Science stories you've missed

All of us are more challenged to understand one another in a masked world, but the hearing have a clear advantage. Have you ever thought about how difficult it is for our deaf citizens to communicate in this climate? Of course, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association unequivocally advocates for mask-wearing. In a statement issued today, they simply want to stress the need for heightened awareness and tactful, sensitive changes in our communication methods with the deaf: “When messages aren’t received correctly, this can result not only in frustration, but also put people at risk for serious harm--especially in medical or emergency situations, ” said Dr. A. Lynn Williams, 2021 ASHA President. The association has advocated for the wearing of clear masks in order to aid in communication with deaf persons, successfully petitioning the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to include this in their June 2020 guidance. Tips for communicating with deaf individuals while we...

In their fourth consortium regarding the pandemic, called "Catalyst Conversations" , researchers and scientists today spoke from their respective Zoom locations - including a cool ocean backdrop in England - to weigh in on the future of vaccines. Balancing the need for speed with safety is on everyone's minds these days, and definitely here in the States where President Trump even coined his team's efforts "Operation Warp Speed." While globally, effective vaccines and therapies to control the Covid-19 pandemic are weighing on everyone's minds, the reality is that every race has its cost. Today one of the panelists cited the comparison to an airplane, that "we are trying to build the airplane while flying it" and only later said darkly that there is a reason that of course, no one flies an airplane while it's being buit. Removing competitive barriers to encourage open science around antiviral and vaccine candidates, conjoining data standard...

While pangolins can be carriers of coronavirus, they may be able to tolerate it through an unknown mechanism according to a recently published study in the journal "Frontiers in Immunology". "The transmission of pathogens from other vertebrate animals to humans is of particular concern because the resulting diseases, known as zoonoses, have caused major epidemics in the past and continue to pose enormous threats to the human population," the authors state in the journal. The article is entitled, "Pangolins Lack IFIH1/MDA5, a Cytoplasmic RNA Sensor That Initiates Innate Immune Defense Upon Coronavirus Infection." The pangolins in particular, the statement says, "lack two sensors that detect when a virus enters the body and trigger a sometimes dangerously excessive immune response in other mammals. Understanding how pangolins are able to survive coronavirus infections could help in the development of new treatment options for humans." I had t...

While scaly creatures known as pangolins can be carriers of coronavirus, they may be able to tolerate it through some other unknown mechanism according to a recently published study in the journal "Frontiers in Immunology". The news concerning these exotic animals was shared today, May 8, in a press release from Medical University of Vienna. "The transmission of pathogens from other vertebrate animals to humans is of particular concern because the resulting diseases, known as zoonoses, have caused major epidemics in the past and continue to pose enormous threats to the human population," the authors state in the journal. The pangolins in particular, the statement says, "lack two sensors that detect when a virus enters the body and trigger a sometimes dangerously excessive immune response in other mammals. Understanding how pangolins are able to survive coronavirus infections could help in the development of new treatment options for humans." Simi...