Tactical Medicine News

At the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, researchers have developed micelle technology that can detect minute amounts of SARS-CoV-2 in the air. This new capability could provide invaluable monitoring systems to detect viral contamination in healthcare facilities and beyon...

Scientists at Oregon State University have developed a new treatment for COVID-19. The technology is based on mRNA, which has also been put to good use in COVID-19 vaccines. However, in this instance, the delivered mRNA encodes for human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2)...

Scientists at Rice University created a rapid COVID-19 test that is based on the gene editing CRISPR-Cas system. The researchers modified the Cas-13 protein to increase its activity and to light up with fluorescence when it encounters RNA from the virus. The system does not re...

A team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a DNA net system that can ensnare Sars-CoV-2 and bind to the notorious spike protein. The nets contain aptamers that bind the spike protein and emit an intense fluorescent signal once they’re bound together...

Researchers at MIT have created a microparticle vaccine that can provide booster doses automatically. The hollow microparticles resemble a coffee cup with a lid, and are made using poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), otherwise known as PLGA. The polymer breaks down over time in the...

Why does myocarditis often present a diagnostic challenge? What are the range of ECG findings in myocarditis? Does a negative high sensitivity troponin or CRP rule out myocarditis? What is the role of PoCUS in the diagnosis and prognosis of myocarditis? When should we consi...

Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered naturally-occurring extracellular vesicles in the blood that contain the ACE2 protein, which is the cellular target of SARS-CoV-2. The vesicles act as a binding site for viral particles within the body, and prevent them fr...

Achiko, a company based in Switzerland, has developed AptameX, a saliva-based rapid COVID-19 test. The technology is based on DNA aptamers that are bound to gold nanoparticles. On binding with a viral protein the gold nanoparticles are released, causing a measurable color chan...

Thomas Friedman’s book The World Is Flat is an exploration of how globalization and modern communications technology have changed the world. Our emergency care systems entered the pandemic on decidedly bumpy terrain; can we use technology and innovation to flatten and prote...

It goes without saying that 2020 presented many challenges for the worldwide EM community. We all know what those challenges were, so I’m not going to list them here. As we enter 2021 I thought it important to reflect on what we did well in 2020, what made us proud to be EM...