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People with Hepatitis D have up to three times the risk of developing fatal liver cancer

Of all the hepatitis viruses, D is the most poorly known. This small virus, which can only infect people already infected with Hepatitis B, has so far been little studied.

18 May 2020

Novel insights on SARS-CoV-2 cell entry may inform further vaccine and treatment development

A research group from Harvard Medical School reported two cryo-electron microscopy structures derived from a single preparation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein in their paper available on the preprint server bioRxiv. Understanding the nuances of prefusion and postfusion conformations shed light on viral cell entry and may, in turn, guide the development of vaccines and drugs.

18 May 2020

Drugmakers tout COVID-19 vaccines to refurbish their public image

Johnson & Johnson researchers working on a vaccine against the coronavirus are "just like the heroes in the hospitals" fighting to save patients, J&J CEO Alex Gorsky said on the "Today" show a few weeks ago.

18 May 2020

People infected with hepatitis D are more prone to hepatocellular carcinoma

Of all the hepatitis viruses, D is the most poorly known.This small virus, which can only infect people already infected with Hepatitis B, has so far been little studied.

18 May 2020

New and unexplored angle in the binding of SARS-CoV-2 to host cells

Researchers in the Netherlands, Cuba, and Italy have made important discoveries about the carbohydrate-mediated binding of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein to host cell lectin receptors and host lung microbiota.

17 May 2020

Study shows human monoclonal antibodies can effectively neutralize SARS-CoV-2

US researchers have published a proof of concept on the efficacy of human monoclonal antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in laboratory conditions, as well as their pioneering use in a mouse model. The study is available on the preprint server bioRxiv*.

17 May 2020

Chasing the elusive dream of a COVID cure

Although scientists and stock markets have celebrated the approval for emergency use of remdesivir to treat COVID-19, a cure for the disease that has killed nearly 260,000 people remains a long way off — and might never arrive.

15 May 2020

Chest X-rays can help predict covid-19 severity in young and middle-aged adults

Chest X-rays performed on young and middle-aged adults with COVID-19 when they arrive at the emergency room can help doctors predict who is at higher risk of severe illness and intubation, Mount Sinai researchers report

15 May 2020

HVTN and HPTN initiate first clinical trial in response to COVID-19

The NIH-funded HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) and HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) have initiated their first clinical trial in response to COVID-19.

15 May 2020

Pandemic situation in India: Too early to predict outcomes

A new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 suggests that India could be facing the end of a relatively mild outbreak of COVID-19 compared with many other countries.

14 May 2020

NIH begins clinical study to evaluate hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for COVID-19

A clinical trial has begun to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

14 May 2020

ACTG initiates clinical trial to evaluate treatment for COVID-19

The AIDS Clinical Trials Group, the world's largest and longest established HIV research network, today announced the initiation of ACTG 5395, a clinical trial to evaluate whether the drug combination hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin can prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19 (which is caused by infection with the virus SARS-CoV-2).

14 May 2020

A 'window of vulnerability' for re-infection with HIV after stem cell transplantation

Some people with HIV need to undergo an allogeneic stem cell transplantation in order to treat different types of blood cancer. Most of the patient's immune cells are eliminated during these transplantations.

14 May 2020

Trump’s comparison of COVID-19 death rates in Germany, US is wrong

Following weeks of criticism over his administration's COVID-19 response, President Donald Trump pulled out new statistics to claim the nation is actually among the best in the world in fighting the lethal coronavirus.

14 May 2020

Visual Science designs a scientific model of SARS-Cov-2 virus

The biomedical visualization studio Visual Science has created the most detailed and scientifically accurate 3D model of the full SARS-CoV-2 virus at atomic resolution.

14 May 2020

Lessons for COVID-19 from 2009 H1N1

The world has experienced many outbreaks of viral diseases. Over the past two decades, we have also seen the emergence of zoonotic human respiratory coronaviruses with pandemic potential.

13 May 2020

Low albumin levels could predict poor outcome in COVID-19

A Spanish study has revealed that COVID-19 patients who have a low level of albumin have a poorer outcome compared to those with normal levels of blood albumin. The study titled, “Low albumin levels are associated with poorer outcomes in a case series of COVID-19 patients in Spain: a retrospective cohort study,” was released prior to peer-review on the open-access preprint server site Medrxiv*.

13 May 2020

Does HIV infection increase the severity of COVID-19?

A new study by researchers at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 reports that being infected with HIV at the time of acquiring COVID-19 does not significantly increase the severity of illness or the risk of complications.

13 May 2020

New study investigates the effect of asymptomatic COVID-19 transmission

COVID-19's rapid spread throughout the world has been fueled in part by the virus' ability to be transmitted by people who are not showing symptoms of infection.

13 May 2020

COVID-19 may contribute to exponential growth of Parkinson's disease in future

Parkinson's disease (PD) is expected to reach over 14 million cases worldwide by 2040. As longevity increases, so does the number of persons living with PD.

12 May 2020