Nasopharyngeal News and Research

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Study offers new protocols for high-quality SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing

Researchers at the Southern Illinois University, U.S.A. have presented a comprehensive and well-validated set of working protocols for sequencing high-quality SARS-CoV-2 genomes in high throughput from patient samples.

12 Feb 2021

Is a ten day isolation period for COVID-19 patients long enough?

In a new study researchers at the Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, reported that mild COVID-19 patients can still be infectious at day 10 from the illness onset, even in the absence of symptoms.

8 Feb 2021

Researchers develop systems to detect an atypical fungus responsible for severe pneumonia

The group led by Dr. Enrique J. Calderón - "Clinical Epidemiology and Vascular Risk" at the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville - IBiS/University Hospitals Virgen del Rocío and Macarena/CSIC/University of Seville, also a member of CIBERESP, participated in a project with researchers from CIBER-BBN, in which they developed systems to detect Pneumocystis jirovecii, an atypical fungus responsible for very severe pneumonia in immunosuppressed patients.

6 Feb 2021

Hematological findings in Amazonian patients with COVID-19

To discriminate between patients with severe and non-severe COVID-19 quickly, researchers from Peru looked for prognostic signatures in the blood samples of COVID-19 patients. Virgilio E. Failoc-Rojas et al. examined laboratory results and clinical prognosis of COVID-19 patients from a hospital in the Peruvian Amazon.

3 Feb 2021

Rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen test improved with silver amplification

A new preprint posted to the medRxiv server describes the use of silver amplification technology to develop a sensitive, rapid antigen test for COVID-19.

2 Feb 2021

Colchicine may have therapeutic potential against COVID-19

A new study describes the results of colchicine in mitigating the inflammatory storm associated with COVID-19, and thus preventing a percentage of severe and critical cases.

1 Feb 2021

Self- or caregiver swabs are as effective as healthcare worker swabs for detecting pathogens

Self swabs and caregiver swabs are effective at detecting multiple pathogens and are just as accurate as those taken by healthcare workers, according to a team of Australian researchers.

28 Jan 2021

Wistar researchers discover new enzymatic function of the Epstein-Barr Virus protein

Researchers at The Wistar Institute have discovered a new enzymatic function of the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) protein EBNA1, a critical factor in EBV's ability to transform human cells and cause cancer.

27 Jan 2021

Antibodies and inflammatory markers may help identify COVID-19 cases and predict severity

A new preprint appearing on the medRxiv server describes the changes that occur in numerous antibodies and inflammatory molecules with age and at varying stages, or severity, of the infection and resulting illness. The results may help to predict the risk in individual cases.

26 Jan 2021

Large study finds SARS-CoV-2 viral load is lowest in children

A new study by researchers in the Netherlands confirms the hypothesis that for SARS-CoV-2 infection, higher age is associated with increased viral loads.

19 Jan 2021

Are antibiotic regimens for critical COVID-19 patients with bacterial superinfection unnecessarily high?

A new study by researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, USA, shows that antibiotic regimens for critically ill COVID-19 patients with bacterial superinfections may be promoting an unnecessarily high.

19 Jan 2021

Genomics reveals distinct patterns of emergence of SARS‐CoV‐2 spike variants in Columbus, Ohio

Recently researchers from the United States reported the results of a SARS‐CoV‐2 genomic surveillance conducted between April 2020 and January 2021 in Columbus, Ohio. Their work is released as a preprint on the bioRxiv server.

18 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2 RNA in blood serum could predict COVID-19 mortality

Researchers find that the presence of SARS-CoV-2's genetic material in the serum of positive patients could be a sturdy biomarker for predicting COVID-19-related mortality.

18 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2 anti-N rigid monoclonal antibodies provide accurate early diagnosis

An interesting new preprint research paper that was posted on the bioRxiv* server recently describes the use of rigid monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in contrast to flexible mAbs, and how this affects the binding of multiple mAbs to the same antigen.

17 Jan 2021

FAU researchers develop simplified, rapid SARS-CoV-2 detection protocol

To properly monitor and help curb the spread of COVID-19, several millions of diagnostic tests are required daily in just the United States alone.

13 Jan 2021

Researchers develop saliva testing method for SARS-CoV-2 using robotic RNA extraction

Researchers have developed an automated method of RNA extraction from saliva samples to allow faster processing times and high test sensitivity. Saliva testing could be used as an alternative to swab testing for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surveillance.

12 Jan 2021

The mystery of Giglio island’s resistance to COVID-19

An intriguing new study explores the mechanisms by which an Italian island called Giglio remained resistant to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) even after much exposure.

11 Jan 2021

Researchers develop a low-cost, saliva-optimized RT-LAMP assay for faster detection of SARS-CoV-2

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings in emergency response globally and has driven a massive demand for in vitro diagnostic testing technologies. In order to address these issues, researchers from the US recently used the new pH dye LAMPShade Violet (LSV) in RT-LAMP. LSV has better visual contrast between high and low pH and a stronger inflection point, both of which enable easy interpretation of results and reduces ambiguity.

8 Jan 2021

A paper-based sensor for detecting COVID-19

News-Medical talks to Dipanjan Pan about the development of a paper-based electrochemical sensor that can detect COVID-19 in less than five minutes.

5 Jan 2021

Phase 3 trial of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine candidate begins enrolling volunteers

The Phase 3 trial of another investigational coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine has begun enrolling adult volunteers.

28 Dec 2020