Monthly Archives: July 2020

Experimental HIV drug seems effective at a twice-a-year dose, study finds

An experimental new HIV treatment could, with just one dose, reduce the amount of virus in an infected person for up to six months. But experts aren’t convinced the advance will significantly change how we treat HIV anytime soon. A group of researchers from Gilead Sciences developed a new drug dubbed lenacapavir, described Wednesday in […]

Mysterious Pattern of Fast Radio Bursts Detected in Space

In 2007, astronomers detected the first so-called fast radio burst (FRB), which is a radio pulse lasting under a few milliseconds. Since then, many FRBs have been detected, but their origins remain poorly understood. It is commonly thought that these are produced by small and extremely energetic objects located very far away, but beyond that, […]

STAT Plus: Some U.S. government contracts for Covid-19 research could skirt affordable pricing laws

A new report finds that the U.S. government awarded several drug makers contracts for coronavirus research using agreements that would allow authorities to bypass laws that could ensure taxpayer-funded medicines or vaccines are affordable. In recent months, the Department of Defense and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority signed or extended contracts with four companies — […]

Plant tissue engineering improves drought and salinity tolerance

After several years of experimentation, scientists have engineered thale cress, or Arabidopsis thaliana, to behave like a succulent, improving water-use efficiency, salinity tolerance and reducing the effects of drought. The tissue succulence engineering method devised for this small flowering plant can be used in other plants to improve drought and salinity tolerance with the goal […]