Why Pandemics and Epidemics – Such As COVID-19 – Can Exacerbate Racism and Xenophobia
When viruses, parasites, and other pathogens spread, humans and other animals tend to hunker down with immediate family and peer groups to avoid outsiders as…
University of Pittsburgh
Ab8 COVID-19 Drug Breakthrough: Tiny Antibody Component Completely Neutralizes the SARS-CoV-2 Virus
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists have isolated the smallest biological molecule to date that completely and specifically neutralizes the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is…
Individual Biocontainment Unit – Because Plexiglass Alone Doesn’t Protect Against Aerosolized SARS-CoV-2
Especially in settings where personal protective equipment, or PPE, is in short supply, intubation — inserting a breathing tube down a patient’s throat — poses…
Survival in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Improved With Corticosteroids
In a tremendous demonstration of global collaboration, clinician-scientists have pooled data from 121 hospitals in eight countries to find that inexpensive, widely available steroids improve…
Learning of Foreign Language Sounds Boosted by Non-invasive Nerve Stimulation
New research by neuroscientists at the University of Pittsburgh and University of California San Francisco (UCSF) revealed that a simple, earbud-like device developed at UCSF…
Men Scoring Higher on “Man Box” Scale Are Prone to Mental Illness and Violence
Researchers at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Promundo-US found that men who harbor more harmful attitudes about masculinity — including beliefs about aggression and…
Artificial Intelligence Identifies Prostate Cancer With Near-Perfect Accuracy
A study published today (July 27, 2020) in The Lancet Digital Health by UPMC and University of Pittsburgh researchers demonstrates the highest accuracy to date in…
Why Do People Believe Con Artists?
What is real can seem pretty arbitrary. It’s easy to be fooled by misinformation disguised as news and deepfake videos showing people doing things they…
Mini Human Livers Grown in Lab Successfully Transplanted Into Rats
Using skin cells from human volunteers, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have created fully functional mini livers, which they then transplanted…
Promising New COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Developed
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists today announced a potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. When tested in mice,…
Discovery of a New Electronic State of Matter May Advance Second Quantum Revolution
Discovery shows electrons can bind together in ways similar to how quarks combine to form neutrons and protons. A research team led by professors from…
Got Slime? Regenerative Biology Used to Restore Mucus Production
Lance Davidson of the University of Pittsburgh published an article in Nature Communications detailing that tissue mechanics can drive the regeneration of goblet cells on…
Dramatically Improved Potency When TB Vaccine Delivered Intravenously
Worldwide, more people die from tuberculosis (TB) than any other infectious disease, even though the vast majority were vaccinated. The vaccine just isn’t that reliable….
Carbon Nanotubes Show a Love/Hate Relationship With Water
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are valuable for a wide variety of applications. Made of graphene sheets rolled into tubes 10,000 times smaller than a human hair,…
Low Libido in Older Women Isn’t Just From Menopause
A qualitative study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that women in their 60s report various reasons behind why they…
Physicians More Likely to Prescribe Opioids If They Received Gifts From Pharma Companies
Physicians who received gifts from pharmaceutical companies related to opioid medications were more likely to prescribe opioids to their patients the following year, compared to…
Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance Altered by Bacterial Lifestyle
How bacteria live — whether as independent cells or in a communal biofilm — determines how they evolve antibiotic resistance, which could lead to more…
Failure Against “Nightmare Bacteria” a Chilling Commentary on Future of Antibiotics – “Much of Modern Medicine May Become Infeasible”
The health care market is failing to support new antibiotics used to treat some of the world’s most dangerous, drug-resistant “superbugs,” according to a new…