The Brain Prize has been awarded to Michael A. Moskowitz, M.D., a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, who also is supported by an NIH grant.

The ACTIV-3 clinical trial, which is evaluating the safety and efficacy of investigational therapeutics for COVID-19 in hospitalized patients, has closed enrollment in two sub-studies: one examining the investigational monoclonal antibody therapy VIR-7831, and another evaluating the investigational combination monoclonal antibody therapy containing BRII-196 and BRII-198. The sub-studies were halted by the trial sponsor, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on March 1, following an interim review and recommendation from the independent DSMB.

An analysis of law enforcement seizures of illegal drugs in five key regions of the United States revealed a rise in methamphetamine and marijuana confiscations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seizures of the two drugs were higher at their peak in August 2020 than at any time in the year prior to the pandemic. Provisional overdose death data show that the increased drug mortality seen in 2019 rose further through the first half of 2020.

Assessing a drug compound by its activity, not simply its structure, is a new approach that could speed the search for COVID-19 therapies and reveal more potential therapies for other diseases. This action-based focus -- called biological activity-based modeling (BABM) -- forms the core of a new approach developed by National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) researchers and others.

A study of spatial learning in mice shows that exposure to new experiences dampens established representations in the brain's hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, allowing the mice to learn new navigation strategies. The study, published in Nature, was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

People who have had evidence of a prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, appear to be well protected against being reinfected with the virus, at least for a few months, according to a newly published study from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This finding may explain why reinfection appears to be relatively rare, and it could have important public health implications.

despite coordinated national efforts to implement HIV services, the epidemic persists, especially in the South. It also disproportionately impacts marginalized groups, such as Black/African-American and Latinx communities, women, people who use drugs, men who have sex with men, and other sexual and gender minorities. researchers, advocates, and other stakeholders reported on the HIV epidemic response in The Lancet HIV in the USA Series, published online today (https://www.thelancet.com/series/HIVinUSA).

Gliomas are common brain tumors that comprise about one third of all cancers of the nervous system. In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers tested a novel combination treatment approach on mice with tumors with characteristics similar to human astrocytomas and found tumor regression in 60 percent of the mice treated. These encouraging results could be the first step toward developing a treatment for this type of brain cancer.