Public health expert Shattuck studies impact of social distancing on spread of infection

(March 17, 2021) — Eric Shattuck, assistant professor of research in the UTSA Institute for Health Disparities Research (IHDR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio, is studying the phenomenon of social distancing in response to infectious disease and…

Artificial intelligence calculates suicide attempt risk

A machine learning algorithm that predicts suicide attempt recently underwent a prospective trial at the institution where it was developed, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Over the 11 consecutive months concluding in April 2020, predictions ran silently in the background as…

Study: Political, economic, social factors affect local decisions about death penalty

Broad political, economic, and social factors influence disciplinary punishment. In particular, over the last half century, such considerations have shaped jurisdictions’ use of the death penalty, which has declined considerably since the 1990s. A new study examined the factors associated…

Failing to see the forest for the trees may prevent better cardiovascular outcomes

Managing single risk factors like blood pressure rather than looking at overall risk may be wasting scarce resources in countries where cardiovascular disease (CVD) is on the rise, according to a new study. Researchers looked at country-specific levels of cardiovascular…

Studies examines characteristics of patients with cancer who died by suicide

Individuals with cancer face a higher risk of suicide than people in the general population, but little is known about the characteristics of patients with cancer who have died by suicide. A new study published in Psycho-Oncology compared the characteristics…

‘Silent epidemic of grief’ leaves bereaved and bereavement care practitioners struggling

Major changes in bereavement care have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, amid a flood of demand for help from bereaved people, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. The first major study of pandemic-related changes in bereavement care has found that the switch to remote working has helped some services to reach out, but many practitioners feel they do not have capacity to meet people’s needs.

March SLAS Discovery explores COVID-19 drug therapies six months later

Oak Brook, IL – The March edition of SLAS Discovery features the cover article, “Therapeutic and Vaccine Options for COVID-19: Status After 6 Months of the Disease Outbreak” by Christian Ogaugwu (Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria ), Dawid Maciorowski,…

Disease tolerance: Skeletons reveal humans evolved to fight pathogens

As Covid-19 impacts lives around the world- a new skeleton study is reconstructing ancient pandemics to assess human’s evolutionary ability to fight off leprosy, tuberculosis and treponematoses with help from declining rates of transmission when the germs became widespread. The…

Study finds short window for donating convalescent plasma to COVID-19 patients

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The optimal timeframe for donating convalescent plasma for use in COVID-19 immunotherapy, which was given emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration in August 2020, is within 60 days of the onset of symptoms,…

Antibodies recognize and attack different SARS-CoV-2 spike shapes

The spikes on the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, change shapes; new research reveals ways that antibodies can recognize these different shapes and block the virus and informs the design of vaccines and antiviral therapies

How SARS-CoV-2’s sugar-coated shield helps activate the virus

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is coated with sugars called glycans, which help it evade the immune system; new research shows precisely how those sugars help the virus become activated and infectious and could help with vaccine and drug disc

Tool encoded in coronaviruses provides a potential target for COVID-19

Viruses make copies of themselves during an infection, and new research sheds light on one of the coronavirus molecules that is important for this process, providing a potential drug target that could work for Covid-19 and other coronavirus outbreaks too.

Mental health, substance use, suicidal ideation during COVID-19 pandemic

What The Study Did: This survey study compared patterns of mental health concerns, substance use and suicidal ideation during June and September of the COVID-19 pandemic and examined at-risk demographic groups. Authors: Mark É. Czeisler, A.B., Monash University in Clayton,…

‘Classic triad’ of symptoms misses positive COVID-19 cases, study finds

Extending the symptoms that trigger a PCR test for COVID-19 could help detect around a third more cases of the disease. New research led by researchers at King’s College London and published in the Journal of Infection suggests that restricting…

George Mason, Rutgers partner to better inform HER2 breast cancer treatment

A George Mason University and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey collaboration received the U.S. Army’s Breast Cancer Research Program Breakthrough Award to indicate success likelihood of personalized HER2 biomarker breast cancer treatments

Disease epidemic possibly caused population collapse in Central Africa 1600-1400 years ago

A new study published in the journal Science Advances shows that Bantu-speaking communities in the Congo rainforest underwent a major population collapse from 1600 to 1400 years ago, probably due to a prolonged disease epidemic, and that significant resettlement did…

Caution: 1918 influenza provides warning for potential future pandemic reemergence

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The 1918 influenza pandemic provides a cautionary tale for what the future may hold for COVID-19, says a Michigan State University researcher. After a decade studying a flu virus that killed approximately 15,000 Michigan residents, Siddharth…

Factors associated with racial differences in deaths among nursing home residents with COVID-19 in US

What The Study Did: This observational study describes differences in the number of COVID-19 deaths by nursing home racial composition and examines the factors associated with these differences. Authors: Rebecca J. Gorges, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago, is the corresponding…