Category: Community
Chinese university develops 15-minute test kit for coronavirus detection
China’s Nankai University expects its newly-developed coronavirus rapid test kit to be used in the epidemic prevention and control soon – the northern Chinese university’s Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) IgM/IgG antibody detection kit was developed alongside a group of experts from other Chinese universities and biopharmaceutical companies. The Nankai test kit requires a shorter testing time […]
An infectious person estimated to pass the COVID-19 virus onto two others
The number of cases related to the COVID-19, or the Wuhan coronavirus, suggests that the virus can spread via human-to-human transmission through droplets, contact or fomites, similar to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) or the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 16-21% of people with the virus […]
US scientists find promising new stroke treatment; are working on recovery assessment tool
Trauma from an acute stroke can be quick and extensive – in less than 60 seconds, an ischaemic stroke kills 1.9 million brain cells. An analysis by a team at the University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center (UGA-RBC) showed that brain cells near the site of the stroke injury starve and die from lack of […]
Experimental HIV vaccine “deeply disappoints” in South Africa trial
An experimental vaccine trial of some 5,000 people in South Africa has just been stopped by The National Institutes of Health (NIH) as it found the jab did not prevent the HIV virus that causes the deadly acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The HVTN 702 trial involved the most promising HIV-vaccine yet – it was […]
Australian scientists first to recreate novel coronavirus outside China
Researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, have become the first to successfully cultivate the Wuhan coronavirus (Wuhan CoV) outside of China, which will provide crucial information to help scientists diagnose and treat the virus. Of this latest breakthrough, experts have said the copy “will be a game changer” […]
UK team puts coronavirus contagion rate at 2-3 people per infected case
The coronavirus contagion rate is alarming, with each infected individual passing on the disease to at least two or three other people on average, according to a recent analysis by Imperial College London (Imperial). Another analysis by researchers at Britain’s Lancaster University (Lancaster) similarly places the contagion rate at 2.5 new people on average being […]
US scientists’ adenosine-harvesting bandage offers healing “boost” to broken bones
In a typical bone fracture or break, the body produces adenosine to provide internal healing, but the substance is metabolised by the body just as quickly. As such, scientists at North Carolina’s Duke University (Duke) designed a prototype bandage to absorb and retain adenosine at the injury site, to prolong its healing duty. Duke’s Professor […]
Research paper alleges China CRISPR babies have “unintended mutations”
Dr. He Jiankui’s revolutionary approach to gene-editing may have created problematic “off-target” mutations instead of conferring natural HIV resistance, according to a manuscript released recently. Dr. He’s paper, made public for the first time, contains “a litany of flaws, omissions, deceptions, and egoistical claims” which surround Chinese twins Lula and Nana, created through the CRISPR/Cas9 […]
Samoa’s unvaccinated citizens to show red flags in country-wide vaccination against measles
The tiny Pacific nation of 200,000 is to widen its vaccination programme against measles, a highly infectious and deadly disease outbreak. Previous efforts were concentrated on children, who marked most of the dead, but will now include the entire population in a new vaccination campaign. The death toll from the outbreak has recently risen to […]
US scientists use mild electric current to treat infections from dental implants
Dental-implant based fungal infections still persist with sturdy materials – titanium implants, for example, may be strong, light and corrosion-resistant but can lead to nasty infections and subsequent removal of the implant. However, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh’s (Pitt) Swanson School of Engineering, in the US, suggest that electrifying the titanium may be effective […]
