Friday 5 Round-Up: Research For COVID-19 Solutions: From Cell ‘Membrane on a Chip’ to Vaccine in Clinical Trials for Military Use

1.  Science Daily

Newer Variant of COVID-19-Causing Virus Dominates Global Infection

New research shows that a specific change in the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus virus genome, previously associated with increased viral transmission and the spread of COVID-19, is more infectious in cell culture.

Read this article on sciencedaily.com>

2.  Science Bulletin

Cell ‘Membrane on a Chip’ Could Speed Up Screening of Drug Candidates for COVID-19

Image Source: sciencebulletin.com

Researchers have developed a human cell ‘membrane on a chip’ that allows continuous monitoring of how drugs and infectious agents interact with our cells, and may soon be used to test potential drug candidates for COVID-19.

Read this article on sciencebulletin.com>

3.  Oral Health Group

Case Management Can be Key to Helping High-Risk Children

An ADA-supported study by two North Dakota dental professionals showed that proactive dental case management facilitates referrals and appointment compliance, reduces reimbursement barriers, and reduces the need for more costly future treatment for high-risk low-income children by promoting the prevention of dental disease.

Read the article on oralhealthgroup.com>

4.  Dentistry IQ

Stronger as a team: Closing The Gap Between Dentists and Hygienists

Now more than ever, it’s vital that dentists and dental hygienists team up to provide safe, reliable care to patients. Shannon Richkowski, RDH, stresses the importance of teamwork regarding these two essential professions.

Read this article on dentistryiq.com>

5. United Press International

Chinese officials announced Monday that they have approved a new COVID-19 vaccine for immediate use by military personnel. The vaccine, called Ad5-nCoV, is currently being evaluated in clinical trials.

Read this article on upi.com>

Reassuring patients that it's safe to come back to the office

By: Lynn Liu

At no time in recent memory has patient communication & engagement been more important for business success.

As restrictions are lifted, offices need to look towards returning to full efficiency and re-booking appointments as quickly as possible. However, patients won’t be rushing in just because the restrictions are lessened - many will hesitate to come in for appointments unless it's absolutely necessary to do so.

Patients are wondering: what new precautions are offices taking to prevent the further spread of COVID-19?

That is why it is incredibly important to reassure patients that your office is going above and beyond to provide a safe and comfortable environment. Here are our recommendations on how to get patients comfortable with the idea of coming for in-person visits again.

Snapchat Marketing Tips

By: Dahlia Farhat

Snapchat’s growth in popularity is what makes it a great channel for marketers. In the past, Snapchat has had its ups and downs. Snapchat seemed to be going downhill in 2018. However, we are now in the middle of a comeback!

Snapchat seems to be snapping out of it.

In the second quarter of 2019, there was an increase in 13 million daily active users and the app now has about 203 million daily active users. This proves that Snapchat has (and can sustain) a worthwhile audience. Also, did you know that 70% of millennials use Snapchat? So, it is also a great way to reach that demographic. What’s even more amazing about this platform is that users under the age of 25 are highly active users, logging on up to 18 times a day. In addition, Snapchat videos are viewed more than 14 billion times a day.

If you're thinking what we’re thinking, then yes, this could also apply to you. Your business could be promoted among those videos too! Recently, Snapchat has expanded advertising options for brands, and now brands can enable their Snapchat users to make purchases directly through the app.

Snapchat has so much to offer. Want a piece of the pie? Here are some Snapchat marketing tips that will help you do just that.

Reviewing Google’s January 2020 Core Update

By: Dahlia Farhat

A core update is a change to the main search algorithm. Core updates modify the importance, order, weights, or values of ranking factors. On January 13th, 2020, Google launched its latest score update. This core update impacted all search results on a worldwide scale.

Dealing with the effects

Noticeable effects, drops, or gains in search rankings were expected to occur. It’s important to note that if your website has fallen in rankings immediately after an update, it doesn’t mean that you have violated Google’s webmaster guidelines or been subjected to a manual or algorithmic action. There is nothing wrong with your web pages falling in rankings after a core update. It just means that changes were made in order to focus on improving content evaluation. The goal of a core update is often to address websites that may previously have been unfairly looked upon or were not given the credit that they deserve will now perform better and vice versa.