on COVID-19. The extracts of our most successful and novel high CBD C. sativa lines, pending further investigation, may become a useful and safe addition to the treatment of COVID-19 as an adjunct therapy. They can be used to develop easy-to-use preventative treatments in the form of mouthwash and throat gargle products for both clinical and at-home use. Such products ought to be tested for their potential to decrease viral entry via the oral mucosa. Given the current dire and rapidly evolving epidemiological situation, every possible therapeutic opportunity and avenue must be considered.
Coronavirus Success Story: How Rwanda Is Curbing COVID-19 : Goats and Soda They’ve got roughly the same population. But Ohio has over 1,000 new cases a day while Rwanda has had 1,500 cases … since March. Among its strategies: free random testing and robot caregivers.
