covid 19 News and Research

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The Native Antigen Company introduces ten new SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies

The Native Antigen Company, one of the world’s leading suppliers of reagents that enables research into vaccines and diagnostics for emerging and endemic infectious diseases, today announced the introduction of ten new monoclonal antibodies recognizing SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19.

8 Oct 2020

Study shows women are more concerned about COVID-19 than men

A Dartmouth-Gallup study finds that women are more concerned about COVID-19 than men, a difference that transcends party lines.

8 Oct 2020

Researchers launch innovative app for tracking COVID-19 around the world

Contact-tracing and exposure-notification apps are a new technology rapidly developed and launched to respond to the COVID-19 global health crisis.

8 Oct 2020

Majority of UK residents who tested positive for COVID-19 did not have specific symptoms

86% of UK residents who tested positive for COVID-19 during lockdown did not have the specific virus symptoms (cough, and/or fever, and/or loss of taste/smell), finds a new study by UCL researchers. The authors say a more widespread testing programme is needed to catch 'silent' transmission and reduce future outbreaks.

8 Oct 2020

Researchers track down two new relatives of rubella virus

At night in a Ugandan forest, a team of American and African scientists take oral swabs from insect-eating cyclops leaf-nosed bats.

8 Oct 2020

Pre-existing conditions can increase patient's risk of dying from COVID-19

A large, international study of COVID-19 patients confirmed that cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, stroke and cancer can increase a patient's risk of dying from the virus.

8 Oct 2020

Study estimates lower herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in the U.S.

A new study shows that recognizing the differences in the population composition, connectedness and distribution, as well as inter-individual differences in immunity, susceptibility and infectivity, are crucial to estimating the herd immunity attained as a result of natural severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) more accurately.

8 Oct 2020

Comet supercomputer performs complex calculations on receptor sequence data from human T cells

While researchers around the world race to develop an effective and safe COVID-19 vaccine, a team from the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego contributed to a study led by Vanderbilt Vaccine Center of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) on T cell receptors, which play a vital role in alerting the adaptive immune system to mount an attack on invading foreign pathogens including the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

8 Oct 2020

Vitamin D deficiency may predict COVID-19 seroconversion

A recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in October 2020 reports the potential contribution of vitamin D deficiency to an increased risk of COVID-19 in a subset of health care workers in the UK.

8 Oct 2020

Experimental Chinese SARS-CoV-2 vaccine appears safe in early trials

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020 reports the findings of a phase I trial of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, demonstrating that it can elicit a potent immune response without significant adverse reactions.

7 Oct 2020

Plasma ABO protein is a causal risk factor for severe COVID-19

Researchers used an integrative genomics approach to find the genes responsible for COVID-19 and its severity.

7 Oct 2020

Anosmia and ageusia may be useful as COVID-19 surveillance case definitions

A recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020 reports the utility of alterations in taste and smell to monitor the prevalence of COVID-19 among contacts and in a community that lacks unlimited testing resources.

7 Oct 2020

Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in two Indian states

Indian and American researchers collaborated to study the trends of transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in two Indian states – Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Their study titled, “Epidemiology and transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in two Indian states,” was published in the latest issue of the journal Science last week.

7 Oct 2020

Religion and risk of COVID-19 in UK

Their study titled, “Religious affiliation and the risk of COVID 19 related mortality; a retrospective analysis of variation in pre and post lockdown risk by religious group in England and Wales,” was published in the pre-publication site medRxiv.

7 Oct 2020

DARPA selects Purdue-affiliated company to develop continuous manufacturing technology

The COVID-19 pandemic has created supply chain gaps in critical drug products, especially those needed for the most critical patients in intensive care units across the country.

7 Oct 2020

No rise in extremely preterm births during COVID-19 lockdown

Since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have implemented restrictions on mobility and social interactions, including lockdowns. This has been associated with a reduction in the number of extremely preterm (EP) babies, according to one Danish study. A recent paper published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020 reveals that this may not be the case.

7 Oct 2020

New report estimates the global burden of stillbirths

Almost 2 million babies are stillborn every year – or 1 every 16 seconds – according to the first ever joint stillbirth estimates released by UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank Group and the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

7 Oct 2020

Proteolytic cleavage of nucleocapsid helps SARS-CoV-2 evade host immune responses

A team of scientists of the University of Oxford reveals that the nucleocapsid protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) undergoes autoproteolysis, and that resulting products can escape the host immune responses and facilitate viral proliferation. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

7 Oct 2020

Global social media challenge kicks off to get the world moving on mental health

A global social media challenge to get the world moving on mental health is launched today with a call for a massive scale-up in investment in mental health.

7 Oct 2020

Study shows effective light-induced inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 with conjugated oligomers and polymers

A new pilot study by US researchers demonstrates an alternative approach to long-lasting disinfection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by using cationic phenylene ethynylene polymers and oligomers (i.e., conjugated electrolytes). The paper is currently available on medRxiv* preprint server.

7 Oct 2020