Largest Study of Its Kind Identifies Which COVID-19 Patients Face the Greatest Risk of Mortality During Hospitalization

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients have a greater risk of dying if they are men or are obese or have complications from diabetes or hypertension, according to a new study conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers. In a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the researchers evaluated nearly 67,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in 613 hospitals across the country to determine link between common patient characteristics and the risk of dying from COVID-19.

Researchers discover new way to deliver DNA-based therapies for diseases

University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers have created a new polymer to deliver DNA and RNA-based therapies for diseases. For the first time in the industry, the researchers were able to see exactly how polymers interact with human cells when delivering medicines into the body. This discovery opens the door for more widespread use of polymers in applications like gene therapy and vaccine development.

PNNL Researchers Track Radioiodine’s Chemical Evolution

PNNL researchers are examining the volatile radioisotope iodine as it evolves in the atmosphere and as it lands on a filtering surface. A more detailed understanding of the interactions and chemical evolution of radioiodine could help first responders’ decision-making after the release of volatile iodine into the environment, which happened following nuclear power plant accidents in 1986 at Chernobyl and in 2011 at Fukushima.

Statewide Retail Alcohol Compliance Checks Cut Drink-Driving Crashes Among Drivers Under-21 Years Old

Regular statewide retail checks for compliance with the legal drinking age are associated with a sustained reduction in alcohol-related crashes for drivers aged under 21, according to an analysis of 11 years’ data from South Carolina. Previous research has shown that reductions in underage drinking lead to a decrease in drink-driving and alcohol-related crashes. However, few studies have assessed the impact of purposeful alcohol compliance checks – in which authorities use an underage informant to attempt to buy alcohol – on drink-related road accidents. The new study, reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, evaluated the impact of the South Carolina Alcohol Enforcement Team (AET) program for reducing retail alcohol access to underage youth on drinking and driving crashes among drivers under 21 years old.

Wildfire smoke carry microbes that can cause infectious diseases

Wildfire smoke contains microbes, infectious agents that might cause diseases. In a perspective piece published in Science, researchers at UC Davis Health and the University of Idaho proposed a multidisciplinary approach to study the health impacts of microbes carried by wildfire smokes.

Insurance status doesn’t alter trauma care outcome in Ghana

A team of Ghanaian and U.S. researchers examined whether having insurance affected trauma patients’ out-of-pocket costs and their chances to get timely surgical care after being admitted to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, a large teaching hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, a city of 3.3 million. The study was published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Collaborators came from Stanford University and the University of Utah.

Individuals with high ADHD-traits are more vulnerable to insomnia

Individuals with high ADHD-traits that do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis are less able to perform tasks involving attentional regulation or emotional control after a sleepless night than individuals with low ADHD-traits, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging reports.

Research strongly suggests COVID-19 virus enters the brain

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, like many viruses before it, is bad news for the brain. In a study published Dec.16 in Nature Neuroscience, researchers found that the spike protein, often depicted as the red arms of the virus, can cross the blood-brain barrier in mice.

This strongly suggests that SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, can enter the brain.

The spike protein, often called the S1 protein, dictates which cells the virus can enter. Usually, the virus does the same thing as its binding protein, said lead author William A. Banks, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Healthcare System physician and researcher. Banks said binding proteins like S1 usually by themselves cause damage as they detach from the virus and cause inflammation.

Supercomputers Simulate New Pathways for Potential RNA Virus Treatment

University of New Hampshire (UNH) researchers recently used high-performance supercomputers to identify new inhibitor binding/unbinding pathways in an RNA-based virus. The findings could be beneficial in understanding how these inhibitors react and potentially help develop a new generation of drugs to target viruses with high death rates, such as HIV-1, Zika, Ebola, and SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

UCI engineers reveal molecular secrets of cephalopod powers

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 17, 2020 — Reflectins, the unique structural proteins that give squids and octopuses the ability to change colors and blend in with their surroundings, are thought to have great potential for innovations in areas as diverse as electronics, optics and medicine. Scientists and inventors have been stymied in their attempts to fully utilize the powers of these biomolecules due to their atypical chemical composition and high sensitivity to subtle environmental changes.

Drowning in Disinformation

The use and spread of disinformation—false or misleading information intended to deceive people—is being amplified and accelerated at an alarming rate on the internet via social media. In a white paper for the Computing Research Association’s (CRA) Computing Community Consortium (CCC), researchers from Columbia Engineering, the Santa Fe Institute, the University of Colorado, and Arizona State University outline steps to begin dealing with the disinformation problem.

COVID-19 Pandemic had Big Impact on Commercial Fishing in Northeast

With restaurants and supply chains disrupted due to the global coronavirus pandemic, two-fifths of commercial fishermen surveyed from Maine through North Carolina did not go fishing earlier this year, according to a Rutgers study that also documented their resilience and adaptation. Of those who kept fishing, nearly all reported a decline in income compared with previous years, according to the survey of 258 fishers in the Northeast published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Taking greenhouse gas analysis on the road, er, rails

Since 2014, the University of Utah has maintained research-grade suites of air quality instruments installed on light rail trains. These mobile sensors cover the same area as 30 stationary sensors, providing the Salt Lake Valley with a highly cost-effective way to monitor its greenhouse emissions and fill in gaps in emissions estimates.

New Nature Lover? It’s a COVID-19 Side-Effect

What does it take to get some people to go outside and experience nature? For some urban dwellers, it took the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers say.

The new study finds that 26% of people visiting parks during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic had rarely – or never – visited nature in the previous year.

The study is one of the first to explore how COVID-19 has changed Americans’ relationship with nature.

The research will appear in PLOS ONE journal.

Two New Studies Offer Ways to Avert Accidents and Workplace Injuries for American Workers

Human error is a causal factor in up to 80 percent of workplace accidents. A new study measuring the eye movements and cognitive processes for at-risk workers, sheds new light on the potential to avert accidents and possibly prevent workplace injuries. The study “Measuring attention, working memory, and visual perception to reduce risk of injuries in the construction industry,” by Behzad Esmaeili, Ph.D., George Mason University challenges the conventional, reactionary paradigm of safety-risk management.

Study in mice shows genes may be altered through drug repurposing

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have published a study showing a promising approach to using drug repurposing to treat genetic diseases. A team from the UIC Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences published the article, “Gene dosage manipulation alleviates manifestations of hereditary PAX6 haploinsufficiency in mice” in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Simulations Reveal Nature’s Design for Error Correction During DNA Replication

A Georgia State University team has used the nation’s fastest supercomputer, Summit at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to find the optimal transition path that one E. coli enzyme uses to switch between building and editing DNA to rapidly remove misincorporated pieces of DNA.

UCI researchers create model to calculate COVID-19 health outcomes

Irvine, Calif., Dec. 17, 2020 —University of California, Irvine health sciences researchers have created a machine-learning model to predict the probability that a COVID-19 patient will need a ventilator or ICU care. The tool is free and available online for any healthcare organization to use. “The goal is to give an earlier alert to clinicians to identify patients who may be vulnerable at the onset,” said Daniel S.

Errant DNA Boosts Immunotherapy Effectiveness

DALLAS – Dec. 17, 2020 – DNA that ends up where it doesn’t belong in cancer cells can unleash an immune response that makes tumors more susceptible to immunotherapy, the results of two UT Southwestern studies indicate. The findings, published online today in Cancer Cell, suggest that delivering radiation – which triggers DNA release from cells – before immunotherapy could be an effective way to fight cancers that are challenging to treat.

Drinking Water Significant Source of Microplastics in Human Diet

In an effort to understand the potential risks associated with exposure to micro/nanoplastics, the Emerging Risks of Micro/nanoplastics: Perspectives From Diverse Sectors symposia at the 2020 Society for Risk Analysis virtual Annual Meeting, December 13-17, 2020, aims to highlight the current state of knowledge associated with physical and chemical transformation, hazard characterization, environmental effects, social implications and policy limitations.