Amid Surge, CDC Unveils New Syphilis Testing Guidance
The CDC has published its first comprehensive laboratory recommendations for syphilis testing. Published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the new recommendations include approaches for laboratory-based tests, point-of-care tests, sample processing, and how laboratories should report test results to clinicians and health departments. The recommendations are primarily for clinical laboratory or disease control personnel, […]
Lab Tests That Escape FDA Oversight May Come Under Agency Review
The FDA issued its long-awaited proposal for regulating laboratory developed tests (LDTs) on Friday. The proposed rule would amend FDA regulations to make explicit that in vitro diagnostic products (IVDs) are medical devices under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, including when the manufacturer of the IVD is a laboratory. The agency also wants […]
Direct-to-Consumer Lab Tests Raise Ethical Questions, Researchers Say
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) laboratory tests — for the thyroid, hormonal biomarkers, or diabetes and hemoglobin A1c, for example — often had unclear terms of sale and vague privacy policies, a qualitative study showed. Of 21 U.S. companies that offered DTC lab tests, less than half declared compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), […]
Smaller, stronger magnets could improve devices that harness the fusion power of the sun and stars
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have found a way to build powerful magnets smaller than before, aiding the design and construction of machines that could help the world harness the power of the sun to create electricity without producing greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. The […]
CDC Details Monkeypox Vaccine Recommendations
Laboratory personnel and those responding to outbreaks of orthopoxviruses, including smallpox and monkeypox, should be vaccinated with Jynneos, finalized recommendations from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) said on Friday. For healthcare personnel who either administer ACAM2000 or care for patients infected with orthopoxviruses, Jynneos is recommended based on shared clinical decision-making, reported […]
Highest Efficiency 1-Sun Solar Cell
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) created a solar cell with a record 39.5% efficiency under 1-sun global illumination. This is the highest efficiency solar cell of any type, measured using standard 1-sun conditions. “The new cell is more efficient and has a simpler design that may be useful […]
Vitamin E can boost immunotherapy responses by reinvigorating dendritic cells
Combining a retrospective analysis of clinical records with in-depth laboratory studies, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that vitamin E can enhance immunotherapy responses by stimulating the activity of dendritic cells in the tumor. The findings were published today in Cancer Discovery. The researchers demonstrated that vitamin E directly […]
Scientists capture the fleeting transition of water into a highly reactive state: It’s the first direct observation of a hydroxyl-hydronium complex – important for a wide range of chemical and biological processes from the tails of comets to cancer treatment
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have uncovered a key step in the ionization of liquid water using the lab’s high-speed “electron camera,” MeV-UED. This reaction is of fundamental significance to a wide range of fields, including nuclear engineering, space travel, cancer treatment and environmental remediation. Their results were published in […]
How high-fat diets allow cancer cells to go unnoticed
A high-fat diet increases the incidence of colorectal cancer. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Fellow Semir Beyaz and collaborators from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered that in mice, fat disrupts the relationship between intestinal cells and the immune cells that patrol them looking for emerging tumors. Reconfiguring the gut microbiome may […]
Study confirms virus variants reduce protection against COVID-19: Researchers say findings suggest need to double down on vaccinations, public health measures
A new laboratory study from Oregon Health & Science University finds that blood serum drawn from people previously vaccinated or naturally infected show “significantly reduced” defense against two widely circulating variants of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The study published today in the journal Nature Communications. Researchers said that their findings emphasize the importance of vaccinations […]