News Archives: August, 2020

The U.S. National Science Foundation is establishing new artificial intelligence institutes to accelerate research, expand America's workforce, and transform society in the decades to come. Enabled by sustained federal investment and channeled toward issues of national importance, continued advancement in AI research holds the potential for further economic impact and improvements in quality of life.

The University of Kansas Medical Center and Children's Mercy Kansas City announced today that they will be leading the regional efforts of a nationwide clinical trial brought through the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN). Anticipated to launch in mid-to-late August, the phase 2/3 trial is funded by the National Institutes of Health and sponsored by AstraZeneca.

Kansas State University is leading a new research consortium that focuses on speeding up research for COVID-19 drug treatments. The consortium is making all its findings freely available to researchers worldwide.

The University of Kansas School of Engineering and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment have expanded a project to detect COVID-19 virus in the wastewater systems of local communities across the state.

A video explaining the transmission and mitigation of COVID-19, produced by Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency (HIEMA), features Thomas Lee, an assistant professor of epidemiology in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Office of Public Health Studies in the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, and lead modeler and forecaster for HIEMA.

A re-analysis of fossils from one of Europe’s most significant paleontological sites reveals a wide diversity of animal species, including a large terrestrial monkey, short-necked giraffe, rhinos and saber-toothed cats.

Dramatic increases in the scale and availability of data are profoundly reshaping the life sciences. As a result, data acquisition and availability -- from DNA sequencers to environmental sensors to parallel global studies -- are outpacing the capacity for analysis, including the development of models that represent knowledge of biological processes.

Identifying the mechanisms through which the new coronavirus enters and infects cells can help scientists combat COVID-19—and perhaps other emerging viruses.

Adaptation to change is a defining characteristic of life, being essential for survival. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought on seismic change, compelling us all to think creatively about how we are going to adapt. But this process, and indeed any crisis, offers new opportunities for growth and improvement. Our Summer 2020 newsletter explores how the Maine INBRE is adapting to the COVID-19 crisis, with a focus on how our summer undergraduate research fellowship program has been restructured to provide remote mentored research and research training.

A new interactive mapping tool from the National Institutes of Health showcases just some of the many small businesses that have developed successful healthcare products with the help of NIH small business funding, which totals over $1 billion annually. Highlighting 50-plus small businesses across the United States, the interactive map links to the story behind healthcare products and services that the NIH small business program has supported through grants.