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New cancer treatments in ‘dark matter’ of human genome discovered by researchers
Hallmarks are cellular behaviours that contribute to disease...
AI-powered WHO Digital Health Worker ‘Florence 2.0’ launched in Qatar
Florence can share advice on mental health, give tips to destress,...
New AI model may help treat cancer more effectively, study says
“This will help cancer researchers to prioritise which drug combinations to choose from thousands of options for further research,” said Tero Aittokallio from the University of Helsinki in Finland.
The researchers noted that the same machine learning approach could be used for non-cancerous diseases.
Singapore becomes first country to approve sale of lab-grown meat
Demand for alternatives to regular meat is surging due to consumer concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment. Plant-based meat options, popularised by Beyond Meat Inc and Impossible Foods, increasingly feature on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus.
People proving to be weakest link for apps tracking COVID-19 exposure
The problem starts with downloads. Stefano Tessaro calls it the “chicken-and-egg” issue:
The system works only if a lot of people buy into it, but people will buy into it only if they know it works.
“Accuracy of the system ends up increasing trust, but it is trust that increases adoptions, which in turn increases accuracy,” Tessaro, a computer scientist at the University of Washington who was involved in creating that state’s forthcoming contact-tracing app, said in a lecture last month.
Dictionary.com picks ‘pandemic’ as its 2020 word of the year
Asymptomatic, furlough, non-essential, hydroxychloroquine and a host of other pandemic-related words saw massive increases in lookups as well. Jennifer Steeves-Kiss, chief executive officer of Dictionary.com, said one key ingredient in the hunt for the site’s word of the year is sustained interest over time. Pandemic met that standard.
Researchers to explore how vitamin D affects Covid-19
The research team, including one of Indian-origin, have received nearly $241,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research on how vitamin D regulates the immune system in the gastrointestinal tract.
Singaporean gives birth to baby with COVID-19 antibodies: report
The baby was born this month without COVID-19 but with the virus antibodies, the Straits Times newspaper reported on Sunday, citing the mother. bit.ly/33I0liL
“My doctor suspects I have transferred my COVID-19 antibodies to him during my pregnancy,” Celine Ng-Chan told the paper.
China scientists say the coronavirus may have originated in India
In May, the World Health Assembly (WHA), the governing body of the 194-member states of the WHO, approved a resolution to set up an independent inquiry to conduct an impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation” of the international response as well as that of WHO.
Home health care improves COVID-19 outcomes: Study
“Our findings suggest that acute care providers might carefully consider which COVID-19 survivors would benefit from home health care after hospitalization,” writes Kathryn H. Bowles, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, FACMI, Professor of Nursing and van Ameringen Chair in Nursing Excellence at Penn Nursing
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Explainer: Will COVID-19 vaccines protect us? Does efficacy equal effectiveness?
There is a difference between efficacy rates obtained in clinical trials and effectiveness – the real-world protection rate of a vaccine when it is rolled out.
“Efficacy says: ‘Does it work?’. Effectiveness says: ‘Can it be applied? Can you carry the efficacy to the people?’,” said Marcel Tanner, an epidemiologist and president of Switzerland’s Academies of Arts and Sciences.
No need for vaccines, Covid effectively over: Ex-Pfizer VP
“You do not vaccinate people who aren’t at risk from the disease. You also don’t set about planning to vaccinate millions of fit and healthy people with a vaccine that hasn’t been extensively tested on human subjects,” Dr Michael Yeadon, its former Vice President and Chief Scientist said.