Medical Research

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has been running a trial of Remdesivir on 1,063 randomly assigned patients hospitalised with Covid-19. The group who got the Remdesivir treatment showed a median time of recovery of 11 days, while those who got a placebo averaged on a 15 day recovery. Mortality rate was 8% for the Remdesivir group and 11.6% for the placebo group.

Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, who both recently recovered from a Covid-19 infection, stated that they are donating their plasma to UCLA help scientists develop a potential treatment for Covid-19. Both Hanks and Wilson participate in a medical study that tries to develop a treatment that relies on antibodies to fight infections.

A team of researchers at POSTECH, Pohang University of Science and Technology, developed a smart contact lens technology for "both continuous glucose monitoring and treatment of diabetic retinopathy". The contact lenses were tested on diabetic rabbits and were able to measure glucose levels in tears that matched their blood glucose levels. The team has also confirmed that the technology could trigger the release of drugs encased in the contact lenses to treat diabetic retinopathy.