Tag: medicine
Clearstep’s COVID-19 chat-based screener goes in-depth to preserve healthcare resources
There are a growing number of symptom checker and screening tools that you can use at home if you suspect you might have contracted the new coronavirus that is causing the global COVID-19 pandemic. Most of these are relatively simple, including around three or four questions that basically cover the…
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How one company is fast-tracking development of potential plasma-based treatments for the coronavirus
Medical biotech company Emergent BioSolutions is one of the many health industry players turning its efforts towards addressing the current global coronavirus pandemic. Their work includes a two-pronged effort to pursue plasma-based treatments that could help lessen the impact of COVID-19 on health care systems, with a fast-tracked development timeline…
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UK researchers develop new low-cost, rapid COVID-19 test that could even be used at home
A new type of test developed by UK researchers from the Brunel University London, Lancaster University and the University of Surrey can provide COVID-19 detection in as little as 30 minutes, using hand-held hardware that costs as little as £100 (around $120 USD) with individual swab sample kits that cost…
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New study casts doubt on hyrdoxychloroquine’s effectiveness in treating coronavirus
In a prime example of why President Trump shouldn’t be endorsing any unproven potential treatments for the novel coronavirus behind the current global pandemic, a new small-scale study by researchers in China indicates that the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine actually isn’t any more effective than standard, existing best practice for conventional…
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New coronavirus research suggests vaccines developed to treat it could be long-lasting
A new study from Italian researchers suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which is the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic currently causing a global health crisis, is relatively slow to mutate – meaning that any effective vaccine that is developed to prevent people from getting infected should be broadly effective across…
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FDA now allows treatment of life-threatening COVID-19 cases using blood from patients who have recovered
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its rules around use of experimental treatments for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to include use of ‘convalescent plasma,’ in cases where the patient’s life is seriously or immediately threatened. This isn’t an approval of the procedure as a certified treatment, but…
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