It has been a year since Wuhan health authorities first issued a bulletin about a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown cause, first bringing what would become the COVID-19 pandemic to the attention of the World Health Organization. Now, a mutation that significantly increases SARS-CoV-2’s transmissibility has been detected in the U.S. On Dec. 29, Colorado public health authorities reported the first known case of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 VUI 202012/01 (Variant Under Investigation, year 2020, month 12, variant 01), also called B.1.1.7, variant in the U.S. The patient in question, a male in his 20s, has not traveled internationally, indicating that the variant is already circulating more widely in the U.S.
Scientists at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., have developed a small-molecule inhibitor of the cellular stress-protective transcription factor, heat-shock factor 1, which showed developmental promise against treatment-resistant prostate cancer and other cancers. The small molecule, Direct Targeted HSF1 InhiBitor (DTHIB), may also be a useful research tool for investigating the regulation and role of HSF1 in basic stress biology and in cancer.
Keeping you up to date on recent developments in oncology, including: Microscopic robots inch closer to clinical practicability; One thing often leads to another for cancer patients; PARP inhibitors under more scrutiny; New liposome may suppress false positives in FDG-PET.
Startup Faze Medicines Inc. launched in early December with a series A funding of $81 million, and an A list of investors, led by Third Rock Ventures – an indicator of the attention condensates are attracting from the biopharma industry. Faze CSO Rachel Meyers, though, named another indicator for condensates’ blue-ribbon status: rumors have it that the 7th edition of Molecular Biology of the Cell – a workhorse textbook for 30 years’ worth of students in the field – will be the first to include information on condensates.
Keeping you up to date on recent developments in cardiology, including: Differences seen between the sexes in terms of stroke survival; Light used to control cardiac waves; 3D-printed blood vessels ID possible link between coronavirus, stroke.
A U.S. study has shown for the first time that enhancing signals from the nociceptive nervous system could provide new approaches to improve the collection of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for treating cancers of the blood and bone marrow.
HONG KONG – A research team at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has developed a fully automated, low-cost and rapid microrobotic diagnostic system that can be used with multiple pathogens, including COVID-19. The system works by integrating fluorescent microrobots with an external magnetic actuation system to detect pathogens in patient samples.
Keeping you up to date on recent developments in orthopedics, including: Remote monitoring leads to fourfold decline in returns to hospital after joint surgery; Researchers identify rare genetic bone disorder through massive sequencing methods; Orthogrid Systems says data support the use of its technology for orthopedic surgery; Exercise may protect bone health after weight loss surgery.
Scientists at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, have developed a small-molecule inhibitor of the cellular stress-protective transcription factor, heat-shock factor 1, which showed developmental promise against treatment-resistant prostate cancer and other cancers.
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