Dive Brief:
In what could have major ramifications for workers in a host of industries including construction, researchers at the University of California San Diego are developing a color-changing test strip that can be stuck on a mask and used to detect COVID-19 in a user’s breath or saliva.
The project, which received $1.3 million from the National Institutes of Health, is aimed at providing simple, affordable and reliable surveillance for COVID-19 infections that can be done daily and easily implemented in resource-poor settings such as constrution sites, according to a news release.
The test strips, or stickers, will be designed to adhere to any type of mask, and will detect the presence of protein-cleaving molecules, called proteases, that are produced from infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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IMAGE: Murray Stein, MD, MPH, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine. view more
Credit: UC San Diego Health Sciences
After analyzing the genomes of more than one-quarter of a million military veterans, a team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California San Diego, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS), Yale University and West Haven VA, have identified 18 specific, fixed positions on chromosomes (known as loci) that appear associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The findings validate the underlying biology of PTSD, its relationship to comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders and provide potential new targets for treatment, write the authors in the January 28, 2021 online issue of
When Not What Obese Mice Ate Reduced Breast Cancer Risk
Restricting eating to an eight-hour window, when activity is highest, decreased the risk of development, growth and metastasis of breast cancer in mouse models, report researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Moores Cancer Center and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDSH).
The findings, published in the January 25, 2021 edition of Nature Communications, show that time-restricted feeding a form of intermittent fasting aligned with circadian rhythms improved metabolic health and tumor circadian rhythms in mice with obesity-driven postmenopausal breast cancer.
“Previous research has shown that obesity increases the risk of a variety of cancers by negatively affecting how the body reacts to insulin levels and changing circadian rhythms,” said senior author Nicholas Webster, PhD, professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine and senior research career scientist at VASDSH. “
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Restricting eating to an eight-hour window, when activity is highest, decreased the risk of development, growth and metastasis of breast cancer in mouse models, report researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Moores Cancer Center and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDSH).
The findings, published in the January 25, 2021 edition of
Nature Communications, show that time-restricted feeding a form of intermittent fasting aligned with circadian rhythms improved metabolic health and tumor circadian rhythms in mice with obesity-driven postmenopausal breast cancer. Previous research has shown that obesity increases the risk of a variety of cancers by negatively affecting how the body reacts to insulin levels and changing circadian rhythms, said senior author Nicholas Webster, PhD, professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine and senior research career scientist at VASDSH. We were able to increase insulin sensitivity, reduce hyp
Scientists developing color-changing test strip to stick on face masks and detect COVID-19
By Chris Williams
Credit: UC San Diego
SAN DIEGO - Researchers at the University of California San Diego are creating a test that could quickly detect COVID-19 using droplets from a person’s face mask.
The strip attaches to a face mask as a sticker and then collects droplets from the person’s breath, changing color depending on results. Researchers said it’s very similar to a home pregnancy test. Think of this as a surveillance approach, similar to having a smoke detector in your house, Professor and Lead Principal Investigator Jesse Jokerst said. This would just sit in the background every day and if it gets triggered, then you know there’s a problem and that’s when you would look into it with more sophisticated testing,