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Released: 8-Apr-2020 9:00 AM EDT
Engineering student builds ventilator prototype in campus residence over weekend using Walmart parts
Binghamton University, State University of New York

To help during the COVID-19 pandemic, a mechanical engineering student at Binghamton University, State University of New York, made a ventilator over a weekend mainly using items he bought at Walmart.

Released: 8-Apr-2020 9:00 AM EDT
Singapore Spacer: Mapping concentrations of people in campus buildings
National University of Singapore (NUS)

Singapore Spacer, a tool developed jointly by a team from NUS, SMU, Aviation Virtual and ESRI, enables administrators to identify places on campus where people concentrations are high, so that policy decisions can be taken to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission.

   
Released: 8-Apr-2020 9:00 AM EDT
Repurposing Existing Drugs Could Offer Faster Path to COVID-19 Treatment
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

A map of interactions between the novel coronavirus and human proteins is helping scientists identify drugs that might work as therapeutics.

   
Released: 8-Apr-2020 8:30 AM EDT
FAU Finds Simple Solution to Make Thousands of Face Shields for Baptist Health South Florida
Florida Atlantic University

A disposable face shield developed by FAU only requires clear polyester plastic, elastic fabric bands, and a laser cutter. Unlike 3D printed solutions, this process is simple and quick. FAU re-tooled their facilities to leverage the opportunity to make face shields much faster than are currently being manufactured. They plan to share the blueprint for this PPE broadly with other academic institutions as well as industry.

   
Released: 7-Apr-2020 5:25 PM EDT
Be proactive about mental health duringCOVID isolation, clinical psychologist says
University of Alabama Huntsville

Seeking out good news is a great way to keep mentally balanced during the long period of social isolation imposed by the COVID-19 battle, says a clinical psychologist who is an associate professor of psychology at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

Released: 7-Apr-2020 5:05 PM EDT
UCLA web app will enlist public’s help in slowing the spread of COVID-19
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

UCLA researchers have launched an app called Stop COVID-19 Together, which is designed to predict the spread of COVID-19 throughout the community and to assess the effectiveness of current measures in that community, including physical distancing. The app will build a map of possible hotspots where there may be a higher risk for accelerated spread of the disease.

   
Released: 7-Apr-2020 4:10 PM EDT
UAB among first in the U.S. to offer clinical trial for the treatment of patients with severe COVID-19 using nitric oxide
University of Alabama at Birmingham

iNO has been used for the treatment of failing lungs, but it was also found to have antiviral properties against coronaviruses.The University of Alabama at Birmingham has been selected to begin enrolling patients in an international study assessing the use of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) to improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients with severely damaged lungs.

Released: 7-Apr-2020 4:05 PM EDT
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to Hold COVID-19 Expert Media Briefing
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is launching the first in a series of press briefings at 2:30–3 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 9.

Released: 7-Apr-2020 3:05 PM EDT
Engineered virus might be able to block coronavirus infections, mouse study shows
American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

No vaccines exist that protect people against infections by coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, or the ones that cause SARS and MERS. As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc, many labs around the world have developed a laser-like focus on understanding the virus and finding the best strategy for stopping it.

   
Released: 7-Apr-2020 2:20 PM EDT
Seeking COVID cures: Scientists find promising first step in antiviral treatment
Cornell University

Researchers from Cornell University have identified a possible target for antiviral treatment for COVID-19.

   
Released: 7-Apr-2020 1:45 PM EDT
Study Demonstrates the Need for Immediate ICU Care for Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia, Describes Patient Characteristics
American Thoracic Society (ATS)

Researchers have identified the most common clinical characteristics of 109 patients with COVID-19 related pneumonia who died in Wuhan, China in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

Released: 7-Apr-2020 1:40 PM EDT
Measuring Frailty More Accurately Predicts Cost of Care
Saint Louis University

A team of researchers identified a way to measure frailty using patients’ medical claims that more accurately predict costs-of-care, especially for clinicians with disproportionate shares of frail patients.

Released: 7-Apr-2020 1:20 PM EDT
Artificial Intelligence Enables Rapid COVID-19 Lung Imaging Analysis at UC San Diego Health
UC San Diego Health

With support from Amazon Web Services, UC San Diego Health physicians are using AI in a clinical research study aimed at speeding the detection of pneumonia, a condition associated with severe COVID-19.

   
Released: 7-Apr-2020 12:40 PM EDT
Loyola Medicine Pediatrician Offers Advice on Protectingand Caring for Children During COVID-19
Loyola Medicine

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating unprecedented challenges for children and parents. However, Bridget Boyd, MD, a Loyola Medicine pediatrician, says there are ways that parents can communicate, and actions that they can take, to protect children and help them to better understand, adapt to and recover from this experience. In the new Loyola Medicine video, “COVID-19: What Parents Need to Know about Protecting Their Kids,” Dr. Boyd offers tips for parents and caregivers.

Released: 7-Apr-2020 11:40 AM EDT
Sanitizing N95 Masks with Alternatives Like UV Light; UNH Expert Offers Comment
University of New Hampshire

With the number of COVID-19 cases expected to surge in the U.S. and N95 mask supplies dwindling, medical communities are desperately looking for alternative solutions for disinfecting masks that healthcare workers are being forced to reuse. Nationally known expert in disinfectant methods, Jim Malley, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of New Hampshire, says methods like UV light, heat & humidity and vaporized hydrogen peroxide are the best known viable practices and while they are not long-term solutions, if used correctly, they can be effective in emergency situations.

   
Released: 7-Apr-2020 10:40 AM EDT
Dana-Farber scientists bring experience from SARS and MERS outbreaks to aid COVID-19 research
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

As scientists race to develop and test new treatments for COVID-19, Dana-Farber’s Wayne Marasco, MD, PhD, and his lab team are bringing one of the world’s most formidable resources to the effort: a “library” of 27 billion human antibodies against viruses, bacteria, and other bodily invaders.The collection, created by Marasco and his associates in 1997 using blood samples from more than 57 Dana-Farber staff, has already had an illustrious history in the quest to tame viral disease outbreaks.

Released: 7-Apr-2020 9:00 AM EDT
Researchers Working on Computational Models to Design Ways to Treat COVID-19
Brookhaven National Laboratory

A team of Stony Brook University (SBU) researchers is working on computer models that could help speed the discovery of drugs to combat the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. They are doing this work in collaboration with scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory, and will be leveraging those laboratories’ computational resources and expertise.

   
Released: 7-Apr-2020 9:00 AM EDT
Tufts University offers tools, guidance to encourage universities to help relieve strain on nation’s healthcare system
Tufts University

In its continuing efforts to encourage colleges and universities across the country to share resources and facilities with local hospitals and communities to relieve unprecedented strain on the healthcare system caused by COVID-19, Tufts University today announced it is making available tools and guidance to help facilitate relationships between schools and their local healthcare providers and government authorities.

Released: 7-Apr-2020 8:50 AM EDT
A New Coronavirus Vaccine Designed to Meet a Global Demand
Thomas Jefferson University

The fastest recipe for worldwide access to a coronavirus vaccine may be to build upon on an existing vaccine with an already established manufacturing and supply chain.

Released: 7-Apr-2020 8:30 AM EDT
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Makes $500,000 Donation to Support COVID-19 Related Activities by American Thoracic Society
American Thoracic Society (ATS)

Today, the American Thoracic Society announced that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., donated $500,000 to support the ATS COVID-19 Crisis Fund, a newly launched initiative to develop and disseminate research, education and scientific recommendations to providers in the pulmonary and critical care communities, as well as other clinicians in need of expanding their skill set during this emergency. Boehringer Ingelheim is the first to make a donation to the Fund.

Released: 7-Apr-2020 8:20 AM EDT
Complexity scientists available to discuss implications of COVID-19 pandemic
Santa Fe Institute

The COVID-19 pandemic is an example of complexity in action. Researchers who study complex systems are available to answer questions on topics such as why systems collapse, the nature of an evolving virus and its ecology, how networks spread disease and economic instability, the mathematics of modeling outbreaks, the way decision-making modifies disease spread, and other ideas that touch on the disease.

Released: 7-Apr-2020 8:00 AM EDT
Story Tips From Johns Hopkins Experts on COVID-19
Johns Hopkins Medicine

The following are various story ideas regarding the COVID-19 illness. To interview experts in these tips or others at Johns Hopkins, contact [email protected].

Released: 6-Apr-2020 5:40 PM EDT
McKelvey Engineering staff creating face shields for health care workers
Washington University in St. Louis

McKelvey Engineering staff are pitching in to create personal protective equipment for health care workers in the COVID-19 pandemic.

   
Released: 6-Apr-2020 4:50 PM EDT
Johns Hopkins Taps Twitter to Measure Success of Social Distancing
 Johns Hopkins University

By comparing Twitter data from before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, Johns Hopkins University researchers found a profound impact on the movement of Americans – indicating social distancing recommendations are having an effect.

   
Released: 6-Apr-2020 4:20 PM EDT
LifeBridge Health Virtual Hospital’s COVID-19 Tele-triage Program Sees Exponential Growth In First Weeks of Operation
LifeBridge Health

With the rapid spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), LifeBridge Health, one of the largest healthcare systems in Maryland, ramped up its tele-triage program to help reduce an overflow of concerned patients in the system’s emergency departments and provider offices in the community.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 4:10 PM EDT
The four horsemen of the COVID-19 pandemic
Singapore University of Technology and Design

It is clear that we must prioritize identifying and alleviating the conditions that made the Covid-19 pandemic possible.

   
Released: 6-Apr-2020 3:55 PM EDT
Covid-19 tool allows health leaders to plan for critical care surge
RAND Corporation

Hospitals can prepare for a surge of patients critically ill with COVID-19, but it will require hospital leaders, practitioners and regional officials to adopt drastic measures that challenge the standard way of providing care, according to a new RAND Corporation report.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 3:35 PM EDT
BIDMC launches clinical trial to assess common anti-clotting medication for treatment of COVID-19-related respiratory failure
Beth Israel Lahey Health

A team of physician-scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are now enrolling patients in a clinical trial to evaluate a common anti-clotting drug for the treatment of COVID-19-positive patients with ARDS. The newly launched trial follows a special report the team published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery that suggested the use of a drug called tPA could reduce deaths among patients with ARDS as a complication of COVID-19.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 3:25 PM EDT
Fiber consumption linked to lower breast cancer risk
Wiley

Consuming a diet high in fiber was linked with a reduced incidence of breast cancer in an analysis of all relevant prospective studies. The findings are published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society

Released: 6-Apr-2020 3:05 PM EDT
Cornell aids NYS distillers in making hand sanitizer amidst pandemic
Cornell University

In the battle to keep workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 40 craft distilleries in New York state have turned to making hand sanitizer with guidance from Cornell University.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 2:40 PM EDT
Link between air pollution and corona mortality in Italy could be possible
Aarhus University

The world has been hit hard by coronavirus, and health services and authorities everywhere are struggling to reduce the spread, combat the disease and protect the population.

   
Released: 6-Apr-2020 1:20 PM EDT
Penn State engineer developing device that may be able to test for COVID-19
Penn State College of Engineering

A point-of-care testing device that may help diagnose the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is under development by Weihua Guan, assistant professor of electrical engineering in Penn State’s College of Engineering.

   
Released: 6-Apr-2020 1:05 PM EDT
Common Coronaviruses Are Highly Seasonal, with Most Cases Peaking in Winter Months
University of Michigan

Of the seven coronaviruses known to infect people, four cause common respiratory infections that are sharply seasonal and appear to transmit similarly to influenza, according to a new study by University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 12:45 PM EDT
Surgical masks good for most COVID-19 treatment: McMaster
McMaster University

The N95 respirator masks should be preserved for health-care workers involved in inserting breathing tubes for patients with COVID-19. More common medical masks are fine for all other COVID-19 treatment, says preliminary research from McMaster University.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 12:25 PM EDT
Tested and Testing: UC San Diego Health Expands COVID-19 Diagnostics
UC San Diego Health

UC San Diego Health makes measurable progress addressing COVID-19 testing shortage through multiple partnerships and rapidly growing in-house testing. Success has meant more testing for more patients, first responders and other health systems.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 12:05 PM EDT
Rutgers COVID-19 Center Names Associate Director for Public Health
Rutgers School of Public Health

The Rutgers COVID Response Pandemic Preparedness Center, which is coordinating the university’s myriad research, public health, and outreach efforts to combat COVID-19, has named Henry F. Raymond, associate professor in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health, as it’s associate director for public health.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 12:05 PM EDT
New mental health challenges for cancer patients during COVID-19
University of Colorado Cancer Center

Benjamin Brewer, PsyD, is a University of Colorado Cancer Center investigator and health psychologist at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Program. Here CU Cancer Center talks with Dr. Brewer about his patients’ new worries and about how our health system is adapting to meet the mental health needs of cancer patients during COVID-19.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 11:55 AM EDT
Brookhaven Lab Mobilizes Resources in Fight Against COVID-19
Brookhaven National Laboratory

Scientists and staff at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory are marshalling their expertise, unique facilities, and other key resources in the battle against COVID-19.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 11:05 AM EDT
Rush Testing Remdesivir as a Potential Treatment for COVID-19
RUSH

Rush University Medical Center is participating in a new clinical trial to test the effectiveness of the drug remdesivir in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Released: 6-Apr-2020 11:05 AM EDT
Rutgers Expert Discusses the Dangers of Homemade Cleaning and Disinfecting Products Amid Coronavirus Crisis
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Robert Laumbach, a Rutgers occupational and an environmental medicine expert, and associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health’s Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), discusses the dangers of DIY cleaning products and how the public can safely make their own.

   
Released: 6-Apr-2020 10:55 AM EDT
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Converting Anesthesia Machines to Ventilators for COVID-19
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Michael McLaughlin, an assistant professor and assistant program director of the Rutgers Nurse Anesthesia program, who has been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis and intubated many COVID-19 patients, discusses how this conversion works and how it helps to alleviate the ventilator shortage

   
Released: 6-Apr-2020 9:00 AM EDT
Caregiver Monday: An Initiative Dedicated To Helping Caregivers Take Care of Themselves
Monday Campaigns

– The Monday Campaigns, a nonprofit public health initiative, has announced Sherri Snelling, caregiving expert and corporate gerontologist, is taking a leading role with Caregiver Monday, a program dedicated to supporting the self-care of 65 million family caregivers by offering weekly health and wellness practices, research and collaborative activities through partner organizations.

6-Apr-2020 8:45 AM EDT
Simple, Low-Cost Ventilator Builds on Available Resuscitation Bags
Georgia Institute of Technology

A simple, low-cost ventilator based on the resuscitation bags carried in ambulances – and widely available in hospitals – has been designed by an international team of university researchers. The device, which is powered by a 12-volt motor, could help meet peak medical demands in the industrialized world and serve resource-constrained countries that don’t have supplies of conventional ventilators.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 8:55 AM EDT
Tulane University awarded $10.3 million to test therapeutics, vaccines for novel coronavirus
Tulane University

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Tulane National Primate Research Center a contract of up to $10.3 million to evaluate vaccines and treatments to combat coronavirus disease 2019.

Released: 6-Apr-2020 8:40 AM EDT
Environmental engineers study fabrics, materials for face covers
Missouri University of Science and Technology

ROLLA, Mo. – The day before the federal government issued new recommendations that Americans wear cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, a researcher at Missouri University of Science and Technology decided to test a few common household materials – pillowcases, scarves, furnace filters – “out of curiosity.

   
Released: 6-Apr-2020 8:35 AM EDT
A guide to using nonmedical masks
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

There are some critical things to know about how to use a nonmedical mask correctly, because when used incorrectly, which is pretty easy to do, you could actually put yourself and others more at risk. Physicians at UTHealth break it all down.



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