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.

Outdoor activities help improve mental health and well-being of teenagers during the pandemic

A study from North Carolina State University found outdoor play and nature-based activities helped buffer some of the negative mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for adolescents.

8 Mar 2021

Narrowing down on small molecular inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 key protease

A recent methodological study by researchers from the University of Luxembourg shows that the combination of virtual screening approaches, molecular dynamics simulations and machine learning can substantially facilitate small molecule screening investigations targeted at key SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins.

8 Mar 2021

Five-day course of high-dose antibiotic will do just as well for children with pneumonia

Many parents know the struggle of having to make children with pneumonia finish the usual 10-day course in antibiotics despite the child feeling better after a few days of medication.

8 Mar 2021

Study rethinks the role of ACE2 in SARS-CoV-2 viral entry

Researchers in the US recently infected a series of human lung and head/neck cancer cell lines with SARS-CoV-2 that expressed varying levels of ACE2 and the TMPRSS2 protease to reassess their role in viral entrance.

8 Mar 2021

Researchers present fragment-based computational design of antibodies that target structured epitopes

A new study describes a novel fragment-based method to design antibody complementarity determining region (CDR) loops.

8 Mar 2021

Biden’s criticism of Trump team’s vaccine contracts is a stretch

During a March 2 news conference on the covid-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden claimed that former President Donald Trump's administration did not ensure there would be enough vaccines for the American public.

8 Mar 2021

On vacci-dating: Singles seem enamored of sharing vaccination status online. Is that wise?

As cold weather descended upon Washington, D.C., last fall, I deleted my dating apps.

8 Mar 2021

Small negative lifestyle changes during COVID-19 lockdown could accumulate, say researchers

An interesting new study by researchers in Australia, which has been published in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests that lifestyle changes due to pandemic restrictions on outdoor mobility have been small. But they warn that these may accumulate over time.

8 Mar 2021

Novel bioinformatics tool could help improve COVID-19 diagnosis

An interesting new study by researchers at the University of Liverpool, University of Bristol and Public Health England in the UK describes a novel bioinformatics tool used to detect subgenomic messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) sequences from the virus. This may help develop new diagnostic tools and model the transmission of the virus.

8 Mar 2021

Digital technologies may underpin primary care services beyond COVID pandemic

Over the last twelve months, the NHS has been fundamentally reshaped. Plans and ideas that were bubbling away in the background for years suddenly received the green light by default. 2020 saw a huge increase in the adoption of digital technologies within modern healthcare economies.

8 Mar 2021

Study shows why three-layered masks are safer than single or double-layered alternatives

If you are going to buy a face mask to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, make sure it's a three-layered mask. You might have already heard this recommendation, but researchers have now found an additional reason why three-layered masks are safer than single or double-layered alternatives.

8 Mar 2021

Masks could be worn safely during intense exercise, shows study

Wearing a protective face mask has only a modest effect on the ability of healthy people to do vigorous exercise, according to a study published today (Monday) in the European Respiratory Journal.

8 Mar 2021

Despite modest progress, maternal and child undernutrition remains a key health concern

The Lancet today published the latest Series on Maternal and Child Undernutrition Progress, including three new papers that build upon findings from the previous 2008 and 2013 Series, which established an evidence-based global agenda for tackling undernutrition over the past decade.

8 Mar 2021

Study analyzes COVID fatality rate using age and GDP as proxies for the quality and abundance of healthcare

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 2.5 million lives globally as of today. The case fatality rate (CFR) is an important parameter in COVID-19 mortality research and is defined as the ratio of the number of infected cases to the death toll number.

7 Mar 2021

Study confirms B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 is more transmissible

A new modeling study published in the journal Science estimates the B.1.1.7 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant is 43% to 90% more transmissible than previous coronavirus variants. The variant was initially found in Southeast England last fall.

7 Mar 2021

FDA authorizes first molecular non-prescription, at-home COVID-19 test

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Cue COVID-19 Test for Home and Over The Counter (OTC) Use.

5 Mar 2021

FDA issues emergency use authorization for T-Detect COVID Test

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the T-Detect COVID Test developed by Adaptive Biotechnologies.

5 Mar 2021

California’s vaccine appointment website has glitches. No surprise?

California rolled out a statewide covid vaccination website this week aiming to streamline the appointment process after months of criticism, but the site is riddled with its own snags, preventing many from signing up for shots.

5 Mar 2021

Study: Monoclonal antibody 'cocktail' effective against all known COVID-19 variants

A monoclonal antibody "cocktail" developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) to neutralize the COVID-19 virus is effective against all known strains, or variants, of the virus, according to a report published in the journal Nature Medicine.

5 Mar 2021

People with intellectual disability more likely to die from COVID-19 than general population

Intellectual disability puts individuals at higher risk of dying earlier in life than the general population, for a variety of medical and institutional reasons.

5 Mar 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Outdoor activities help improve mental health and well-being of teenagers during the pandemic

Narrowing down on small molecular inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 key protease

Five-day course of high-dose antibiotic will do just as well for children with pneumonia

Study rethinks the role of ACE2 in SARS-CoV-2 viral entry

Researchers present fragment-based computational design of antibodies that target structured epitopes

Biden’s criticism of Trump team’s vaccine contracts is a stretch

On vacci-dating: Singles seem enamored of sharing vaccination status online. Is that wise?

Small negative lifestyle changes during COVID-19 lockdown could accumulate, say researchers

Novel bioinformatics tool could help improve COVID-19 diagnosis

Digital technologies may underpin primary care services beyond COVID pandemic

Study shows why three-layered masks are safer than single or double-layered alternatives

Masks could be worn safely during intense exercise, shows study

Despite modest progress, maternal and child undernutrition remains a key health concern

Study analyzes COVID fatality rate using age and GDP as proxies for the quality and abundance of healthcare

Study confirms B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 is more transmissible

FDA authorizes first molecular non-prescription, at-home COVID-19 test

FDA issues emergency use authorization for T-Detect COVID Test

California’s vaccine appointment website has glitches. No surprise?

Study: Monoclonal antibody 'cocktail' effective against all known COVID-19 variants

People with intellectual disability more likely to die from COVID-19 than general population

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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