Link identified between dietary selenium and outcome of COVID-19 disease

An international team of researchers, has identified a link between the COVID-19 cure rate and regional selenium status in China. Selenium is an essential trace element obtained from the diet (i.e. fish, meat and cereals) which has been found to affect the severity of a number of viral diseases in animals and humans. Examining data from provinces and municipalities with more than 200 cases and cities with more than 40 cases, researchers found that areas with high levels of selenium were more likely to recover from the virus. For example, in the city of Enshi in Hubei Province, which has the highest selenium intake in China, the cure rate (percentage of COVID-19 patients declared 'cured') was almost three-times higher than the average for all the other cities in Hubei Province. By contrast, in Heilongjiang Province, where selenium intake is among the lowest in the world, the death rate from COVID-19 was almost five-times as high as the average of all the other provinces outside of Hubei. Most convincingly, the researchers found that the COVID-19 cure rate was significantly associated with selenium status, as measured by the amount of selenium in hair, in 17 cities outside of Hubei. The correlation have identified is compelling, particularly given previous research on selenium and infectious diseases. As such, a careful and thorough assessment of the role selenium may play in COVID-19 is certainly justified and may help to guide ongoing public-health decisions. The research holds promise as a more effective strategy to overcome cancer therapy resistance and immune escape that can be used in combination with other cancer therapies including chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy for patients with leukemia and other types of cancer.

SOURCE: Science Daily News, May 2020

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                                       Electronic skin fully powered by sweat can monitor health

One of the ways we experience the world around us is through our skin. From sensing temperature and pressure to pleasure or pain, the many nerve endings in our skin tell us a great deal. Researcher wants to learn even more about skin, and to that end, developed an electronic skin, or e-skin, that is applied directly on top of your real skin. The e-skin, made from soft, flexible rubber, can be embedded with sensors that monitor information like heart rate, body temperature, levels of blood sugar and metabolic byproducts that are indicators of health, and even the nerve signals that control our muscles. It does so without the need for a battery, as it runs solely on biofuel cells powered by one of the body's own waste products. Researcher explains that human sweat contains very high levels of the chemical lactate, a compound generated as a by-product of normal metabolic processes, especially by muscles during exercise. The fuel cells built into the e-skin absorb that lactate and combine it with oxygen from the atmosphere, generating water and pyruvate, another by-product of metabolism. As they operate, the biofuel cells generate enough electricity to power sensors and a Bluetooth device similar to the one that connects your phone, allowing the e-skin to transmit readings from its sensors wirelessly. While near-field communication is a common approach for many battery-free e-skin systems, it could be only used for power transfer and data readout over a very short distance & Bluetooth communication consumes higher power but is a more attractive approach with extended connectivity for practical medical and robotic applications. Devising a power source that could run on sweat was not the only challenge in creating the e-skin, it also needed to last a long time with high power intensity with minimal degradation. The biofuel cells are made from carbon nanotubes impregnated with a platinum/cobalt catalyst and composite mesh holding an enzyme that breaks down lactate. Researcher plan is to develop a variety of sensors that can be embedded in the e-skin so it can be used for multiple purposes.

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