CRISPR is a technology that can be used to edit genes and, as such, will likely change the world. The essence of CRISPR is simple: it’s a way of finding a specific bit of DNA inside a cell. After that, the next step in CRISPR gene editing is usually to alter that piece of DNA.
Category Archives: Medicine
Research: The Search For An Alzheimer’s Vaccine
Health: The Importance Of Early Cancer Detection
Views: A Conversation On Aging Research (Harvard)
Health: 5 Conditions That Can Damage Your Kidneys
Research: Combatting Antibiotic Resistance
Medicine: Heart Attacks – Early Chest Pain Symptoms
Analysis: Why Dental Care Costs So Much In The U.S.
Americans have a tendency to avoid the dentist. More than 40% of Americans said they don’t see a dentist as often as they would like, according to a 2018 survey by the American Dental Association.
Their number one reason for skipping visits is cost, even among those with dental insurance. Dental insurance policies can be confusing and difficult to use, making some Americans wonder whether dental insurance is worth investing in at all. Watch the video to find out to learn what it actually costs to go to the dentist, whether dental insurance is worth investing in and what patients and policymakers can do about it.
Chapters 0:00 – Introduction 1:42 – How dental insurance works 4:15 – Dental care costs 6:17 – Is dental insurance worth it? 9:49 – Solutions Americans have a tendency to avoid the dentist. More than 40% of Americans said they don’t see a dentist as often as they would like, according to a 2018 survey by the American Dental Association. People have lots of reasons for not going, including fear, inconvenience and trouble finding a dentist who take their insurance. But the top reason Americans cite for avoiding the dentist is cost, with nearly 60% of Americans saying cost was the main reason they haven’t visited the dentist in the past 12 months. Cost remained the number one reason regardless of age, income level or type of insurance. Dental insurance can be confusing since it’s considered a separate service from medical insurance, which means it has different policies and procedures that many patients are not familiar with. From a lack of transparency about benefits to rules like annual maximums — which means plans stop paying for treatment after hitting a certain amount for the year — some patients question whether dental insurance is worth investing in at all. “There’s this misnomer that you need dental insurance to go to the dentist, you really don’t,” said Dr. Mark Vitale, a general dentist and owner of Edison Dental Arts in Edison, New Jersey. “Dental insurance is not the panacea that most people think it is.” But the industry landscape is shifting as more traditional health insurance companies are supplementing their medical plans with dental benefits. “Dental insurance is extremely profitable to the insurance companies, which is why many of the insured many of the major carriers offer dental insurance,” Vitale said.
Covid-19: How BioNTech Used Its Cancer Research To Create A Vaccine (CNBC)
Over a month and a half before the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic, BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin met with his wife, BioNTech’s co-founder and chief medical officer Özlem Türeci, and together they agreed to redirect most of the company’s resources to developing a vaccine. Up until that point, BioNTech was little-known internationally and primarily focused on developing novel cancer treatments. The founders were confident in the potential of their mRNA technology, which they knew could trigger a powerful immune response. That confidence wasn’t necessarily shared by the broader medical community. No mRNA vaccine or treatment had ever been approved before. But the couple’s timely breakthrough was actually decades in the making. CNBC spoke with Şahin and Türeci about how they, along with Pfizer, created a Covid-19 vaccine using mRNA.
Infographics: Lowering LDL “BAD” Cholesterol
Boomers Daily 