Research

IIT Delhi researchers has come up with a non-invasive EEG-based Brain Source Localization (BSL) framework for epilepsy focal detection that is time efficient and patient-friendly. Given the EEG data with seizures, the array processing algorithms can point to the coordinates within minutes. In particular, the team of researchers, led by Prof Lalan Kumar, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi, have proposed novel head harmonics-based algorithms for seizure localization. “Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder in the world and affects millions worldwide. It involves brief episodes of involuntary body (partial/entire) movement called seizures and may be accompanied by loss of consciousness and control of bowel or bladder function, primarily due to erroneous excessive electrical discharges. Quite a lot of epilepsies can be controlled by medicines, however, when medicines fail to control seizures, it is labeled as drug-resistant epilepsy,” said the IIT. Also … [Read more...] about IIT Delhi Researchers Propose Non-invasive Diagnostic Tool for Epileptogenic Zone Detection

Senators on a key Homeland Security Subcommittee argued for an expansive review of gain-of-function research, which opponents argue may have created the COVID-19 virus, during a first-ever hearing Wednesday. Gain-of-function research is broadly defined as any research or experimentation that can make a virus or disease more transmissible or deadly. President Barack Obama imposed a moratorium on such activity in 2014, but President Donald Trump lifted the ban in 2017. Although Trump instituted a committee within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review gain-of-function research proposals, critics like Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul argue that the body is effectively toothless . Paul, the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight , said in opening remarks that the hearing was necessary due to “the emerging threat posed by gain-of-function research.” Paul described the method as “controversial,” noting that it has the … [Read more...] about GOP Senators Review U.S. Government’s Funding, Promotion Of Research That May Have Created COVID-19

Rutgers University microbiologist Dr. Richard Ebright testified before the U.S. Senate Wednesday that top public health officials lied about dangerous gain-of-function (GoF) research experiments conducted in China. Ebright testified that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other U.S. federal agencies funded research that fit the definition of GoF at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) without proper oversight. His claim directly contradicts those made by numerous public health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Live at Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight: @RandPaul noting that gain-of-function research “has the “potential to unleash a global pandemic that threatens the lives of millions” but Congress has not held a hearing on it. — Michael Ginsberg (@mikeginsberg98) August 3, 2022 Specifically, Ebright testified that research funded … [Read more...] about Renowned Molecular Biologist Accuses Fauci Of Lying To Congress About Gain-Of-Function Research

Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall will head to the Senate floor Thursday evening to ask for unanimous consent to call up two bills defunding gain-of-function (GoF) research, the Daily Caller has learned. Marshall will ask for unanimous consent for the Viral Gain of Function Research Moratorium Act and the SAFE Risky Research Act. The former bill was first introduced in 2021 as momentum surged behind the “lab-leak” theory that COVID-19 emerged via a lab accident during GoF work in Wuhan, China. Dr. Fauci put us all in danger when he funded dangerous viral gain-of-function research in China. No more Viral GoF experiments. pic.twitter.com/5xB7aev2mf — Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) August 4, 2022 The Viral Gain of Function Research Moratorium Act would institute a moratorium on any federal research funding to organizations conducting GoF research and other work on dangerous viral pathogens. The SAFE Risky Research Act would halt funding to risky GoF research … [Read more...] about EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Marshall To Call Up Bills Banning Gain-Of-Function Research Funding For Unanimous Consent

Dr. Anthony Fauci’s statements, denying that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, “have been untruthful,” Dr. Richard Ebright told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday. Last year, Ebright, a Rutgers University chemistry professor and Waksman Institute of Microbiology laboratory director, posted a letter from the NIH, showing that an NIH grant funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab, despite Fauci’s denials: The NIH received the relevant documents in 2018 and reviewed the documents in 2020 and again in 2021. The NIH–specifically, Collins, Fauci, and Tabak–lied to Congress, lied to the press, and lied to the public. Knowingly. Willfully. Brazenly. — Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) October 20, 2021 Speaking during a hearing on the origins of the Chinese coronavirus, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) referenced the documents, showing that Fauci’s statements on the matter have been untruthful. “What are … [Read more...] about Dr. Ebright to Lawmakers: Fauci’s Statements on Gain-of-Function Research ‘Have Been Untruthful’

With at least eight cases of the monkeypox virus reported out of India, a task force of the experts constituted by the Centre has laid out plans to fund research in developing the critical infrastructure needed for preparing an indigenous vaccine. Developing a dedicated vaccine, experts told The Hindu , would take well over a year because there were several gaps in figuring out what vaccine approach would be ideal. Though the World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak as a public health emergency, experts at a meeting reckoned that monkeypox was unlikely to immediately require mass vaccination , said a senior government official, familiar with proceedings, but who declined to be identified “The monkeypox virus is structurally more stable compared to SARS-CoV2. However, we don’t know if the existing smallpox vaccines will be suitable against monkeypox and so the first steps we have decided to take is preparing the infrastructure required for vaccine development.” At … [Read more...] about Monkeypox taskforce recommends sprucing up research infrastructure for developing indigenous vaccine

Some scientists believe that taking daytime naps may increase not only the risk of a stroke—and potentially an early sign of dangerous high blood pressure—but could also be linked to Alzheimer's. In a paper appearing in the journal Hypertension , the research also showed that nodding off for a snooze in a chair may be a serious matter. Referring to the research on 360,000 people who were tracked for an average of about 11 years, co-author E. Wang of Xiangya Hospital Central South University of China said: "These results are especially interesting since millions of people might enjoy a regular or even daily nap." High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, reduces the delivery of oxygen to the brain, blocks blood vessels, and increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes, aneurysms, kidney damage, dementia and memory loss, according to the Mayo Clinic. The researchers examined information in the ongoing Biobank study in the U.K., looking at the lifestyle, genetic, and … [Read more...] about Daytime napping may increase risk of strokes and Alzheimer’s: research

Aniket Chattopadhyay — one of the 24 candidates who have topped JEE Main 2022 with a 100 percentile score — says he wants to peruse a career in computer science in one of the top IITs in the country. He says that he eventually wants to pursue research in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The student of Narayana school, is a native of Telangana, has scored 99 percent in Chemistry, and 100 percent in physics and mathematics in his JEE Mains Session 2. He says that the lockdown and its imposed online learning restrictions came as a blessing to him, contributing to his success at JEE mains. “It gave me extra time and self-study space to prepare for my exams. So, I utilized it to prepare for my exams and score well.” Read | JEE Main Topper Sneha Gets 300/300, Says Girls Can Ace Any Stream if They Believe in Themselves Talking about his daily routine for his exams he said, “I would study for two hours straight and then take half an hour break and divide my time to devote equal … [Read more...] about JEE Main 2022 Topper Says Music Helped Prepare Better, Aims at Pursuing Research in AI, Robotics

Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health who analysed the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants have discovered shared traits linked to transmissibility and immune evasion. Their findings highlight the need for more proactive planning and preparedness for future variants of concern (VOCs), including the development of a universal vaccine that can block SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as prevent severe disease. As with many places, by February 2022, South Africa had experienced four distinct pandemic waves caused by the original (or ancestral) SARS-CoV-2 virus and three VOCs–Beta, Delta and Omicron. “These repeated pandemic waves have been driven by new VOCs that erode prior immunity from either infection or vaccination, increase transmissibility or a combination of both,” explains study author Wan Yang, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School. “Although laboratory and field studies provide insights into variant … [Read more...] about Research Says Universal Vaccination Is Required To Stop Future COVID-19 Waves

First we got the bill. Now we have the numbers. surprise deal that Senator Joe Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck last week, would significantly reduce greenhouse-gas pollution from the American economy. If passed, the bill would cut annual emissions by as much as 44 percent by the end of this decade, according to a new set of analyses from three independent research firms. That would make the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, the most significant climate bill ever passed by Congress. No law has ever made such a big dent in U.S. emissions, or cut them as rapidly: It would more than double the pace at which the American economy has been decarbonizing, the analyses say. “I was skeptical of it when we started doing the modeling,” Anand Gopal, the executive director of strategy at Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan policy group in San Francisco that prepared one of the studies, told me. “But now I’m convinced that this is a really meaningful action by the United … [Read more...] about The Climate Bill Would Change the Course of the 2020s