New study reveals COVID-19 may have originated in a lab

Research points to an unnatural origin as the likely source for COVID-19

2024-03-15

(Press-News.org) The origin of COVID-19 is highly debated – most studies have focused on a zoonotic origin, but research from the journal Risk Analysis, examined the likelihood of an unnatural origin (i.e. from a laboratory.)

The results indicate a greater likelihood of an unnatural than natural origin of the virus. The researchers used an established risk analysis tool for differentiating natural and unnatural epidemics, the modified Grunow-Finke assessment tool (mGFT) to study the origin of COVID-19. This risk assessment cannot prove the specific origin of COVID-19 but shows that the possibility of a laboratory origin cannot be easily dismissed.

One of the researchers, Xin Chen, Ph.D., a researcher from The University of New South Wales, is available for an interview to speak more about the results of this study and its implications.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Not just a lodger: Novel host-guest assembly provides enhanced reactivity

2024-03-15

By design, synthetic molecules typically have specific jobs to prevent or accelerate reactions between other molecules. To help control more complicated reactions, researchers may harness spare space in one molecule to synthesize another chemical structure. The host-guest assembly can better induce the specific desired reaction than either component individually — if the scientists designing the assembly get it right. A multi-institution team based in China has reported a novel cluster — the guest — that nucleated ...

Revolutionary method developed for mass-producing polymer solid electrolytes

2024-03-15

A research team, led by Professor Seok Ju Kang in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST, has unveiled a groundbreaking technique for mass-producing polymer solid electrolytes, crucial components in batteries. Departing from the traditional melt casting method, the team introduced a horizontal centrifugal casting method to overcome existing limitations. This innovative approach has redefined the production process for high-quality polymer solid electrolytes, revolutionizing the industry. Drawing inspiration from the horizontal centrifugal casting technique used in producing iron pipes, the research team successfully achieved a uniform polymer ...

What a view: Rice scientists develop a new system to record 2D crystal synthesis in real time

2024-03-15

HOUSTON – (March 15, 2024) – Materials scientists at Rice University are shedding light on the intricate growth processes of 2D crystals, paving the way for controlled synthesis of these materials with unprecedented precision. Two-dimensional materials such as graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) exhibit unique properties that hold immense promise for applications in electronics, sensors, energy storage, biomedicine and more. However, their complex growth mechanisms — inconsistent correlations ...

New study reveals breakthrough in understanding brain stimulation therapies

2024-03-15

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (03/15/2024) — For the first time, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities showed that non-invasive brain stimulation can change a specific brain mechanism that is directly related to human behavior. This is a major step forward for discovering new therapies to treat brain disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. The study was recently published in Nature Communications, a peer-reviewed, open ...

Abnormal brain structure identified in children with developmental language problems

2024-03-15

WASHINGTON – A rigorous analysis of numerous studies concludes that a part of the brain traditionally associated with movement is abnormal in children with developmental language impairments, according to Georgetown University Medical Center neuroscientists. The discovery has the potential to improve both the diagnosis and treatment of the language difficulties. The researchers investigated brain abnormalities in developmental language disorder. This condition, which impacts the development of various aspects of language, is about as common as attention-deficit/hyperactivity ...

DNA origami-based vaccines toward safe and highly-effective precision cancer immunotherapy

2024-03-15

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Therapeutic cancer vaccines are a form of immunotherapy in the making that could not only destroy cancer cells in patients, but keep a cancer from coming back and spreading. Multiple therapeutic cancer vaccines are being studied in clinical trials, but despite their promise, they are not routinely used yet by clinical oncologists to treat their patients. The central ingredient of therapeutic cancer vaccines is antigens, which are preferentially produced or newly produced (neoantigens) by tumor cells and enable a patient’s immune system to search and destroy the cancerous ...

Printed polymer allows researchers to explore chirality and spin interactions at room temperature

2024-03-15

A printable organic polymer that assembles into chiral structures when printed has enabled researchers to reliably measure the amount of charge produced in spin-to-charge conversion within a spintronic material at room temperature. The polymer’s tunable qualities and versatility make it desirable not only for less expensive, environmentally friendly, printable electronic applications, but also for use in understanding chirality and spin interactions more generally. Spintronic devices are electronic devices that harness the spin of an electron, ...

Special section of The Permanente Journal focuses on how early-life trauma correlates to poor health outcomes

2024-03-15

For Immediate Release OAKLAND, Calif., March 15, 2024 — Innovation in trauma-informed health care is the core focus of a special section in today’s issue of The Permanente Journal. The special section features 13 articles that touch on this increasingly prominent approach and reaches into several diverse subdomains such as mental health, physical health, body size diversity and systems-level implementation. Workplace wellness, clinician training and medical school curricula related to trauma are also covered in the issue. Trauma-informed health care has grown ...

New insights could improve treatment of liver fibrosis

2024-03-15

The liver is not only the largest internal organ but also vital for human life as a metabolic center. It also possesses remarkable self-healing powers: even when large portions are removed, such as during surgery, they quickly regenerate in healthy individuals. However, in cases of repeated or chronic injury to the liver tissue, as caused by excessive alcohol consumption or viral hepatitis, this regenerative capacity fails. Scarring occurs, known as fibrosis, where liver cells are replaced by fibrous tissue. The liver hardens and becomes increasingly unable to perform its functions - in the worst case, this leads to liver failure. To ...

Women involved in car crashes may be more likely to go into shock than men

2024-03-15

It is well known that car safety equipment was originally designed with male-representative bodies in mind. This means women sitting in the front row are more likely to suffer severe or fatal injuries in the case of a crash. They are also more likely to be trapped in crashed cars. Interested in the inequalities of car design and the resulting injuries, a team of researchers in the US has used trauma injury data from car crash victims to evaluate differences in injury patterns typical for males and females. “We found that vehicle crash injury patterns and injury severity differ between men and women. We also show that women are arriving ...

Children who grow up with pets or on farms may develop allergies at lower rates because their gut microbiome develops with more anaerobic commensals, per fecal analysis in small cohort study

North American Early Paleoindians almost 13,000 years ago used the bones of canids, felids, and hares to create needles in modern-day Wyoming, potentially to make the tailored fur garments which enabl

Higher levels of democracy and lower levels of corruption are associated with more doctors, independent of healthcare spending, per cross-sectional study of 134 countries

New study reveals COVID-19 may have originated in a lab

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: