Nasopharyngeal News and Research

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Reassuring news about the protection that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines offer

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines have proven effective at preventing COVID-19-related mortality and illness. Since no vaccine is 100% effective, breakthrough infections are likely to occur. New research by a group of scientists at Erasmus Medical Center and Radboud University in the Netherlands looked at vaccine-breakthrough infections in a large group of vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs).

25 Aug 2021

Higher vaccination coverage is associated with lower COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization

A new preprint on the medRxiv server supports the role of vaccination in reducing the rate of symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

24 Aug 2021

DeepSARS simultaneously detects and conducts genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2

A new study discusses the development of DeepSARS, a high-throughput platform for diagnostic detection and genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.

23 Aug 2021

Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 swab crisis could help better prepare for future challenges

A major crisis that accompanied the rise of the pandemic was the lack of availability of the nasopharyngeal swab - necessary for testing for COVID-19, which in turn, was necessary to get a grip on the pandemic. An account of how one group addressed that crisis is published this week Journal of Clinical Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

19 Aug 2021

Study examines prevalence of neutralizing antibodies to HCoV-NL63 in healthy adults in Australia

A new study has been published in the MPDI journal Viruses, which focuses on determining the seroprevalence of neutralizing antibodies against HCoV-NL63, in healthy adults, in a cross-sectional study.

18 Aug 2021

In UK's 1st wave, 10% of COVID infections were acquired in hospitals

Their study published in The Lancet journal involved assessing the magnitude of hospital-acquired COVID-19 in the case of acute and long-term National Health Service (NHS) hospital facilities in the UK during the first wave of the pandemic.

17 Aug 2021

NIH scientists develop new sample preparation method to detect SARS-CoV-2

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed a new sample preparation method to detect SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

16 Aug 2021

SARS-CoV-2 detection by machine learning surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is a highly sensitive molecule characterization method, significantly more sensitive than ordinary Raman spectroscopy due to the excitation of Raman modes matching the plasmon resonance frequency of the surface metal utilized, usually gold, silver, or copper.

11 Aug 2021

Ten-fold reduced risk of workplace SARS-CoV-2 infection in seropositive essential workers

A reassuring new study supports the opening of workplaces to seropositive workers in view of the extremely low risk of reinfection observed in this cohort.

11 Aug 2021

Systematic anatomical study specifies guidelines for performing nasopharyngeal swabs

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of nasopharyngeal swabs have been taken in Austria - millions worldwide.

10 Aug 2021

Controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2 at a large public university

Researchers from the U.S. recently reported a multimodal "SHIELD: Target, Test, and Tell" program that helped mitigate the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at a large public university. The program also prevented community transmission and helped the continuation of in-person classes during the pandemic. This study is available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

9 Aug 2021

Research shows how SARS-CoV-2 variants are evolving towards increased furin cleavage efficiency

The spike protein comprises of two subunits: S1 subunit having the receptor-binding domain (RBD) that helps it to bind to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is present on the cell surface of the host, and the S2 subunit that helps in the fusion of the cellular membrane and the viral membrane.

9 Aug 2021

New CRISPR-based diagnostic test detects COVID-19 variants from saliva samples

With the Delta variant wreaking havoc on unvaccinated populations and COVID-19 cases spiking around the world, the pandemic is far from over.

6 Aug 2021

Diagnosis of viral infections using micro and nanoscale technologies

In a recent study, the authors provide a review on both micro- and nanoscale technologies that advanced the diagnosis of viral diseases.

3 Aug 2021

Study connects hyperglycemia and prolonged cloth mask use to COVID-19-associated mucormycosis risk

A new study conducted in India identifies the role of high blood sugar levels in predisposing patients to mucormycosis infection.

1 Aug 2021

Blunted antiviral responses in the nasopharynx may underlie severe COVID-19

The body's first encounter with SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, happens in the nose and throat, or nasopharynx. A new study in the journal Cell suggests that the first responses in this battleground help determine who will develop severe disease and who will get through with mild or no illness.

23 Jul 2021

Virginia Tech's in-house development of novel SARS-CoV-2 test shows the power of academic labs

In the early days of the pandemic, scientists at Virginia Tech created a COVID-19 testing laboratory and novel test for the virus from scratch.

21 Jul 2021

Owlstone Medical publishes data on the use of face mask filters to capture viral particles for SARS-CoV-2 detection

Owlstone Medical today announced the publication of a peer-reviewed study in Nature Scientific Reports.

From Owlstone Medical Ltd 20 Jul 2021

Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 by bentonite-based nasal spray

Therefore, the nose is an important target for prophylaxis and also for therapy. In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, Fabio Fais et al. developed a safe and easy-to-use nasal spray, AM-301, a medical device marketed as Bentrio, to protect against infection by SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other viruses.

19 Jul 2021

A pencil graphite biosensor that detects SARS-CoV-2

In a new study, scientists discuss the development of a rapid COVID-19 diagnostic tool known as the Low-cost Electrochemical Advanced Diagnostic (LEAD).

14 Jul 2021