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.

IU School of Medicine wins $30 million NIA funding to study Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias grant has been renewed for another five years with funding expected to total $30 million from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), within the National Institutes of the Health.

29 Jun 2021

Study reveals public health risks posed by household fireworks

Fireworks are synonymous in the United States with the celebration of Independence Day and other special events, but the colorful displays have caused a growing risk to public safety in recent years, according to a study by environmental health researchers at the University of California, Irvine.

29 Jun 2021

Major study set to compare the use of surgical robots and standard methods in knee replacement

A major national study will pitch human skill against machine precision as it compares the benefits of knee replacement surgery performed using a robot to a surgeon using traditional methods.

29 Jun 2021

More evidence that mixing COVID-19 vaccines may help elicit a robust immune response

Eight volunteers who received a complete dose or a single dose of an mRNA vaccine or the ChAdOx1 vaccine after a dose of a trial gorilla adenovirus vaccine showed a significantly high level of antibodies and T cell response against SARS-CoV-2.

29 Jun 2021

Collaborative care works effectively in treating patients with depression, anxiety and pain

With the growing prevalence of chronic pain, depression, anxiety, and other symptom-based conditions, physicians and the healthcare systems for which they work are increasingly considering how to augment the care they can provide within the limited time allotted for patient appointments.

29 Jun 2021

Can COVID-19 waves be predicted using early warning signal indicators?

Researchers combined daily case data and a sequential analysis using the critical slowing down model to predict coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) waves almost two weeks before their onset.

29 Jun 2021

Study offers more evidence that face masks can prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission

A new study released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server suggests that the use of face masks, of various designs, successfully prevents SARS-CoV-2 transmission. This supports the continued implementation of mask policies in public places until herd immunity is achieved in the region involved.

29 Jun 2021

How is Taiwan tackling its third wave of COVID-19?

The international community has been struggling to predict and contain successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 pathogen. The degree of success has varied between countries. In Taiwan, the use of contact tracing, with testing and isolation of confirmed cases, promises to end the ongoing third wave of the illness within two months. The strategy employed is described in a new preprint available on the medRxiv* server.

29 Jun 2021

How does dexamethasone therapy work in severe COVID-19?

The possible mechanisms that result in dexamethasone being an effective drug against severe SARS-CoV-2 infection are investigated in a new study. The paper’s authors advance the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 infection induces cell-specific insensitivity to glucocorticoids, possibly as an unintentional result of the viral replication cycle.

29 Jun 2021

Cationic peptides inhibit SARS-CoV-2 cell entry

In a paper recently published in Pathogens, in silico affinity studies by researchers at the University of Illinois, USA, reveal several potential peptide binding sites required for HS-spike protein and ACE2-spike protein bond formation, and synthesis of suitable peptide inhibitors reveals impaired SARS-CoV-2 cell entry.

29 Jun 2021

Nanotechnology and the fight against COVID-19

In a review paper published in the open-access MDPI journal Viruses, a team of researchers explored the potential of nanotechnology to alleviate the current and future coronavirus burden. The team focused on its potential role in the detection, diagnosis, protection, and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

29 Jun 2021

Without enough boots on the ground, California’s vaccination efforts falter

Gov. Gavin Newsom routinely boasts that California has "one of the highest vaccination rates in the United States of America."

29 Jun 2021

Analysis: Why we’ll likely never know whether a covid lab leak happened in China

Early in this century, post-SARS, and in a period when China started allowing more students and scientists to study abroad, collaboration and exchange between American and Chinese scientists blossomed.

29 Jun 2021

Clinical observations show acute myocarditis developed after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination

Four patients suffering from acute myocarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination suggests that further investigation is needed.

29 Jun 2021

Study explores structure, activity, and inhibition of TMPRSS2 implicated in SARS-CoV-2 activation

Researchers from Canada recently presented an efficient strategy for recombinant production of enzymatically active TMPRSS2 ectodomain, enabling enzymatic characterization and the 1.95 Å X-ray crystal structure. Their work is published on the bioRxiv* preprint server while awaiting peer-review.

29 Jun 2021

New spider web mechanism kills pathogens and virus responsible for COVID-19

Immunologists at McMaster University have discovered a previously unknown mechanism which acts like a spider web, trapping and killing pathogens such as influenza or SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19.

29 Jun 2021

Wayne State awarded NSF grant to investigate how viruses navigate through the mucus barrier

A research team at Wayne State University led by Ashis Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D., associate professor of physics and astronomy in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, received a three-year, $326,226 grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate fundamental issues related to the passage of viruses through the mucus barrier.

29 Jun 2021

Aerosol generated by playing wind instruments is less than that produced when vocalizing

Aerosol generated by playing woodwind and brass instruments is less than that produced when vocalizing (speaking and singing) and is no different than a person breathing, new research has found.

29 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 test in 20 minutes with FISH

A collaboration from the University of Oxford and the University of Warwick has led to research into a novel method of viral detection through rapid fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in order to effectively detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus within 20 minutes.

29 Jun 2021

Transparent masks can facilitate communication and improve interaction, study shows

The use of transparent masks during communication increases comprehension of speech by about 10% for people with hearing loss and people with normal hearing, according to a study published in the journal Ear and Hearing.

29 Jun 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

IU School of Medicine wins $30 million NIA funding to study Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Study reveals public health risks posed by household fireworks

Major study set to compare the use of surgical robots and standard methods in knee replacement

More evidence that mixing COVID-19 vaccines may help elicit a robust immune response

Collaborative care works effectively in treating patients with depression, anxiety and pain

Can COVID-19 waves be predicted using early warning signal indicators?

Study offers more evidence that face masks can prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission

How is Taiwan tackling its third wave of COVID-19?

How does dexamethasone therapy work in severe COVID-19?

Cationic peptides inhibit SARS-CoV-2 cell entry

Nanotechnology and the fight against COVID-19

Without enough boots on the ground, California’s vaccination efforts falter

Analysis: Why we’ll likely never know whether a covid lab leak happened in China

Clinical observations show acute myocarditis developed after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination

Study explores structure, activity, and inhibition of TMPRSS2 implicated in SARS-CoV-2 activation

New spider web mechanism kills pathogens and virus responsible for COVID-19

Wayne State awarded NSF grant to investigate how viruses navigate through the mucus barrier

Aerosol generated by playing wind instruments is less than that produced when vocalizing

SARS-CoV-2 test in 20 minutes with FISH

Transparent masks can facilitate communication and improve interaction, study shows

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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