UnitedHealthcare in the Hot Seat Over GI Procedure ‘Advance Notification’ Policy
Provider groups shared varied reactions to changes that insurance giant UnitedHealthcare is making to its policies for coverage of various gastroenterology procedures, including colonoscopies. In January, UnitedHealthcare informed providers that beginning June 1, it would be instituting a prior authorization policy. According to the proposed policy — which was previously on the insurer’s website and […]
New CDC COVID Guidance Wins Plaudits, Brickbats
Two very strong and polarized reactions have swamped Twitter over the CDC’s new loosened COVID-19 guidelines. The comments are slinging from citizens, scientists, and medical practitioners. One camp is happy “it’s finally over.” They post dancing gifs and applaud the new guidelines published Thursday, which recommend that infected individuals isolate for 5 days, and exposed […]
New light-powered catalysts could aid in manufacturing
Chemical reactions that are driven by light offer a powerful tool for chemists who are designing new ways to manufacture pharmaceuticals and other useful compounds. Harnessing this light energy requires photoredox catalysts, which can absorb light and transfer the energy to a chemical reaction. MIT chemists have now designed a new type of photoredox catalyst […]
Researchers develop powerful strategy for creating new-to-nature enzymes
Engineering enzymes to perform reactions not found in nature can address longstanding challenges in the world of synthetic chemistry, such as upgrading plant-based oils into useful biochemicals. A team of researchers has developed a simple yet powerful strategy for creating new enzymes with novel reactivity that can produce valuable chemical compounds, building on their previous […]
New understanding of complex catalysis advances catalyst design
Many of the catalytic reactions that drive our modern world happen in an atomic black box. Scientists know all the components that go into a reaction, but not how they interact at an atomic level. Understanding the reaction pathways and kinetics of catalytic reactions at the atomic scale is critical to designing catalysts for more […]
Life arose on hydrogen energy, researchers suggest
How did the first chemical reactions get started at the origin of life and what was their source of energy? Researchers at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have reconstructed the metabolism of the last universal common ancestor, LUCA. They found that almost all chemical steps used by primordial life to piece together the molecular […]
When macrophages let off steam: Changes in cell metabolism protect macrophages from overloading and thus assist the resolution of inflammatory reactions
New data from a research team at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) shows how inflammatory reactions can be resolved by changes to the metabolism of macrophages. Danger signals released by damaged cells during inflammation play a role during this process. ‘Rewiring’ the mitochondria in the macrophages protects them against overloading and can thus improve the way in […]
Allergies to mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines rare, generally mild, study finds
Allergic reactions to the new mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines are rare, typically mild and treatable, and they should not deter people from becoming vaccinated, according to research from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings will be published online Sept. 17 in JAMA Network Open. “We wanted to understand the spectrum of allergies to the […]
Cancer: Immunotherapies without side effects?
In recent years, immunotherapy has revolutionised the field of cancer treatment. However, inflammatory reactions in healthy tissues frequently trigger side effects that can be serious and lead to the permanent discontinuation of treatment. This toxicity is still poorly understood and is a major obstacle to the use of immunotherapy. Scientists from the University of Geneva […]