From Michael Lewis, a ‘Superhero Story’ About the Pandemic

Lewis, the author of best-selling nonfiction like “Moneyball” and “The Big Short,” is known for coaxing compelling narratives out of mind-numbingly complex subjects — mortgage-backed securities, sovereign debt, statistics, the dull but essential mechanics of government bureaucracy. His previous books have collectively sold more than 10 million copies. With “The Premonition,” he is taking on…

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Screening asymptomatic health care personnel for COVID-19 not recommended by experts

BOSTON — Routine screening of asymptomatic health care personnel (HCP) in the absence of confirmed exposures to COVID-19 is not a recommended strategy for preventing transmission of the coronavirus causing the current global pandemic, according to a new review co-authored by an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The review, published in Infection…

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Counties with more cannabis dispensaries show reduced opioid deaths

Counties with a greater number of cannabis dispensary storefronts experience reduced numbers of opioid-related deaths relative to other locales, a recent University of California, Davis, study has found. This is the first study to examine the association between active cannabis dispensary operations — both medical and recreational — and opioid-related mortality rates at the county…

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NYU Dentistry awarded NIH grant to investigate oral cancer pain treatment utilizing co-delivery of DNA and RNA

NYU College of Dentistry clinician-scientists Seiichi Yamano and Brian Schmidt have set out to develop a new class of medicines using gene therapy to effectively and safely treat oral cancer pain. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded the researchers a five-year, $3,276,000…

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The Lancet: Study estimates that, without vaccination against 10 diseases, mortality in children under five would be 45% higher in low-income and middle-income countries

Peer-reviewed / Simulation or Modelling / People A new modelling study has estimated that from 2000 to 2030 vaccination against 10 major pathogens – including measles, rotavirus, HPV and hepatitis B – will have prevented 69 million deaths in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). The study estimated that, as a result of vaccination programmes, those…

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Rutgers seeks to identify risk factors for severe illness in children from COVID-19

Rutgers researchers have been awarded $1.6 million from the National Institutes of Health in support of the creation of a national collaborative network seeking to identify risk and protective factors that may allow clinicians or public health professionals to predict which children are at greatest risk for serious illness from SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that…

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Voters perceive political candidates with a disability as qualified for elected office

Worldwide, over one billion people live with a disability. Historically, they have been discriminated against and stigmatized by society. To improve their rights, they should be included in political decision-making, yet there is a lack of political representatives who are known to have a disability. This under-representation may be due to several factors, including how…

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