MedWrite.ca

12/31/2020

New trends in info graphics!

https://coolinfographics.com/

Featuring great examples of infographics, data visualizations and visual communication including critique, commentary, best practices, tips, design tools, jobs board, posters, and the Cool Infographics book!

12/24/2020

Not all clinical trials are created equal. It's always a good idea to review the basics to understand why the outcomes vary between trials :)

"The first step involves defining the study population and determining whether these patients are similar to the patients seen in clinical practice in terms of demographics, disease type, and disease severity."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3380258/pdf/GH-08-241.pd

12/13/2020

https://youtu.be/3POrtQEpV2s

Emmanuelle Charpentier delivered her Nobel Lecture on 8 December 2020. She was introduced by Professor Claes Gustafsson, Chairman of the Nobel Committee for ...

10/09/2020

What can we expect from first-generation COVID-19 vaccines? What are the implications of effectiveness, allocation, vaccine hesitancy, and transmission?

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31976-0/fulltext

A first generation of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to gain approval as soon as the end of 2020 or early 2021. A popular assumption is that these vaccines will provide population immunity that can reduce transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and lead to a resum...

10/07/2020

Critical thinking has a profound impact on the decisions we make and plays a role in our daily lives. It's a way of approaching a question to deconstruct a situation and reveal issues, such as bias and manipulation. Although we don't always make perfect decisions, certain strategies can help improve our chances of making the best choice:

1. Formulate a question: Know what you are looking for
2. Gather information: what is relevant?
3. Apply the information: Ask critical questions. Is the information logically sound?
3. Consider the implications: What are the unintended consequences?
4. Explore other points of view: Why are others drawn to a different point of view?

https://youtu.be/dItUGF8GdTw

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/5-tips-to-improve-your-critical-thinking-samantha-agoos Every day, a sea of decisions stretches before us, and it...

10/07/2020

I am excited to start a new online class, Foundations of Instructional Design at the University of Toronto. I'm looking forward to composing a learning needs analysis and learning effective instructional solutions.

08/27/2020

“The initiation of the Phase 2/3 trial is a major step forward in our progress toward providing a potential vaccine to help fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and we look forward to generating additional data as the program progresses.”

What's a pivotal clinical trial?

A pivotal clinical trial is a clinical study seeking to demonstrate the efficacy of a new drug in order to obtain its marketing approval by regulatory authorities. These studies have appropriate endpoints, a well-defined patient population, and a large number of patients.

https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-choose-lead-mrna-vaccine-candidate-0

Companies advance nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) candidate BNT162b2, which encodes an optimized SARS-CoV-2 full-length spike glycoprotein, at a 30 µg dose level in a 2 dose regimen into Phase 2/3 Study Candidate and dose level selection informed by preclinical and clinical data obtained...

07/24/2020

https://www.talentlms.com/blog/corporate-training-vs-academic-web-based-learning/

Which are the differences between corporate training and academic learning? Here is all you need to know about corporate and academic web based learning.

07/24/2020

A learner's cultural background does have an impact on the overall learning experience, and it has been shown to affect learning, motivation, and satisfaction in a course.

It is important to acknowledge that cultural diversity does influence learning and specifically, there are unique differences between the classroom environment and online learning in the areas of participation, classroom dynamics, and interpretation of design.

Do you think these same principles may be applied to the online corporate training environment?

https://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=3041614

Understanding the unique differences between online and traditional classroom environments, and how culture manifests itself within each setting, can help shape a positive educational experience for students. The purpose of this article is to provide a broad overview of how cultural diversity can in...

05/12/2020

Gut microbes have been one of my favorite topics for over 20 years! It's amazing how much information we have learned since then about the importance of gut microbiota. These little creatures make up around 0.3% of a person's mass and are closely linked to our health status including immune, metabolic and neurobehavioral traits.

"An analysis of faecal samples reveals that obese people who take cholesterol-lowering statin drugs have a ‘healthier’ community of gut microorganisms than would be expected."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01281-0

Bacterial changes found in people taking cholesterol-lowering medication.

05/08/2020

Looking beyond SARS CoV-2; drugs targeting the main protease may prove useful against future coronaviruses. This type of “biological scissor” cuts polypeptide chains translated from viral RNA, a step required to form functional viral proteins.

“When the genetic sequences of the various SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins became available, they revealed remarkable similarities between its main protease and those of two coronaviruses responsible for earlier outbreaks”.

“This realization planted a seed of hope. If a drug could block that protein, it stood a good chance of working against not just this coronavirus but whatever one emerged next”.

https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/infectious-disease/How-big-pharma-firms-quietly-collaborating-on-new-coronavirus-antivirals/98/i18

Behind the scenes, companies including Novartis, Takeda, and Gilead are collaborating in a loose alliance. Their work might not be done in time to stop COVID-19, but they hope it can prevent the next pandemic

05/08/2020

It’s amazing what researchers are capable of achieving when resources and manpower are focused on a common goal.

“Testing of the vaccine, which has already started in Germany, could start in the U.S. as early as next week if health regulators sign off.”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/pfizer-says-coronavirus-vaccine-could-be-ready-by-the-fall-for-emergency-use-2020-04-28?reflink=mw_share_linkedin

Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday it could have a coronavirus vaccine ready for use on an emergency basis in the fall if it proves to work safely in testing.

04/29/2020

Across the world, more than 90 vaccines are currently being developed against SARS-CoV-2. Animal and human safety trials have started.

Interested in learning more? This article describes vaccine basics as well as the different approaches currently being used in the race to develop a vaccine.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01221-y

Eight ways in which scientists hope to provide immunity to SARS-CoV-2 .

04/26/2020

The amount of information (and misinformation) released daily regarding the virus SARS-CoV2 and the disease COVID-19 may seem overwhelming. News headlines are often misleading and confusing. Luckily, some excellent educational resources are available online. I particularly enjoyed this free Columbia University lecture series on virology, presented by Dr. Vincent Racaniello. A great refresher for scientists and learning opportunity for laymen.

I highly recommend watching the first two lectures in this series, or more if you have the time!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3NhPgOoX4

In this first lecture of my 2020 Columbia University virology course, we define viruses, discuss their discovery and fundamental properties, including whethe...

04/22/2020

A phase 1/2 trial for the BNT162 vaccine program will begin in Germany, with four mRNA vaccine candidates from BioNTech’s COVID-19-focused project called “Lightspeed.”

"The larger spike sequence is included in two of the vaccine candidates, and the smaller optimized receptor binding domain from the spike protein is included in the other two candidates."

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/pfizer-and-new-partner-biontech-nab-approval-to-start-closely-watched-covid-19-vax-trial

Pfizer has been granted approval in partner BioNTech’s native country Germany to kick-start a phase 2 test of their experimental mRNA vaccine for COVID-19.

04/22/2020

"Reports detailing high rates of false-positive and false-negative results are delaying widespread screening."

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/covid-19-antibody-testing-a-disaster-says-roche-ceo-as-its-diagnostics-sales-rise

The current state of antibody testing for COVID-19 is “a disaster,” said Roche CEO Severin Schwan, as a large number of potentially inaccurate tests enter the market fueled by sky-high demand.

03/23/2020

A simple and informative video illustrating the clinical course of COVID-19. One important point that should be noted is the length of hospitalization required for severe and critical cases.

The median time from onset to clinical recovery for mild cases is approximately 2 weeks and 3-6 weeks for patients with severe or critical disease.

The time from symptom onset to outcome ranges from 2-8 weeks for patients who have died from the disease.

Source: Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission
on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19); February 2020.

02/18/2020

Amazing colouring book for kids. What a great way to teach little ones about science. Thank you Lim