(2020-04-10). University workers must not accept wage cuts in exchange for 'job security'. mronline.org The government, university bosses and national officials of the National Tertiary Education Union are combining to attack uni workers' pay and conditions.
(2020-04-10). Last Chance to Save the Euro? counterpunch.org After a faulty start to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union members appear to be getting their act together, as they all appear to have abandoned ruinous slash-and-burn austerity policies (including budget cuts to health care, education and other social services) in order to cope with the onset of a global depression. At least that's
(2020-04-10). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: COVID-19 update. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org On today's Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, shares the latest information on the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Poland discusses antibody testing, immunity, and how the scientific and research communities are collaborating to fight this disease. Click the player below: Mayo Clinic Q&A is available …
(2020-04-10). Convalescent Plasma: A Therapy for COVID-19? newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org To develop a treatment for patients with COVID-19, researchers around the world are steadfastly exploring numerous angles, including testing existing antiviral drugs and new compounds. One potential treatment that has garnered attention is known as convalescent plasma therapy. The approach involves giving patients an infusion of antibody-rich plasma from people who have recovered from an infection …
(2020-04-10). New guidance to support innovators fighting COVID-19. imperial.ac.uk Imperial researchers have set out key regulations innovators must comply with when designing and building technologies safely to tackle COVID-19.
(2020-04-10). Venezuela Pres Maduro's Message to American people. indybay.org Oil rich Venezuela is again threatened with invasion, by Nazi Trump, with no opposition from any Democrat, sending an armada to Venezuela's shores, in the middle of a pandemic, under the obviously false pretext of drug-pushing, which the world knows Venezuela does not do. The democratically elected government of Nicolas Maduro has sent an open letter to the American people. See www.globalresearch.ca/letter-president-m……
(2020-04-10). Science Saturday: The importance of antibody testing in addressing COVID-19. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org If there's one thing the world has learned so far in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's the important role of testing for the disease. The ability to know who has the virus and who doesn't provides critical information for people and entire regions. Early testing involved collecting cells from the back of the …
(2020-04-10). The Pataphysics of Pandemic. counterpunch.org Pataphysics: the science of imaginary solutions This illness doesn't believe in American Exceptionalism or that reality is a fungible quotient. Donald Trump and his narcissistic mental illness is an entirely expected effect from this model. That idea that reality isn't a firm thing and problems aren't to be solved, but molded and managed to what
(2020-04-10). Cuban Medical Science in the Service of Humanity. counterpunch.org By 21 March, Cuba had sent healthcare professionals to 37 countries to collaborate in combating the pandemic. Italy received 53 Cuban medics who had previously worked in West Africa during the deadly Ebola outbreak of 2014. Cuba also stepped into the breach in mid-March when a cruise ship with over 600 mostly British passengers and
(2020-04-10). Repatriation of Indian pilgrims, students in Qom ongoing. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 10 (MNA) — This is the story of more than 1,200 Indian pilgrims and seminary students stranded in the holy city of Qom during the Nowruz holidays amid Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
(2020-04-10). 3 Proton-M Rockets Sent Back to Manufacturer Over Quality Control Issues — Space Industry Source. sputniknews.com Russian space agency Roscosmos recently introduced more stringent quality control measures in a bid to reduce the amount of defective components and equipment in both the commercial and state space sector orders.
(2020-04-10). Russian Genomic Engineer Has Theory About When COVID-19 Patient Zero Was Infected. sputniknews.com As the planet continues to reel from the health-related and economic ramifications of the new coronavirus, scientists have continued their search to find out more about the first case of the virus's transmission to a human being.
(2020-04-10). Ancient Volcano Eruptions that Killed Almost 90 Percent of Species Offer Warning on Global Warming. sputniknews.com Life on Earth has faced several catastrophic mass extinction events in the last 500 million years that killed off 75 – 90 per cent of all species on Earth, with the events triggering these cataclysms possibly able to send a message to mankind today.
(2020-04-10). Pakistani students in Wuhan emerge from lockdown, far from home and with psychological scars. yenisafak.com For more than a thousand Pakistani students stranded in the Chinese province of Hubei a gruelling lockdown lifted this week, but they must now decide whether to try to return to their home country where cases of coronavirus are rising rapidly.Mir Hassan, a PhD computer architecture student in Wuhan, is desperate to get home to his mother after his father died in February from a heart ailment, their last contact him pleading for his son to come home."I want to go home because this is my motherland … every day I call my mother she is crying," he said.In Pakistan, cases are increasing, standing at more than 4,000…
(2020-04-09). Nearly three in 10 firms cut jobs due to pandemic before the lockdown even kicked in. thecanary.co 
Almost three in 10 businesses cut jobs in the face of the coronavirus pandemic prior to the lockdown, according to official statisticians.The Office for National Statistics said 29% of the 4,598 businesses it surveyed said they had to temporarily reduce staff numbers during the period from March 9 to March 22.It added that 40% of businesses surveyed said they were confident they could continue operating during the pandemic, based on their experience over the same period, which was before the Government-mandated lockdown.The survey also revealed that 47% of firms reported that their turnover was lower than normal…
(2020-04-09). Covid-19 to plunge half a billion people into poverty. truepublica.org.uk New research published by UNU-WIDER today warns that the economic fallout from the global pandemic could increase global poverty by as much as half a billion people, or 8% of the total human population. This would be the first time that poverty has increased globally in thirty years, since 1990. The authors of the UNU-WIDER study — Andy Sumner and Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez …
(2020-04-09). Headlines for April 9, 2020. democracynow.org Coronavirus Pandemic Could Push 600 Million More People into Poverty, New York Reports Record 779 Coronavirus Deaths in Just 24 Hours, General Motors to Deliver 30,000 Ventilators, with Most Arriving Long After Projected COVID-19 Peak, Kansas to Allow Crowded Church Services as L.A. Expands Order on Face Coverings, California Fast-Food Workers Strike, Demanding Hazard Pay and Protections Against COVID-19, Trump Touts Unproven Treatments of Hydroxychloroquine and Zinc for COVID-19, World Health Organization Head: "Please Don't Politicize This Virus", Researchers Find Coronavirus Arrived in New York from Europe in…
(2020-04-09). CDC Deletes Hydroxychloroquine Guidance as Study Hyped by Trump Is Questioned. truthout.org The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday quietly removed bizarre guidelines for using the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for the new coronavirus. The unproven treatment has been repeatedly hyped by President Donald Trump in spite of the warnings of Dr. Anthony Fauci. | The CDC published "highly unusual" dosing guidance based on "unattributed anecdotes rather than peer-reviewed science" last month amid pressure on federal health officials from Trump,…
(2020-04-09). The Science Is Clear on How to Beat This Pandemic. thenation.com The Science Is Clear on How to Beat This Pandemic…
(2020-04-09). 'Anybody with conscience opposes anti-Iran sanctions'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 09 (MNA) — Alireza Miryousefi, spokesperson for the Iranian Mission to the UN, said nobody would approve of the cruel US sanctions against Iran amid the current coronavirus crisis.
(2020-04-09). FM spox expresses regret over Hungary's expelling 17 Iranian students. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 09 (MNA) — Iran has expressed deep regret over Hungary's decision to expel 17 Iranian university students on unjustifiable charges that they had violated coronavirus health protocols.
(2020-04-08). Will Covid-19 spur a Peoples' Bailout for the World's Poorest? dissidentvoice.org 
Image credit: Giacomo Carra on Unsplash The question is whether Covid-19 will awaken us to the stark inequalities of our world, or does it simply represent a new cause of impoverishment for the vast swathes of humanity who have long been disregarded by the public's conscience? ***** Since the beginning of 2020, we've entered an …
(2020-04-08). 66,000 UK deaths projected by 'Institute' has 95 per cent 'uncertainty' value. truepublica.org.uk By TruePublica: There are many headlines in a range of national newspapers across the spectrum reporting that Britain could see as many as 66,000 COVID-19 deaths during the first wave of the current pandemic. This is new research published Tuesday (07/04), effectively making the outbreak in Britain by far the deadliest in Europe. In fact, …
(2020-04-08). New COVID-19 project will use the power of smartphones to search for treatments. imperial.ac.uk Imperial researchers will look for potential new treatments for COVID-19 using the computing power of people's smartphones.
(2020-04-08). Scientists find how Covid-19 tricks its way into the human body. thecanary.co The virus that causes Covid-19 acts like a "wolf in sheep's clothing" by using sugars to trick its way into the human body, according to new research.Scientists at the University of Southampton have created a model of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes Covid-19 which reveals how it disguises itself to enter human cells undetected.But they found that the virus is not as heavily protected as some others such as HIV.The team, led by Professor Max Crispin, says the model will provide "crucial and encouraging" information for scientists creating a vaccine.Prof Crispin explained that the Sars-CoV-2 virus has a larg…
(2020-04-08). Gratitude pours in for Imperial staff and students during COVID-19. imperial.ac.uk Staff and students at Imperial College London have said a special thank you to colleagues and classmates during the COVID-19 outbreak.
(2020-04-08). Imperial sails through to semi-finals of University Challenge. imperial.ac.uk Imperial students Brandon, Caleb, Richard and Conor have reached the semi-finals of BBC Two's popular quiz show University Challenge.
(2020-04-07). Deaths of Inequality: AOC on Black and Latinx Communities at Epicenter of Epicenter of the Pandemic. democracynow.org 
As COVID-19 deaths spike in African-American and immigrant communities, almost a third of New York City's infections are in Queens, one of the most diverse places in the world, and many in the hardest-hit neighborhoods are undocumented and working-class. We speak with Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the neighborhoods at the epicenter of the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, about how the Trump administration's response to the pandemic is causing "deaths of incompetence," "deaths of science denial" and "deaths of inequality."
(2020-04-07). SDS pushes University of Utah on COVID-19 after victory on counselors. fightbacknews.org Salt Lake City, UT – Every victory comes with new challenges and new setbacks. Organizers with Students for a Democratic Society are learning that lesson in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as they start a new struggle for hazard pay as well as refunds for fees and tuition. | SDS organizers left the University of Utah for spring break in high spirits after the school met their demands for more mental health counselors, a demand they had been making for months. When the promised new counselors are hired, the school will finally be in compliance with national guidelines on the counselor-to-student ratio. | Celebr…
(2020-04-06). How can the world counter COVID-19 online? UN issues hackers' challenge to CodeTheCurve. news.un.org The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is inviting young innovators, data scientists and designers throughout the world — especially those whose schools have closed due to COVID-19 – to join a month-long hackathon to come up with digital solutions to the global pandemic.
(2020-04-06). Why Do Economists Have Such a Hard Time Imagining Open Source Biomedical Research? cepr.net It seems more than a bit bizarre, but in a discussion of alternative to patents for financing the development of new drugs and vaccines, publicly funded open-source research is not mentioned. This is peculiar since so much of the research into treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus are in effect being open-sourced, with researchers posting …
(2020-04-06). The Length of the Shutdowns Will be Determined by Donald Trump, not Science. cepr.net Many people are thinking about policy through this crisis as though the country will be largely shut down for many months. This is not going to happen. The length of this shutdown will be determined by Donald Trump, not science, and he is not going to allow a shutdown of many months regardless of what …
(2020-04-04). [Research Paper] Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients undergoing surgeries during the incubation period of COVID-19 infection. thelancet.com In this retrospective cohort study of 34 operative patients with confirmed COVID-19, 15 (44 ∑1%) patients needed ICU care, and the mortality rate was 20 ∑5%.
(2020-04-02). "There Aren't Enough Tests": As Pandemic Intensifies, Global South Prepares for the Worst. democracynow.org 
After devastating China, Europe and the United States, the coronavirus pandemic is now intensifying across the Global South. The United Nations warns the pandemic is poised to destroy fragile economies in poor nations, decimating food security, education and human rights. We speak with Yanis Ben Amor, assistant professor of global health and microbiological sciences at Columbia University and executive director of the Center for Sustainable Development at the Earth Institute.
(2020-04-02). [Research Paper] Survey of major trauma centre preparedness for mass casualty incidents in Australia, Canada, England and New Zealand. thelancet.com The disaster preparedness of MTCs was high for communication, safety and security but there was clear need for improvement in other areas including surge capacity, human resources and post-disaster recovery.
(2020-03-27). The Italian war-like measures to fight coronavirus spreading: Re-open closed hospitals now. thelancet.com As recently highlighted by The Lancet, the Covid-19 outbreak started in Northern Italy has shocked Europe, while it has been questioned if China benefits from an authoritarian advantage in disease response [1,2]. In Italy, after the shutdown of the educational system (schools and Universities will remain closed at least for one month) and the collapse of the touristic sector (90% of travels and reservations cancelled), the Government officially locked down residents of all the region of Milan (Lombardia) and other 11 provinces.
(2020-03-27). [Correspondence] Experts' request to the Spanish Government: move Spain towards complete lockdown. thelancet.com We would like to express our concern about the limited capacity of actions taken by the Spanish Government to successfully control the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak and end the exponential growth phase of new cases. The measures taken so far, consisting primarily of partial restriction mobility, are in the right direction, although some researchers have warned about the pressure placed on the building blocks of the health system.1…
(2020-03-18). [Research Paper] A phase 1b randomized study of the safety and immunological responses to vaccination with H4:IC31, H56:IC31, and BCG revaccination in Mycobacterium tuberculosis-uninfected adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa. thelancet.com BCG revaccination administered as a single dose ID and both H4: IC31 and H56: IC31 administered as 2 doses IM had acceptable safety profiles in healthy, QFT-negative, previously BCG-vaccinated adolescents. Characterization of the assays and the immunogenicity of these vaccines may help to identify valuable markers of protection for upcoming immune correlates analyses of C-040-404 and future TB vaccine efficacy trials.
(2020-03-16). [Correspondence] COVID-19: the need for continuous medical education and training. thelancet.com Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) moved rapidly through China, and the virus had spread to more than 60 countries and infected nearly 90‚Äà000 patients by March 5, 2020. Based on data for 72‚Äà314 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), 14% of people have severe disease, 5% have critical illness, and 2 ∑3% die.1 COVID-19 is not a conventional disease, and rapid changes in the provision of critical care have been needed to meet the needs of patients. Health emergencies such as the COVID-19 outbreak can be a huge challenge for critical-care ph…
(2020-03-16). [Comment] Evolving therapies for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis: balancing efficacy and toxicity. thelancet.com Disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a leading global health problem associated with severe morbidity and a high risk of death, despite widespread availability of effective treatment for drug-sensitive tuberculosis. Although drug-resistant tuberculosis had been described for many years, alarming reports over the past decade suggested neither tuberculosis transmission nor virulence was compromised by the selection of tuberculosis drug resistance.1,2 These reports, describing the prognosis of patients with extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, galvanised global research efforts into improving treatment,…
(2020-03-10). [Research Paper] Association of characteristics of tampon use with menstrual toxic shock syndrome in France. thelancet.com Our study suggests that the risk of MTSS was associated with using tampons for more than 6 h, overnight tampon use during sleep, and neither read nor followed tampon insertion instructions in case of reading.
(2020-03-09). [Comment] Patchy progress on the ICPD: are we asking the right questions? thelancet.com The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda, set in 1994 in Cairo and revisited 25 years later in Nairobi in 2019, included goals for equitable education of women, reduction of infant and child mortality, reduction of maternal mortality, and access to reproductive and sexual health services, including family planning, through its well known Programme of Action.1 The ICPD was ground-breaking in recognising the benefits that empowerment of women and girls would have for themselves, their families, and, ultimately, their countries.
(2020-02-24). [Newsdesk] The 7th London Centre for NTDs conference. thelancet.com The London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research conference was held in London, United Kingdom, on Jan 30. Alexandra York reports.
(2020-02-19). [Research Paper] Loss-of-function polymorphism in IL6R reduces risk of JAK2V617F somatic mutation and myeloproliferative neoplasm: A Mendelian randomization study. thelancet.com A loss-of-function polymorphism in IL6R reduces risk of JAK2V617F mutation and myeloproliferative neoplasm. This finding supports inflammation as an independent risk factor for JAK2V617F mutation and myeloproliferative neoplasm and indicates that therapeutics designed to block interleukin-6 receptor signaling might prevent or retard progression of myeloproliferative neoplasm.
(2020-02-11). [Corrections] Correction to Lancet Glob Health 2020; 8: e76—91. thelancet.com Hines LA, Trickey A, Leung J, et al. Associations between national development indicators and the age profile of people who inject drugs: results from a global systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health 2020; 8: e76—91—In the Acknowledgments of this Article, the second and third sentences should read "LAH is supported by a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust. LD is supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Senior Principal Research Fellowship." This correction has been made as of Feb 11, 2020.
(2020-01-07). [Comment] Relaunching human bornavirus research from encephalitis cases with unclear cause. thelancet.com Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1), the first bornavirus to be discovered, was identified as a causative agent of Borna disease, a fatal encephalitis occurring in horses and sheep. BoDV-1 is highly neurotropic and can cause both fatal immune-mediated encephalitis and behavioural disturbances in a broad range of infected animals.1 These observations prompted researchers to investigate the presence of BoDV-1 in patients with psychiatric disorders on the basis of the hypothesis that BoDV-1 might also cause behavioural abnormalities in humans.
(2019-12-12). [Comment] Treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea and cardiovascular diseases: are we aiming at the wrong target? thelancet.com Despite a robust design and good statistical power, the ISAACC study1 (Impact of Sleep Apnea syndrome in the evolution of Acute Coronary syndrome. Effect of intervention with CPAP), similar to the SAVE study (Sleep Apnea cardioVascular Endpoints),2 did not show a positive effect of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) as a secondary prevention for cardiovascular events. The modest but clinically similar use of CPAP (<3 h per night) observed in this study and in SAVE might explain, at least in part, this absence of an effect.