A new study of human olfactory cells has revealed that viral invasion of supportive cells in the nasal cavity might be driving the loss of smell seen in some patients with COVID-19. The findings show that non-neuronal cells in the brain and nose express genes critical for SARS-CoV-2 entry, while neurons do not; therefore, non-neuronal…
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The National Institutes of Health awarded Penn State researchers a $1.85 million grant to develop a new way to test if dysfunctions in certain areas of the brain lead to mental health complications and brain disorders. If proven, the research would lead to better mental health treatments. Like the internet, the…
Boston, MA — Early and accurate detection is critical for preventing the spread of COVID-19 and providing appropriate care for patients. Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs, which require inserting a long shaft into the nasal cavity to collect a sample from the back of the nose and throat, are currently the gold standard for collecting a specimen…
An experimental messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) elicits protective immune responses in mice and non-human primates, researchers report on July 23rd in the journal Cell. Two injections of the vaccine were sufficient to induce robust immunity, completely preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice. “The robust protection observed in the…
WASHINGTON, July 24, 2020 — Journalists may now apply for press credentials for the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo, one of the largest scientific conferences of the year. The meeting will be held online Aug. 17-20, 2020. Thousands of scientists and other attendees are expected to gather for more than…
A Nature study authored by a global team of scientists and led by Sumit Chanda, Ph.D., professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, has identified 21 existing drugs that stop the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The scientists analyzed one of the world’s largest collections of known drugs for their ability…
NEW YORK, NY (July 24, 2020) — The number of heart transplants in the United States declined sharply during the beginning of the pandemic, even in areas of the country with few COVID-19 cases at the time, according to an analysis by researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The study found that the number…
Washington, DC – July 24, 2020 – A team of researchers showed that artificial intelligence (AI) could help predict the type of bacteria that caused the infection in patients with pneumonia. The research is presented at ASM Microbe Online, the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. “This research highlights the potential of AI…
While the technology for developing artificial intelligence-powered chatbots has existed for some time, a new viewpoint piece in JAMA lays out the clinical, ethical, and legal aspects that must be considered before applying them in healthcare. And while the emergence of COVID-19 and the social distancing that accompanies it has prompted more health systems to…
Today’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the first CAR T-cell therapy for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) represents a key advance for patients with relapsed or treatment-resistant forms of the disease, say Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators who helped conduct the decisive clinical trial of the therapy. Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center (DF/BWCC) will be…