Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awards new quantitative biology fellowships

The first class of Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Fellowship Awardees launched their research in novel directions that may lead to the next breakthroughs in cancer research. Nine brilliant young scientists will apply their quantitative skills to design innovative experiments and interpret massive data sets that may help solve important biological and clinical problems. The awardees…

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Promising study by Texas A&M scientists offers hope for Menkes disease patients

A Texas A&M AgriLife Research team has good news for patients with copper-deficiency disorders, especially young children diagnosed with Menkes disease. A team led by James Sacchettini, Ph.D. professor and Welch Chair of Science, and Vishal Gohil, Ph.D., associate professor, both from the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Texas A&M University, published a paper…

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To climb like a gecko, robots need toes

Robots with toes? Experiments suggest that climbing robots could benefit from having flexible, hairy toes, like those of geckos, that can adjust quickly to accommodate shifting weight and slippery surfaces. Biologists from the University of California, Berkeley, and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics observed geckos running horizontally along walls to learn how they use…

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Pediatric coronavirus disease (COVID-19) x-ray, CT in review of new lung disorders

Leesburg, VA, May 8, 2020–Although the clinical symptoms of new pediatric lung disorders such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), swine-origin influenza A (H1N1), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pneumonia may be nonspecific, some characteristic imaging findings “have emerged or are currently emerging,”…

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New antigen test for detecting COVID-19 could help triage patients during the pandemic

One of the most important tools in stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is rapid, reliable and relatively cheap diagnostic testing at the point of care. Scientists in Europe recently evaluated the frontline capabilities of a commercially available, 15-minute disposable antigen test to detect COVID-19 infections. Their findings, reported in Frontiers in Medicine,…

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Canadian study finds temperature, latitude not associated with COVID-19 spread

Temperature and latitude do not appear to be associated with the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to a study of many countries published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) //www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.200920, but school closures and other public health measures are having a positive effect. “Our study provides important new evidence, using global data from…

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Global Tracker: U.K., India, Russia

Here’s what you need to know: ImagePolice guards outside St. Thomas’ Hospital in London last month.Credit…Andrew Testa for The New York Times New statistics underscore the racial gap in Britain’s death toll. Black people in England and Wales are twice as likely to die from the coronavirus as white people, even accounting for differences in…

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