Staff at Berkeley Lab’s X-Ray facility mobilize to support COVID-19-related research

X-rays allow researchers to map out the 3D structure of proteins relevant to diseases at the scale of molecules and atoms, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab’s) Advanced Light Source (ALS) X-ray facility has been recalled to action to support research related to COVID-19, the coronavirus disease that has already infected about 2 million…

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Making chemistry education more engaging with computers

The recent COVID-19 outbreak has been the main reason behind several temporary school closures around the world. This has made the idea of continuing to pursue educational activities during this time a challenging proposition. The current lockdowns implemented in different countries has forced schoolteachers who wish to complete their current teaching periods to transition immediately…

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Ludwig MSK study reveals bile metabolite of gut microbes boosts immune cells

APRIL 15, 2020, NEW YORK– A Ludwig Cancer Research study has discovered a novel means by which bacterial colonies in the small intestine support the generation of regulatory T cells–immune cells that suppress autoimmune reactions and inflammation. The study, led by Ludwig MSK Director Alexander Rudensky and published in Nature, demonstrates that a microbial metabolite–the…

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Cochrane Rapid Review Update: Protective clothes and equipment for healthcare workers to prevent them catching coronavirus and other highly infectious diseases

The Cochrane Review, “Personal protective equipment for preventing highly infectious diseases due to exposure to contaminated body fluids in healthcare staff,” has been updated as a rapid review in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The full review is now published in the Cochrane Library and freely available here. Plain language summary – Protective clothes and…

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ISSCR takes 2020 Annual Meeting virtual

Skokie, IL -In response to escalating concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the ISSCR is transforming its in-person annual meeting on 24-27 June, 2020 to a virtual event, ISSCR 2020 Virtual. “The Society remains committed to creating exceptional opportunities to share, discuss, and present new science in the stem cell field,” said Deepak Srivastava, ISSCR President.…

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With an NSF RAPID grant, NJIT engineers build a new model to track COVID-19

A team of environmental engineers at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is developing a new way to track the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus, by combining advanced statistical methods with models that incorporate environmental conditions, such as wind speed, temperature and social distancing. To date, modelers are largely tracking the growth in the…

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BU engineers make breakthrough that could open doors to continuous health-monitoring devices

Imagine a Fitbit that measures much more than steps, heart rate, and calories burned. It continually tracks all of the indicators of physiological health that currently require expensive and time-consuming analyses of blood plasma. The device is inexpensive, reliable, and powered by the same proteins that our bodies produce all day, every day. Although it…

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