Coronavirus News and Research

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Censorship or misinformation? Desantis and YouTube spar over Covid roundtable takedown.

In early April, YouTube took down a video featuring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and a group of controversial scientists at a March 18 coronavirus roundtable. The online video platform, owned by Google, cited as its rationale that the video contained false statements about the efficacy of children's mask-wearing.

21 Apr 2021

Another soda tax bill dies. Another win for Big Soda.

A rogue industry. A gun to our head. Extortion. That's how infuriated lawmakers described soft drink companies — and what they pulled off in 2018 when they scored a legislative deal that bars California's cities and counties from imposing taxes on sugary drinks.

21 Apr 2021

Researchers examine antiviral responses in children infected with COVID-19 in South Brazil

New research has been published that focuses on the characterization of innate and adaptive immune responses in adult patients with different degrees of severity and also in pediatric patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19. In this study, researchers have developed an immune profile in children to understand the difference in COVID-19 infection in children and adults.

21 Apr 2021

Can a single BNT162b2 vaccine dose confer protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants?

A team of researchers in Germany aimed to determine if the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine mRNA vaccine (also known as the BNT162b2 vaccine) induces robust antibody responses against emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the United Kingdom (or B1.1.7) variant; the South African (or B.1.351) variant; and the Brazilian (or P.1) variant.

21 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic underscores importance of understanding evolution of RNA genomes

The current COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), underscores the importance of understanding the evolution of ribonucleic acid (RNA) genomes.

21 Apr 2021

Antibody response induced by mRNA vaccination differs from natural SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers tested the antibodies elicited from mRNA vaccination and compared them to those from natural SARS-CoV-2 infection. They found the vaccine did not have antibodies to the virus nucleocapsid protein but had potent RBD antibodies.

21 Apr 2021

Characterization of lab-produced neutralizing antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2

A new study led by Hans-Martin Jäck of the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany engineered clusters of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies using a transgenic mouse model. A unique characteristic for the antibodies was the different ways it bound to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the overall reduction in the viral spread for human ACE2.

21 Apr 2021

Researchers explain how online symptom checkers generate probable diagnoses and suggestions

Have you recently turned to your mobile device or computer to find out if your cough, sniffle or fever could be caused by COVID-19?

21 Apr 2021

Researchers identify differences in immune response in asymptomatic versus severe COVID-19 cases

The largest study of its type in the UK has identified differences in the immune response to COVID-19, between people with no symptoms, compared to those suffering a more serious reaction to the virus.

21 Apr 2021

Study identifies how SARS-CoV-2 enters and infects the brain

A recent preclinical study led by Anja Kipar of the University of Zurich and the University of Liverpool found evidence of the virus infecting and eventually provoking cell death in microglia and immune cells — but not neurons. The viral-induced apoptosis in these brain cells may explain why some long-haulers experience ‘brain fog’ months after recovery.

21 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2-associated ssRNAs trigger inflammation and immunity via toll-like receptors

Severe COVID-19 causes sepsis-like manifestations, intense lung injury, and multi-organ failure, all associated with the overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This "cytokine storm" directly correlates with poor prognosis in this subgroup of patients.

21 Apr 2021

Seroprevalence studies monitoring SARS-CoV-2 among vaccinees require more than spike assays

Researchers in the United States have shown that an antibody test measuring host reactivity to the nucleocapsid protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may better detect natural infection among vaccinated individuals than an assay that measures reactivity to the viral spike protein.

21 Apr 2021

Children develop strong, long-lasting immunity following SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers in the UK have conducted a study that may explain why children who become infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) do not generally develop severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

20 Apr 2021

Study explores how lessons from past crises could improve the pandemic response

The lack of accountability, poor communication and insufficient planning plaguing the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic -- especially in its early months -- have roots in how the nation responded to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the H1N1 swine flu, a new study involving the University of Washington found.

20 Apr 2021

Chronic SARS-CoV-2 infections favor viral adaptation, says study

A new study offers a look at how to keep these hopes alive in the current context of highly infectious variants, which often display immune escape mutations.

20 Apr 2021

Limited SARS-CoV-2 spread in childcare centers, finds study

A new study adds to the sum of evidence that children do not play a key role in the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen behind the current pandemic of COVID-19.

20 Apr 2021

Can an immunosuppressive cancer drug promote SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells?

A new study shows that rapamycin, an immunosuppressive drug used in some cancers, and its analogs, may have an undesirable effect on viral entry into the host cells. This finding could inform their use to treat symptomatic COVID-19.

20 Apr 2021

Humoral immunity developed by DNA vaccine INO-4800 is effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants

A team of international scientists recently demonstrated that antibodies generated in response to the DNA vaccine INO-4800 can effectively neutralize some of the recently emerged variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), such as G614, 501Y.V1, and 501Y.V2.

20 Apr 2021

Study examines SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in healthy young adults and risk of reinfection

New research has been published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, which focuses on evaluating the effect of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity on the possibility of developing SARS-CoV-2 infection in a young and healthy population. This study is based on the longitudinal prospective cohort study that involves the COVID-19 Health Action Response for Marines (CHARM).

20 Apr 2021

Can fingerprick blood tests help evaluate antibody response and longevity against SARS-CoV-2 post-vaccination?

To monitor antibody level duration of vaccine-induced immune responses, a team of researchers in the U.S. – at Diacarta, University of California and VA Healthcare System, and the Franciscan University of Steubenville – evaluated the feasibility of using a single drop of fingerstick blood collected with flocked swabs for quantitative antibody response evaluation after COVID-19 vaccination.

20 Apr 2021

Coronavirus News and Research

Censorship or misinformation? Desantis and YouTube spar over Covid roundtable takedown.

Another soda tax bill dies. Another win for Big Soda.

Researchers examine antiviral responses in children infected with COVID-19 in South Brazil

Can a single BNT162b2 vaccine dose confer protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants?

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic underscores importance of understanding evolution of RNA genomes

Antibody response induced by mRNA vaccination differs from natural SARS-CoV-2 infection

Characterization of lab-produced neutralizing antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2

Researchers explain how online symptom checkers generate probable diagnoses and suggestions

Researchers identify differences in immune response in asymptomatic versus severe COVID-19 cases

Study identifies how SARS-CoV-2 enters and infects the brain

SARS-CoV-2-associated ssRNAs trigger inflammation and immunity via toll-like receptors

Seroprevalence studies monitoring SARS-CoV-2 among vaccinees require more than spike assays

Children develop strong, long-lasting immunity following SARS-CoV-2 infection

Study explores how lessons from past crises could improve the pandemic response

Chronic SARS-CoV-2 infections favor viral adaptation, says study

Limited SARS-CoV-2 spread in childcare centers, finds study

Can an immunosuppressive cancer drug promote SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells?

Humoral immunity developed by DNA vaccine INO-4800 is effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Study examines SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in healthy young adults and risk of reinfection

Can fingerprick blood tests help evaluate antibody response and longevity against SARS-CoV-2 post-vaccination?

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