Mobile Printer Produces Microneedle Vaccines
Researchers at MIT have developed a printer that can create large numbers of microneedle patch-style vaccines in places where they are needed quickly. Moreover, the printed patches can deliver thermostable mRNA vaccines, whereby the mRNA therapeutic is encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles before printing to enhance its shelf-life at room temperature and avoid the need for cold storage and transport. The current prototype can produce 100 such patches over the space of two days, but the researchers believe that they can scale up the technology to produce hundreds of vaccines a day. The technology could be very useful in addre...
Source: Medgadget - May 3, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Medicine Public Health microneedle mit Source Type: blogs
Propelling Rare Disease Research for More Than 50 Years
Vials of samples from the NIGMS HGCR. Credit: Coriell Institute for Medical Research.
The year 2022 marked 50 years since the creation of the NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository (HGCR) at the Coriell Institute for Medical Research in Camden, New Jersey. The NIGMS HGCR consists of cell lines and DNA samples with a focus on those from people with rare, heritable diseases. “Many rare diseases now have treatments because of the samples in the NIGMS HGCR,” says Nahid Turan, Ph.D., Coriell’s chief biobanking officer and co-principal investigator of the NIGMS HGCR. She gives the example of a rare disease advocacy group wh...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - February 22, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Cells Genes Injury and Illness Diseases Genomics Scientific Process Source Type: blogs
The Macro View – Health, Economics, and Politics and the Big Picture. What I Am Watching Here And Abroad.
October 20, 2022 Edition-----In the US we have just had the usual mass-shootings last week! Hard to know why the population put up with it. On a larger scale the war is seemingly just getting worse and more lethal. While there is assassination there must be hope!In the UK all eyes are on just when the Truss implosion will actually happen.In OZ the biggest news has been the really Biblical floods in SE Australia, The Budget is also getting close!-----Major Issues.-----https://www.afr.com/policy/tax-and-super/average-tax-rate-to-hit-record-high-this-decade-with-or-without-stage-three-cuts-20221008-p5bo78Average tax rate to h...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - October 20, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs
TWiV 939: From lizards to Lassa with Tom Monath
Tom Monath joins TWiV to discuss his wide-ranging career that includes medicine, field work and vaccine development while working for the US government, the US military, and multiple biotechnology companies. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit Guest: Tom Monath Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 939 (73 MB .mp3, 121 min)Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email […] (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - September 25, 2022 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology Acambis COVID-19 dengue vaccine ebola virus Lassa virus NewLink Genetics vaccine platform viral viruses yellow fever virus Source Type: blogs
Will Microbes Finally Force Modernization of the American Health Care System?
Mike Magee MD
Science has a way of punishing humans for their arrogance.
In 1996, Dr. Michael Osterholm found himself rather lonely and isolated in medical research circles. This was the adrenaline-infused decade of blockbuster pharmaceuticals focused squarely on chronic debilitating diseases of aging.
And yet, there was Osterholm, in Congressional testimony delivering this message: “I am here to bring you the sobering and unfortunate news that our ability to detect and monitor infectious disease threats to health in this country is in serious jeopardy…For 12 of the States or territories, there is no one w...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 14, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Policy Public Health Healthcare system infectious diseases microbes Mike Magee Source Type: blogs
America Can Still Deliver on Global Vaccine Diplomacy
It is hard to see how science alone can end the pandemic without the rallying power of global diplomacy. The United States has played a leadership role in previous outbreaks, such as Ebola. It could play a similar role now to help consign the current pandemic to epidemic status. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - December 28, 2021 Category: Health Management Authors: Krishna B. Kumar Source Type: blogs
From Drug Design To Distribution: This Is How Robotics, A.I. and Blockchain Transforms Pharma
Exoskeletons to aid pharma factory workers. 3D printing to allow pharmacies to produce drugs on the spot. Blockchain technologies to help fight counterfeit drugs.
These are just bits and pieces, but the entire process of the pharmaceutical supply chain will be affected by disruptive technologies. Let me show you how innovations will make it more efficient, faster and cheaper than ever before.
“We call it Robi”, the smiling pharmacist told me when I looked at the robotic dispenser pacing up and down in a small glass-fronted drug storage room of the pharmacy. The robot spares humans about two hours of med...
Source: The Medical Futurist - September 21, 2021 Category: Information Technology Authors: berci.mesko Tags: 3D Printing Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Augmented Reality Future of Medicine Future of Pharma Robotics Security & Privacy AI digital Innovation Personalized medicine pharmacies blockchain pharmaceutics robots supply c Source Type: blogs
American Industrial Policy in Action
Scott LincicomeIn case you haven't noticed, U.S. industrial policy is having (yet another) moment. Armed with the latest data and cross-country comparisons, a large and bipartisan cadre of industrial policy advocates in Washington are eager to shovel billions of taxpayer dollars into the open arms of American manufacturers of "essential goods" and "critical technologies." The risks (China, pandemics, whatever), so the theory goes, greatly outweigh any harms that a few, scattered industrial policy failures might cause along the way, so whynot just throw money at the (perceived) problems? These advocates, however, rarely ack...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - April 8, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Scott Lincicome Source Type: blogs
Wiping the Sleep From Our Eyes: The Pandemic Plan Trump Ignored
By MIKE MAGEE
When awakening from a long sleep, there is a transition period, when the brain struggles momentarily to become oriented, to “think straight.” When the sleep has extended four years, as with the Trump reign, it takes longer to clear the sleepy lies from your eyes.
We are emerging, but it will take time and guidance. This week President Biden and our First Lady showed us the way. As we together observed the startling passage of a half million dead, many needlessly, from the pandemic, the President gave us a crash course on grief. He compared it to entering a “black hole”, and acknowledged that whe...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 25, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 Health Policy Politics Biden Mike Magee Pandemic Trump Source Type: blogs
10 Second COVID Antibody Test on a Chip
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a microfluidic chip that can provide rapid COVID-19 antibody tests. The electrochemical test can detect very low concentrations of antibodies in blood samples, and transmits the results to a smartphone. The test could help to measure patient responses to vaccines and determine if they have been previously exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19.
Antibody tests have their place in our arsenal of weapons in the fight against SARS-CoV-2. Determining who has been exposed to the virus and assessing their immune response after a vaccine means that ...
Source: Medgadget - January 11, 2021 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Diagnostics Materials Medicine Public Health Source Type: blogs
Good news: Deaths due to HIV are way down
World news this month appropriately focuses on containing the COVID-19 pandemic, as the first vaccines become available. Yet we can also celebrate major success in the fight against a different global viral scourge: HIV.
During my medical training in the 1980s, hospital wards were often filled with people dying of HIV. Since then, antiviral treatments have dramatically transformed the diagnosis of HIV infection or AIDS from a death sentence to a chronic illness. A normal lifespan is no longer unusual among people living with HIV. And preventive measures described below have reduced the number of people becoming infected in...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 18, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Infectious diseases LGBTQ Prevention Relationships Sexual Conditions Source Type: blogs
Why are mRNA vaccines so exciting?
The very first vaccines for COVID-19 to complete Phase 3 testing are an entirely new type: mRNA vaccines. Vaccines of this type have never before been approved for use in any disease. How do they differ from traditional vaccines, and what makes them so exciting?
How traditional vaccines work
The main goal of a vaccine for a particular infectious agent, such as the virus that causes COVID-19, is to teach the immune system what that virus looks like. Once educated, the immune system will vigorously attack the actual virus, if it ever enters the body.
Viruses contain a core of genes made of DNA or RNA wrapped in a coat of pro...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - December 10, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Anthony Komaroff, MD Tags: Coronavirus and COVID-19 Health Vaccines Source Type: blogs
How COVID-19 Catalysed Digital Health Trends
Coronavirus has shattered our world and changed nearly all aspects of our lives. It has also changed our relationship to healthcare. It is slowly becoming a cliché to say that COVID-19 has catalysed healthcare trends – but nevertheless, it’s true. Everyone in the world has seen what devastating impact healthcare can have on our daily lives and how underfunded healthcare systems depend on the heroic frontline workers, who are holding the walls from falling apart.
The windfall of the era of digital health is unquestionable, but it has always been. The hurdle was the adoption of these changes, for they posed infrastru...
Source: The Medical Futurist - November 19, 2020 Category: Information Technology Authors: Judit Kuszkó Tags: Forecast Lifestyle medicine Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Digital Health Research E-Patients Future of Medicine Future of Pharma Healthcare Design Healthcare Policy Medical Education AI MIT covid19 Source Type: blogs
Rabies – a dumb disease
Dog vaccination programs are the most effective way to prevent Rabies
Rabies is endemic to over 150 countries, and according to the World Health Organization, 99% of all transmissions to humans are from dogs, potentially bringing into question the animal’s status as the ‘man’s best friend’.
In Europe, southern Africa, and parts of North America, most cases are acquired from wild carnivores; mongooses, and vampire bats in Latin America and the Caribbean. In more recent years, humans have acquired rabies from inhalation of aerosols in bat caves, ingestion of dogs and cats for food, ticks, cart-scratches...
Source: GIDEON blog - September 28, 2020 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Kristina Symes Tags: Epidemiology News Source Type: blogs
If I Can Be Safe Working as An ER Doctor Caring for COVID Patients, We Can Make Schools Safe for Children, Teachers, and Families
By AMY CHO
We need to stop arguing about whether schools should reopen and instead do the work to reopen schools safely. Community prevalence of COVID-19 infection helps to quantify risk, but reopening decisions should not be predicated on this alone. Instead of deciding reopening has failed when an infected student or teacher comes to school, we should judge efforts by our success in breaking transmission chains between those who come to school infected and those who don’t. We should judge our success by when we prevent another outbreak. We should pursue risk and harm reduction by layering interventions to make ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - September 18, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 Health Policy Amy Cho schools Source Type: blogs
