Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

A review of antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19

Scientists conducted a systematic review of the use cases and performance of Ag-RDTs for detecting SARS-CoV-2.

8 Nov 2021

Reproduction number of COVID-19 in Africa

Scientists used a SEIR model and a Bayesian inference framework to estimate the basic reproduction number of COVID-19 across Africa.

8 Nov 2021

Alzheimer’s Disease – A Global Response to a Global Challenge

Alzheimer’s Disease remains both a current issue and a future challenge. Levels of the disease in the European Union have been predicted to double from the current estimate of 7,853,705 to 14,298,671 by 2050

From Biophys Ltd. 8 Nov 2021

Study highlights the importance of reducing air pollution to prevent heart attacks

Reduced air pollution in the U.S. during the COVID-19 shutdown initiated in March 2020 was linked to fewer severe heart attacks, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2021.

8 Nov 2021

As constituents clamor for ivermectin, Republican politicians embrace the cause

When state senators in South Carolina held two hearings in September about covid-19 treatments, they got an earful on the benefits of ivermectin — which many of the lawmakers echoed, sharing experiences of their own loved ones.

8 Nov 2021

Texas providers see increased interest in birth control since near-total abortion ban

In September, when Texas' near-total abortion ban took effect, Planned Parenthood clinics in the Lone Star State started offering every patient who walked in information on Senate Bill 8, as well as emergency contraception, condoms and two pregnancy tests. The plan is to distribute 22,000 "empowerment kits" this year.

8 Nov 2021

Childhood kidney cancers continue to be diagnosed at later stages in the UK and Ireland

Children with kidney cancers continue to be diagnosed with larger and more advanced tumours in the UK and Ireland than in other Western European countries, according to research presented at the NCRI Festival.

8 Nov 2021

Study looks at how lupus genetics intersects with COVID-19

The study “Interferon pathway lupus risk alleles modulate risk of death from acute COVID-19” was recently published on the preprint medRxiv* server.

8 Nov 2021

Highly-sensitive PCR-based method to detect SARS-CoV-2 variants

A team of UK-based scientists has recently developed an allele-specific probe polymerase chain reaction method that can accurately detect different variants/lineages of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in respiratory samples. Furthermore, the method can detect viral variants even in samples with low viral RNA or degraded viral RNA. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

7 Nov 2021

Pacific oyster as a weapon against SARS-CoV-2

According to an article published in the journal Reviews in Medical Virology, the effectiveness of mollusc-derived antiviral agents has been proven in many different laboratory and animal studies, while its efficacy against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has also been proposed by recent in silico studies.

7 Nov 2021

New data points to major SARS-CoV-2 animal reservoir in deer in Iowa

A new study tests the hypothesis that white-tailed deer are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

7 Nov 2021

Reducing airborne transmission of infectious respiratory viruses with portable air purifiers

A new computational study focuses on the performance of portable air purifiers based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations.

7 Nov 2021

The importance of exercise for those with diabetes in the COVID era

A review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of physical activity in people with type 2 diabetes and COVID-19.

7 Nov 2021

Fast evolution of SARS-CoV-2 driven by extensive RNA deamination by host cells

A new study proposed that the RNA structure and the genome component may serve as an important basis of different deamination spectrums in SARS-CoV-2.

7 Nov 2021

New CDC report discusses efficacy of mRNA COVID vaccines in immunocompromised

The U.S. CDC reports the observed efficacy among the immunocompromised population following vaccination with mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.

7 Nov 2021

Oral SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitor for therapeutic use

A new study describes a new small molecule compound that has shown impressive safety, tolerability, and bioavailability against SARS-CoV-2.

7 Nov 2021

Convalescent plasma post-vaccination increases binding and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants

A recent study assesses the boost in antibodies against SARS-CoV-2)variants post-vaccination in plasma samples from previously infected COVID-19 patients.

7 Nov 2021

Experts reveal improved survival for patients with two out of three types of advanced breast cancer

Patients with two out of the three most common types of advanced breast cancer now have an average survival time of at least five years, according to a panel of experts at the Advanced Breast Cancer Sixth International Consensus Conference (ABC 6).

7 Nov 2021

Risk factors for "long-haul" COVID in people with rheumatic diseases identified

A new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City demonstrates over half of patients with rheumatic diseases who contracted COVID-19 during the pandemic and completed a COVID-19 survey, experienced so-called "long-haul" COVID, or prolonged symptoms of the infection, including loss of taste or smell, muscle aches and difficulty concentrating, for one month or longer.

7 Nov 2021

Scientists create a rapid diagnostic technology to detect SARS-CoV-2

Blending experts from molecular genetics, chemistry and health sciences, researchers at the University of California San Diego have created a rapid diagnostic technology that detects SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

6 Nov 2021