The development and authorization of COVID-19 POC and at-home tests has been remarkable; a process that can often take more than a year took only a few months in many cases. We believe that lessons learned from our experiences with COVID-19 could be leveraged to facilitate a large-scale effort for swift, widespread access to accurate and reliable tests for a variety of diseases. Source: Health Affairs.

Abnormal heart rhythms—cardiac arrhythmias—are a major worldwide health problem. Now scientists are using ultrasound for more accurate maps of arrhythmic sites in the heart for improved success of ablation procedures.

“The Biden administration is preparing to launch the first of several Covid-19 testing hubs to coordinate and oversee a $650 million expansion of testing in K-8 schools and congregate settings like homeless shelters.” HHS expects “to open the first hub in April, as part of a public-private partnership that could eventually add up to 25 million tests per month to the nation’s testing totals, two sources briefed on the plans told POLITICO.” This initiative “is the first attempt at formalizing a national testing strategy – something public-health experts have wanted for months.” It follows a marked decline in US COVID-19 testing from about 2 million per day in January to 1.5 million currently. The article mentions “Bruce Tromberg, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health who leads the federal government’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative.” Source: Politico

An NIH-funded research team has launched a study to assess performance and usability of a smartphone app paired with the Quidel QuickVue At-Home COVID-19 Test, which received FDA emergency use authorization for use with a prescription.

At the Feb 24, 2021, U.S. Congressional Optics & Photonics (O&P) Caucus launch event, NIBIB Director Bruce Tromberg spoke about the impact that optics and photonics technologies have had in advancing cutting-edge methods, discoveries and devices in biology and medicine. Source: Optics & Photonics.

Using Facebook-like algorithms, a bespoke microscope, and hefty doses of patience, a team of scientists has determined the brain structure of one of biology's most powerful model organisms, the transparent, millimeter-long nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Source: STAT Plus.

Sometimes scientists discover exciting results after spending years searching for an answer to a single question. But sometimes discoveries are made by surprising collaborations and connections—resulting in answers to questions no one would have thought ask.

Studying the developing brain of a living animal has long been thought to be an almost impossible task thanks to the intricate tangle of neurons and vast labyrinth-like paths of connections that need to be imaged in real time. Source: BBC Science Focus.

For every documented COVID-19 infection during the first six months of the pandemic last year, five cases slipped by undiagnosed — roughly 16.8 million — according to a federal study led by a University of Maryland, Baltimore County graduate. Source: Baltimore Sun