Biotech fit for the Red Planet: New method for growing cyanobacteria under Mars-like conditions

NASA, in collaboration with other leading space agencies, aims to send its first human missions to Mars in the early 2030s, while companies like SpaceX may do so even earlier. Astronauts on Mars will need oxygen, water, food, and other consumables. These will need to be sourced from Mars, because importing them from Earth would be impractical in the long term….

US Intelligence Officials Say Chinese Government Is Collecting Americans’ DNA

schwit1 shares a report from CBS News: The largest biotech firm in the world wasted no time in offering to build and run COVID testing labs in Washington, contacting its governor right after the first major COVID outbreak in the U.S. occurred there. The Chinese company, the BGI Group, made the same offer to at least five other states, including New…

The First Pig-to-Human Organ Transplants Could Happen This Year

Every day in the United States, 17 people die waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. To address this crisis, one biotech company is turning to an unlikely source: pigs. Maryland-based United Therapeutics says it plans to begin transplanting organs from genetically modified pigs into people as soon as this year. From a report: “We’re right on that cusp. We’re looking to…

How the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Fought the Pandemic

In a long article titled “Gates versus the Pandemic,” Fast Company looks at the many mitigation efforts launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. – It’s one of the largest funders of the World Health Organization. – It’s partnered with the governments of Norway and India, the World Economic Forum, and the research-charity Wellcome Trust to launch an important group…

Boston Biotech Conference Led To 245,000 COVID-19 Cases Across US

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: A biotech conference in Boston last February that’s already been flagged as a Covid-19 superspreading event led to at least 245,000 other cases across the US and Europe, a new genetic fingerprinting study shows. One single case seems to have been responsible for many of the other eventual cases, the team at the…

No One Who Got Moderna’s Vaccine In Trial Developed Severe COVID-19

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Science Magazine: Continuing the spate of stunning news about COVID-19 vaccines, the biotech company Moderna announced the final results of the 30,000-person efficacy trial for its candidate in a press release today: Only 11 people who received two doses of the vaccine developed COVID-19 symptoms after being infected with the pandemic coronavirus, versus 185…

Experimental Antibody Treatment for Covid-19 Patients Wins ‘Emergency Approval’ in America

America’s Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization Saturday to an experimental antibody treatment (for people already experiencing Covid-19), reports the Washington Post: The drug, made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, is designed to prevent infected people from developing severe illness. Instead of waiting for the body to develop its own protective immune response, the drug imitates the body’s natural defenses. It is…

Moderna Becomes Second Firm To Reveal Positive Results With Nearly 95% Protection In Trials

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: More than 1 billion people could be immunized against coronavirus by the end of next year with shots from the first two companies to reveal positive results, after the latest vaccine was shown to be nearly 95% effective in trials. With the US’s top infectious diseases official, Anthony Fauci, hailing “the light…

What are the differences between the Michigan’s Master of Public Health in Population and Health Sciences and Master of Science in Population and Health Sciences?

Last year, Michigan’s School of Public Health announced their first online Master of Public Health in Population and Health Sciences degree. The success of the MPH degree spurred the launch of a Master of Science shortly thereafter from Michigan’s School of Public Health.  The two degrees share an emphasis on providing students with a foundational […]
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Master of Public Health or Master of Science: Which Is Right for You?

Last year, Michigan’s School of Public Health announced their first online Master of Public Health in Population and Health Sciences degree. The success of the MPH degree spurred the launch of a Master of Science shortly thereafter from Michigan’s School of Public Health.  The two degrees share an emphasis on providing students with a foundational […]
The post Master of Public Health…