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FDA authorizes cheap rapid at-home COVID-19 tests
Cheap, rapid at-home COVID-19 tests will be available soon without a prescription.
Amazon is mass-producing face shields to sell to frontline workers
Amazon has donated nearly 10,000 face shields, and over the next few weeks, it plans to make hundreds of thousands available at-cost on Amazon.com.
Studies suggest cellphone radiation doesn't threaten humans
No, the debate over the risks of cellphone radiation isn't over yet. The US National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program has published details of draft studies which suggest that normal cellphone radiation levels aren't harmful to humans. The research subjected rats to very high levels of RF radiation at 2G and 3G cellular frequencies, and produced results where there was no clear pattern of harm even at the exaggerated radiation levels.
Robotic exoskeletons improve mobility for kids with cerebral palsy
Kids with cerebral palsy (CP) can have limited movement (and therefore independence) throughout their lives. Some of them who experience the related set of neurological and movement disorders have what's called "crouch gait," which is characterized by excessive bending at the knee; up to 50 percent of people with cerebral palsy stop walking by adulthood. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been testing robotic leg exoskeletons that help kids with CP walk more easily. According to the researchers, six of the seven study participants showed improved knee extension and were able to walk with robotic assistance after just six trials.
NIH might start funding human-animal chimera studies
The NIH could start funding experiments that inject human stem cells in animal embryos to create hybrids called "chimeras." It issued a blanket ban on chimera research last year, but it looks like the organization changed its mind after examining the science behind it and talking to lead experts in the field. Carrie D. Wolinetz, NIH's Associate Director for Science Policy, wrote in a blog post that the "formation of these types of human-animal organism, referred to as "chimeras," holds tremendous potential for disease modeling, drug testing and perhaps eventual organ transplant."
First US CRISPR gene editing trial in humans seeks approval
The federal committee that monitors DNA experiments on humans will make its first judgment on a CRISPR case next week. The Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee is looking at a proposal from the University of Pennsylvania, which wants to use the gene editing technique. The plan is to harvest T-cells from cancer patients and re-program them to better fend-off cancer cells. Rather than pumping people full of debilitating drugs and hope that cancers die off, the idea is that our own immune systems can do a better job. But in order to make it work, the cells need to have certain built-in safety features shut off, hence the need for oversight.
Alcohol measuring wristband wins government competition
BACtrack is a San Francisco company known for making breathalyzers for both law enforcement and ordinary people. But it won the $200,000 grand prize at a National Institutes of Health-sponsored competition for a different kind of blood alcohol monitor altogether: a wristband much like Fitbit and other fitness trackers that can measure BAC from your sweat. The device, called "Skyn," detects alcohol using a fuel cell technology similar to that used by law enforcement. However, it's less bulky and more discreet than existing equipment.
President Obama wants US to 'reignite its spirit of innovation'
President Obama gave his final State of the Union address on Tuesday. In it, he discussed how far the country has come over the last year and where he sees it going in the future. But beyond the expected talk of a rebuilt, stronger economy, soaring high school graduation rates and new civil liberties, he laid out a bold plan to, as he puts it, make "technology work for us, and not against us."
World's first in-human gene-editing treatment will tackle hemophilia
Hemophilia B is a terrifying disease. The livers of those suffering from the genetic disorder fail to produce a key protein called Factor IX, which is responsible for clotting blood. Without this protein, they're at constant risk of uncontrollable bleeding, including internally. However, a pair of researchers believe that their novel gene therapy could permanently cure the disease. To that end, the team of Michael Holmes and Thomas Wechsler from Richmond, California's Sangamo biopharmaceuticals, have announced that the world's first in-patient gene-editing therapy targeting these faulty genes will commence next week.
NIH bans funding for genetic engineering of human embryos
Researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China made headlines late last month upon announcing that they had successfully edited the genes of a human embryo. This revelation set off a firestorm of controversy as the scientific community took sides in the ethical debate of genetic manipulation. Now, the National Institute of Health has weighed in on the issue and is denying funding to research that involves meddling with the human germline.
Google-backed 23andMe gets public money for DNA research
Genetic testing firm 23andMe might not be on good terms with the FDA, but it impressed the National Institutes of Health enough for the agency to give it a $1.4 million grant. The money will be used for a two-year project that'll improve the firm's web-based genetic database and make data available (anonymously, that is) for use by external researchers. This will also allow the company to look into the association between genes and health conditions, conduct more extensive surveys to collect data, among other things that it details on its official announcement.
Vice President Biden reiterates need to research violent video games
On January 16, President Obama asked Congress to approve a $500 million plan with the goal of suppressing gun violence, including measures to limit magazines for military-style assault weapons to 10 rounds, making universal background checks mandatory for gun buyers and adding resource officers to schools that want them. Obama asked for $10 million for the Centers for Disease Control and other agencies to research the causes of gun violence, specifying "research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds."On January 24, Vice President Joe Biden held a "Fireside Hangout" to field questions about the proposal, noting again that there was no relevant research into the effects of violent video games on human behavior."There is no hard data as to whether or not these excessively violent video games in fact cause people to engage in behavior that is antisocial, including using guns," Biden said. He mentioned a study from the American Academy of Pediatrics that concluded that children watching three to six hours of video games can lead to aggressive behavior – the study didn't extrapolate to violent behavior, however."So I recommended to the President that we do significant research," Biden said. "Let CDC, let the National Institute of Health, let these people go out and look at the pathology that's behind this, if there is a pathology related to gun violence. We shouldn't be afraid of the facts."
Research doubts link between cell phones, cancer
Back in May, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued the controversial results of a study that linked frequent cell phone usage to certain types of brain tumors. Now a scientific journal, Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), has published an overview of similar studies that casts doubt on any links between cell phones and cancer. The journal notes that the WHO report was attempting to classify what kind of cancer risk might exist, not the actual probability of developing cancer. EHP had issues with the reliability of the WHO study, which asked 13,000 phone owners to remember cell phone usage from many years ago. The EHP authors mentioned that a number of other studies have not seen a link between cell phones and cancer. The importance of the EHP report lies in the fact that the journal has no connection at all with the cell phone industry, therefore reducing concerns of bias.
