News
DNA Sensor Quickly Determines Whether Viruses Are Infectious
A new sensor can detect not only whether a virus is present, but whether it’s infectious—an important distinction for containing viral spread. The sensor was tested on the human adenovirus and the virus that causes COVID-19.
Urine Reflex Testing: Why and How?
To boost efficiency, many laboratories have implemented reflex testing approaches. If paired with carefully designed electronic order options and clinical decision-support systems, this strategy has the potential to optimize test utilization, improve result turnaround times, and reduce laboratory costs for reagents and labor.
COVID-19 Virus Is Evolving to Get Better at Becoming Airborne
Results of a new study led by the University of Maryland School of Public Health show that people infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 exhale infectious virus in their breath—and those infected with the Alpha variant (the dominant strain circulating at the time this study was conducted) put 43 to 100 times more virus into the air than people infected with the original strains of the virus.
Experts Raise Questions about Current Standards of Drug Regulation
A growing number of drugs are being approved on the basis of indirect (surrogate) measures that do not always reliably predict outcomes that matter most to patients, such as living longer or feeling better.
MHRI aims to delve deeper into how musical intervention can affect health
If popular wisdom holds that music is good for the soul, science is increasingly seeking to better understand how music can affect the body, brain, and mind, as evidenced by the 2020 publication of the first World Health Organization report on health and music.
Office Air Quality May Affect Employees’ Cognition, Productivity
The air quality within an office can have significant impacts on employees’ cognitive function, including response times and ability to focus, and it may also affect their productivity, according to new research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Researchers explore which types of brain activity support consciousness
Consciousness remains one of the brain's biggest mysteries. We know very little about how it emerges from activity within the brain, but most neuroscientists agree consciousness is dynamic in nature.
NIH Study Illuminates Origins of Lung Cancer in Never Smokers
A genomic analysis of lung cancer in people with no history of smoking has found that a majority of these tumors arise from the accumulation of mutations caused by natural processes in the body. This study was conducted by an international team led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and describes for the first time three molecular subtypes of lung cancer in people who have never smoked.
Researchers to investigate suicidal behavior and self-harm among healthcare workers
A group of researchers from the University of Bristol and University College London recently collaborated in order to plan an investigation into suicidal behavior and self-harm in healthcare workers.
New Technology Designed to Genetically Control Disease-Spreading Mosquitoes
Leveraging advancements in CRISPR-based genetic engineering, researchers at the University of California (UC) San Diego have created a new system that restrains populations of mosquitoes that infect millions each year with debilitating diseases.
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