The Life Technology™ News Blog: 02/02/21

Tuesday, February 02, 2021

Warmer climate may make new mutations more harmful

A warmer global climate can cause mutations to have more severe consequences for the health of organisms through their detrimental effect on protein function. This may have major repercussions on organisms' ability to adapt to, and survive in, the altered habitats of the future. This is shown in a new Uppsala University research study now published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Warmer climate may make new mutations more harmful

Scientists uncover potential antiviral treatment for COVID-19

Researchers from the University of Nottingham have discovered a novel antiviral property of a drug that could have major implications in how future epidemics / pandemics—including COVID-19—are managed.

Nearly third of US young people prescribed psychoactive drugs admit misusing them

Nearly a third of US teens and young adults prescribed a psychoactive drug misuse that drug, with the likelihood of misuse rising with age, suggests an analysis of national survey responses published in the online journal Family Medicine & Community Health.

Vet tranquilliser now implicated in third of fatal opioid overdose cases in Philadelphia

The vet tranquilliser, xylazine, is now implicated in almost a third of fatal overdoses involving heroin and/or fentanyl in Philadelphia, reveals research published online in the journal Injury Prevention.

As climate warms, summer monsoons to produce less streamflow

In the summer of 2019, Desert Research Institute (DRI) scientist Rosemary Carroll, Ph.D., waited for the arrival of the North American Monsoon, which normally brings a needed dose of summer moisture to the area where she lives in Crested Butte, Colo. - but for the fourth year in a row, the rains never really came.

In survey of those with uncontrolled asthma, half smoked cannabis

As the number of states increase where medical and recreational cannabis use is legal, so does the importance that physicians discuss with patients the effects of cannabis on those with asthma. A new survey in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, shows that of those who used cannabis, about half smoked it while a third vaped—both "inhalation routes" likely to affect one's lungs.

Say goodbye to the dots and dashes to enhance optical storage media

Purdue University innovators have created technology aimed at replacing Morse code with colored "digital characters" to modernize optical storage. They are confident the advancement will help with the explosion of remote data storage during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mathematical method developed to predict cancer and drug-specific immunotherapy efficacy

Houston Methodist researchers have developed a mathematical model to predict how specific cancers will respond to immunotherapy treatments, thus enhancing chances for successful treatments from a wide variety of cancer-immunotherapy drug combinations. The results were published last month in Nature Biomedical Engineering in collaboration with researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

US adults report highest stress level since early days of the COVID-19 pandemic

As the U.S. confronts a bitter election season, political unrest and violence, a shaky economy, and a soaring death toll due to COVID-19, 84% of U.S. adults say the country has serious societal issues that we need to address, according to a new poll.

Latest review shows intensive care mortality from COVID-19 continued to fall in 2020, but improvement is slowing

A meta-analysis of global studies published in Anaesthesia shows that intensive care morality from COVID-19 has continued to fall since the start of the pandemic, but the improvement is slowing and may have plateaued. The study is by Professor Tim Cook (Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Bath, UK, and Honorary Professor, School of Medicine, University of Bristol, UK) and colleagues.

COVID-19 intensive care mortality in Sweden lower than in many studies from other countries

New research reveals that the COVID-19 intensive care (ICU) mortality rate in Sweden was lower during the first wave of the pandemic than in many studies from other countries. And while analysis of individual underlying conditions found they were linked to mortality, an analysis looking at all these variables together found COVID-19 mortality in intensive care was not associated with underlying conditions, except for chronic lung disease. This new study did, however, find that, like previous research, mortality was driven by age, severity of COVID-19 disease and the presence and extent of organ failure.

X-Stop vs Laminectomy for lumbar spinal stenosis: Quality of life and cost-effectiveness

Researchers in the United Kingdom (UK) conducted a randomized controlled trial in 47 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis to compare treatment outcomes and costs of two competing surgical procedures: insertion of the X-Stop (Medtronic) interspinous distractor device and open decompression surgery with laminectomy. Both procedures improved the patients' quality of life; however, overall, laminectomy gave patients a better quality of life and was also more cost-effective.

New York Capital Q4 Earnings

With more positive news returning towards the end of 2020 New York Capital were able to ride that wave also having posted better than expected earnings in Q2 and Q3. Net Revenue $874.6 Million Net Earnings $601.44 Million Average ROI 19.5% Net revenues were again rising compare to Q2 and Q3 New York Capital were able to protect clients investments while taking advantage of certain market situations. New York [PR.com]

run_frictionless Announce a Partnership Moqups

Users of the 4Qs framework now have more choices thanks to Moqups. Consultants can now enjoy an interactive experience for themselves and their clients via Moqups. Moqups permits consultants to access many kinds of publicly available frameworks like the 4Qs and use these templates to deliver interactive experiences. Moqups Director of Branding, Mark Battley, explains Moqups have two million users, the majority of whom [PR.com]

Anansi Launches ARtistica. The First AR Mobile Platform Dedicated to Showcasing in the Real World the Work of the 3d Artist's Community.

Anansi, a London based IT company specialised in XR, Artificial Intelligence and Software Development, is launching a new AR application that allows users to experience Digital Art and Holograms places in emblematic locations around the world. The app has been rolled out first in London, but the company is looking to expand its range quickly. [PR.com]

Excel Software Ships MacA&D 6 and MacTranslator 5 for Apple Silicon

Excel Software announced Universal macOS (Intel 64-bit and Apple Silicon) editions of MacA&D for software design and MacTranslator for reengineering source code into design diagrams. [PR.com]

Author Debbie Baldwin Partners with BookBuzz.net to Announce the Release of Her New Romantic Suspense - "Illicit Intent"

BookBuzz.net is pleased to partner with author Debbie Baldwin to announce the release of her new romantic suspense novel, Illicit Intent. Released by Gatekeeper Press in January 2021 the book is already receiving rave reviews from readers and reviewers. This is book two in the Bishop Security Series. Book one, False Front (ISBN: 978-1642379266) was released in April 2020. [PR.com]

Imagen Golf, One of the Fastest-Growing Golf Instruction Firms in PA, Announces Its Newest Facility Partner the Spring Mill Athletic Club

Amid continued demand for all things golf and golf instruction Imagen Golf stands proud to partner with such a fantastic facility. [PR.com]