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“The Biden administration is preparing to launch the first of several Covid-19 testing hubs to coordinate and oversee a $650 million expansion of testing in K-8 schools and congregate settings like homeless shelters.” HHS expects “to open the first hub in April, as part of a public-private partnership that could eventually add up to 25 million tests per month to the nation’s testing totals, two sources briefed on the plans told POLITICO.” This initiative “is the first attempt at formalizing a national testing strategy – something public-health experts have wanted for months.” It follows a marked decline in US COVID-19 testing from about 2 million per day in January to 1.5 million currently. The article mentions “Bruce Tromberg, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health who leads the federal government’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative.” Source: Politico

At the Feb 24, 2021, U.S. Congressional Optics & Photonics (O&P) Caucus launch event, NIBIB Director Bruce Tromberg spoke about the impact that optics and photonics technologies have had in advancing cutting-edge methods, discoveries and devices in biology and medicine. Source: Optics & Photonics.

Using Facebook-like algorithms, a bespoke microscope, and hefty doses of patience, a team of scientists has determined the brain structure of one of biology's most powerful model organisms, the transparent, millimeter-long nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Source: STAT Plus.

Studying the developing brain of a living animal has long been thought to be an almost impossible task thanks to the intricate tangle of neurons and vast labyrinth-like paths of connections that need to be imaged in real time. Source: BBC Science Focus.

For every documented COVID-19 infection during the first six months of the pandemic last year, five cases slipped by undiagnosed — roughly 16.8 million — according to a federal study led by a University of Maryland, Baltimore County graduate. Source: Baltimore Sun

While the progress toward widespread COVID-19 vaccination is encouraging, testing, masking, social distancing, contact tracing and isolation will continue to play a key role in limiting outbreaks and keeping schools and businesses open. Source: BENCH press

The final RADx portfolio of products to be developed and scaled includes a diversity of diagnostics from companies such as Illumina, Quidel, Fluidigm, and Mesa Biotech, and is likely to result in a near-term manufacturing boom in rapid antigen tests and over-the-counter home-use diagnostics. Source: genomeweb.

The DOD, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, awarded $231.8 million to Ellume USA LLC to onshore production capacity of the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test for the United States. Read more at the Department of Defense website.

Some two dozen companies are working on tests that let you sample and process results at home, including some that connect to your smartphone. But widespread use is still likely months away. Source: The Wall Street Journal.