News
Hospitals in United States and Germany Team Up with Matternet and UPS to Make Medical Laboratory Deliveries by Drone the New Normal
Drone delivery service in healthcare is beginning to take flight. The successful use of unmanned aircraft to deliver patient specimens has major implications for clinical laboratories. When conditions allow them to fly, drones can significantly shorten delivery times of routine patient specimens such as blood and urine.
Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine offers decreased protection six months after second dose, suggests Israeli study
A recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv* determines whether the time elapsed since the second dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine is associated with an increased risk of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Natural vs. vaccine-induced COVID-19 immunity
A new paper discusses the protection offered by immunity against COVID-19 following vaccination as compared to natural infection.
Why Interruptions at Work Aren’t Always a Bad Thing
It comes as no surprise that being interrupted at work by other people can have negative effects, like lowered productivity. But a study shows an upside to these interruptions at work—increased feelings of belonging.
New Nanoparticle-based Technology Detects Cancer by Using a Multimodal Combination of Urine Tests and Medical Imaging
Oncologists and medical laboratory scientists know that most clinical laboratory tests currently used to diagnose cancer are either based on medical imaging technologies—such as CT scans and mammography—or on molecular diagnostics that detect cancer molecules in the body’s urine or blood. Now, in a study being conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), researchers have developed diagnostic nanoparticles that can not only detect cancer cells in bodily fluids but also image the cancer’s location.
New optical technique for remote detection of viruses on surfaces
Researchers from the Universidad de Sevilla (University of Seville) have developed and patented a prototype to detect remotely viruses (including synthetic SARS-CoV-2) deposited on surfaces, analyzing images taken at multiple wavelengths - the so-called hyperspectral imaging - a technique commonly used in astrophysics.
Scientists use AI to identify new biomarkers for breast cancer
Scientists at Case Western Reserve University have used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify new biomarkers for breast cancer that can predict whether the cancer will return after treatment-;and which can be identified from routinely acquired tissue biopsy samples of early-stage breast cancer.
Nanomaterial-Based Delivery Vehicles for Cancer Vaccine Development
Over the years, significant advancements in cancer research have led us to the next step in cancer therapy—vaccines for cancer! However, the direct use of these vaccines in the affected individuals have often failed to bring about desired anti-tumor effects. One of the reasons for this failure is the lack of targeted delivery to the tumor cells. Accordingly, the next phase in cancer research that scientists are currently focusing their efforts on is finding appropriate cancer vaccine delivery vehicles.
Climate Change Widespread, Rapid, and Intensifying: IPCC
Scientists are observing changes in the Earth's climate in every region and across the whole climate system, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report. Many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and some of the changes already set in motion—such as continued sea level rise—are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years.
Call to Increase Participation of Women in Cardiovascular Clinical Trials
Women must be equally represented in heart disease research to ensure that treatment recommendations meet their specific health needs, according to a report published in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The review highlights barriers to recruiting women into clinical trials and potential solutions.
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