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Health - Aug 5
During the lockdown, 26% fewer patients were admitted to Belgian hospitals following a heart attack. "Patients were more reluctant to go to the hospital, but on the upside, people got to unwind and relax more, resulting in fewer heart problem", says cardiologist Marc Claeys (UZA/UAntwerp). With the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, many physicians sounded the alarm in the media: they feared that people with problems unrelated to COVID-19 would put off going to their doctor or even the emergency room out of fear of becoming infected with the virus.
Health - Jul 28
ExeVir Bio, a technology platform with potential to generate robust antiviral therapies. ExeVir Bio announces today a first closing of a EUR23 million Series A financing led by Fund+, with the participation of VIB, UCB Ventures, the Belgian Federal Government via SFPI-FPIM, V-Bio Ventures and several Belgian family offices.
Health - Jul 16
According to UCLouvain research conducted in collaboration with WHO, Stanford University, and Harvard Medical School, measles vaccination is taking a back seat to the fight against Covid-19 120 million children are at risk of not being vaccinated this year in poor countries, where Covid-19 claims far fewer victims than measles The study was publ
Environment - Jul 20
Researchers from the bio-economics department at the KU Leuven investigated the effects of trade on hunger in the world as a result of climate change. The conclusion is clear: international trade can relieve regional food shortages and reduce hunger, particularly where protectionist measures and other barriers to trade are eliminated. Climate change has consequences for agriculture worldwide, with clear differences between regions.
Administration - Jul 12
The Board of Governors of the 3rd of July 2020 has approved the new policy vision regarding military and dual-use research at Ghent University.
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Fewer heart attacks in early lockdown
During the lockdown, 26% fewer patients were admitted to Belgian hospitals following a heart attack. "Patients were more reluctant to go to the hospital, but on the upside, people got to unwind and relax more, resulting in fewer heart problem", says cardiologist Marc Claeys (UZA/UAntwerp). With the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, many physicians sounded the alarm in the media: they feared that people with problems unrelated to COVID-19 would put off going to their doctor or even the emergency room out of fear of becoming infected with the virus.
During the lockdown, 26% fewer patients were admitted to Belgian hospitals following a heart attack. "Patients were more reluctant to go to the hospital, but on the upside, people got to unwind and relax more, resulting in fewer heart problem", says cardiologist Marc Claeys (UZA/UAntwerp). With the coronavirus pandemic in full swing, many physicians sounded the alarm in the media: they feared that people with problems unrelated to COVID-19 would put off going to their doctor or even the emergency room out of fear of becoming infected with the virus.
ExeVir Bio to Accelerate Development of New Treatment Conferring Broad Protection Against Covid-19
ExeVir Bio, a technology platform with potential to generate robust antiviral therapies. ExeVir Bio announces today a first closing of a EUR23 million Series A financing led by Fund+, with the participation of VIB, UCB Ventures, the Belgian Federal Government via SFPI-FPIM, V-Bio Ventures and several Belgian family offices.
ExeVir Bio, a technology platform with potential to generate robust antiviral therapies. ExeVir Bio announces today a first closing of a EUR23 million Series A financing led by Fund+, with the participation of VIB, UCB Ventures, the Belgian Federal Government via SFPI-FPIM, V-Bio Ventures and several Belgian family offices.
Free trade can prevent hunger due to climate change
Researchers from the bio-economics department at the KU Leuven investigated the effects of trade on hunger in the world as a result of climate change. The conclusion is clear: international trade can relieve regional food shortages and reduce hunger, particularly where protectionist measures and other barriers to trade are eliminated. Climate change has consequences for agriculture worldwide, with clear differences between regions.
Researchers from the bio-economics department at the KU Leuven investigated the effects of trade on hunger in the world as a result of climate change. The conclusion is clear: international trade can relieve regional food shortages and reduce hunger, particularly where protectionist measures and other barriers to trade are eliminated. Climate change has consequences for agriculture worldwide, with clear differences between regions.
Covid-19 vs measles: 120 million children at risk
According to UCLouvain research conducted in collaboration with WHO, Stanford University, and Harvard Medical School, measles vaccination is taking a back seat to the fight against Covid-19 120 million children are at risk of not being vaccinated this year in poor countries, where Covid-19 claims far fewer victims than measles The study was published in the prestigious scientific journal Science Article: https://doi.org/10.1126/sci
According to UCLouvain research conducted in collaboration with WHO, Stanford University, and Harvard Medical School, measles vaccination is taking a back seat to the fight against Covid-19 120 million children are at risk of not being vaccinated this year in poor countries, where Covid-19 claims far fewer victims than measles The study was published in the prestigious scientific journal Science Article: https://doi.org/10.1126/sci
The Board of Governors of the 3rd of July 2020 has approved the new policy vision regarding military and dual-use research at Ghent University. This has big implications for research and development at Ghent University as well as research financing by the European Defense Fund in 2021. Research that can possibly be used militarily, is now possible.
The world is eagerly awaiting one or more vaccines to protect us against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We will only be able to fully resume our lives when we are immune to the infection.
Virologists at the Rega Institute at KU Leuven (Belgium) have developed a vaccine candidate that protects hamsters from infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Theirs is one of the first vaccine candidates that is proven to protect lab animals from infection. The team aims to start clinical trials next Winter.
Breast cancer patients who are overweight or obese might benefit less from treatment with docetaxel, a common chemotherapy drug, than lean patients. An international team of researchers based this conclusion on a retrospective analysis of data from a large clinical trial. Their study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology .
The first-of-its-kind study by UCLouvain and Stanford researchers reveals that subsidies for the planting of commercially valuable tree plantations in Chile resulted in the loss of biologically valuable natural forests and little, if any, additional carbon sequestration Campaigns to plant huge numbers of trees could backfire, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University, the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Concepción in Chile that is the first to rigorously analyze potential effects of subsidies in such schemes.
As humanity fights against the coronavirus, the battle against antibiotic resistant bacteria continues Scientists at UCLouvain have succeeded in capturing unique images of protein soldiers that help bacteria resist drugs. This discovery is published in the prestigious scientific The image recordings will make it possible to develop new attacks on bacteria and thus produce Article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41589-020-0575-0 The resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is a major health problem.
The measles virus may have emerged as early as the 6 th century BCE, an international team of researchers reports. The finding is based on a virus sample found in Germany that dates back to 1912. It is the oldest human RNA virus genome that has been sequenced to date. The study was published in Science .
Plasma astrophysicists at KU Leuven have created the first self-consistent simulation of the physical processes that occur during a solar flare. The researchers used Flemish supercomputers and a new combination of physical models. Solar flares are explosions on the surface of the Sun that release an enormous amount of energy, equivalent to a trillion 'Little Boy' atomic bombs exploding at the same time.
University of Louvain and European Space Agency join forces to screen COVID-19
Objective: increase COVID-19 screening capacity throughout Europe via a mobile, fast and flexible method First phase: Piedmont, Italy , to screen front-line teams (medical, volunteer, police, civil protection) The University of Louvain (UCLouvain ) and the European Space Agency (ESA ) are joining forces to deploy a mobile laboratory capable of testing front-line screening teams : doctors, nurses, volunteers, police, civil protection actors.
Objective: increase COVID-19 screening capacity throughout Europe via a mobile, fast and flexible method First phase: Piedmont, Italy , to screen front-line teams (medical, volunteer, police, civil protection) The University of Louvain (UCLouvain ) and the European Space Agency (ESA ) are joining forces to deploy a mobile laboratory capable of testing front-line screening teams : doctors, nurses, volunteers, police, civil protection actors.
Researchers against Covid-19
They did not sit back during the lockdown! As scientists worldwide, the UNamur researchers were in the battle against Covid-19 since the beginning of the crisis. Their expertise bore around 20 research projects, often in collaboration with other Belgian or foreign universities. Thanks to their initiatives and work, society becomes aware of the importance of research and the numerous disciplines involved when fighting a pandemic.
They did not sit back during the lockdown! As scientists worldwide, the UNamur researchers were in the battle against Covid-19 since the beginning of the crisis. Their expertise bore around 20 research projects, often in collaboration with other Belgian or foreign universities. Thanks to their initiatives and work, society becomes aware of the importance of research and the numerous disciplines involved when fighting a pandemic.
Not too fast: a critique on biodegradation of plastics, especially by marcoorganisms such as caterpillars
Caterpillars can consume plastics, but it is not a magic solution. Caterpillars can consume plastics! Back in 2017, the world was getting to know this extraordinary phenomenon by global news coverage of findings of Bombelli et al. [1]. Their claims were that larvae of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, consume polyethylene at an extraordinary rate, and moreover produce ethylene glycol as a major metabolite.
Caterpillars can consume plastics, but it is not a magic solution. Caterpillars can consume plastics! Back in 2017, the world was getting to know this extraordinary phenomenon by global news coverage of findings of Bombelli et al. [1]. Their claims were that larvae of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, consume polyethylene at an extraordinary rate, and moreover produce ethylene glycol as a major metabolite.
Single-cell software supported by a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grant
Software for the analysis and visualization of single-cell data is one of the projects that will receive funding as part of CZI's Essential Open Source Software for Science (EOSS) program. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced $3.8 million in funding for 23 grants to support open-source software projects essential to biomedical research, enabling software maintenance, growth, development, and community engagement.
Software for the analysis and visualization of single-cell data is one of the projects that will receive funding as part of CZI's Essential Open Source Software for Science (EOSS) program. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced $3.8 million in funding for 23 grants to support open-source software projects essential to biomedical research, enabling software maintenance, growth, development, and community engagement.
At the European nuclear and particle physics laboratory CERN, physicists can produce extremely rare short-lived atoms and molecules. Researchers from KU Leuven have shown that these particles lead the way to uncharted territory in nuclear and particle physics. One of the oldest active installations at the Centre for European Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva is the ISOLDE laboratory.
Hydropower plants can support solar and wind power, rather unpredictable by nature, in a climate-friendly manner. A new study in the scientific journal Nature Sustainability has now mapped the potential for such "solar-wind-water" strategies for West Africa: an important region where the power sector is still under development, and where generation capacity and power grids will be greatly expanded in the coming years.
Cancer cells deactivate their ’Velcro’ to go on the attack
To form metastases, cancer cells must be able to migrate. But cancer cells are connected to each other by 'Velcro'. University of Louvain (UCLouvain) researchers have discovered that certain cancer cells manage to suppress this 'Velcro' effect so that they can migrate more easily. It's a mechanism called endocytosis.
To form metastases, cancer cells must be able to migrate. But cancer cells are connected to each other by 'Velcro'. University of Louvain (UCLouvain) researchers have discovered that certain cancer cells manage to suppress this 'Velcro' effect so that they can migrate more easily. It's a mechanism called endocytosis.
Research at Ghent University shows that COVID-19 pandemic affects mental health and daily lives of autistic adults. Research group EXPLORA (Ghent University) has set up an online survey to investigate the effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and daily lives of adults on the autism spectrum.
News from the Lab is a selection of science news that are significant or interesting for a broad readership.
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