University of Arizona Heath Sciences researchers developed one of the most accurate COVID-19 antibody tests available and now have shown antibodies persist for months after infection, providing long-term immunity.

The personal protective equipment industry is trying to inject some clarity into the mask-purchasing experience by creating a uniform set of standards to show consumers how well the products would protect them and those around them. "Whether it's a standard or whether it's something equivalent to the Consumer Reports rating (of) good, better or best, it is probably useful because otherwise people are lost," said Philip Harber, a professor of public health at the University of Arizona who studies the use of respirators. He warned that given some Americans' hostility toward masks, the standards have to be "very, very, very simple."

A promising new biomarker that appears in patients before stomach cancer develops may help with early detection of the disease and improve patient response to therapy, according to findings in a study led by University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers.

A blood sample may make it easier to detect gastric cancers and could lead to improved treatments for cancers that are resistant to common immunotherapies.

The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health marks its 20th anniversary with a special celebration for 20 days.

Fry's grocery stores is no longer sanitizing shopping carts for customers. Instead, the stores are providing sanitizing wipes for customers to do it themselves. "Obviously shopping carts are one of those things that a high number of people are going to be touching," Dr. Sahd Marvasti from the University of Arizona College of Medicine said. "But if I had to choose between whether or not masks were required versus universal sanitizing, I would choose masks."

Milk drinking in America has fallen by 40% since 1975. But its production and consumption has risen by 9%. The article references a study published in Nutritional Reviews in February 2020 by Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD, and colleagues from the University of Arizona College of Public Health in Tucson. The researchers recommend milk be downgraded as a separate and essential food. Dr. Jacobs says it should be placed in a much lower category as one of many foods that could provide protein.

The number of new weekly COVID-19 cases in Arizona recently rose to its highest point since the first week in August. "What's happening here in Arizona, it's more like a slow boil," said Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. "It's not like what we're seeing in other parts of the country, like North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin. Those states look like Arizona did in June, where there's this rapid uptick."

A Canadian researcher has found that the virus that causes COVID-19 can hijack a pain receptor on our cells, using it to get into the cell, but also blocking its ability to signal pain. Interview with Rajesh Khanna, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy.

Several new reports published recently show Covid-19 immunity can last for months. Researchers from the University of Arizona Health Sciences found antibodies that protect against infection can last for at least five to seven months after a Covid-19 infection. Interview with Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunobiologist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.