Respiratory News and Research

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Occupational risk of COVID-19 in 3.5 million Norwegians

A team of researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health have sought to determine which among workers and employees have higher odds of COVID-19 infection in the first and second waves of the outbreak.

5 Nov 2020

Wearing a face mask during strenuous workouts does not hinder breathing

A new University of Saskatchewan study has found that exercise performance and blood and muscle oxygen levels are not affected for healthy individuals wearing a face mask during strenuous workouts.

5 Nov 2020

Climate change linked to higher rates of cancer

Climate change will bring an acute toll worldwide, with rising temperatures, wildfires and poor air quality, accompanied by higher rates of cancer, especially lung, skin and gastrointestinal cancers, according to a new report from UC San Francisco.

5 Nov 2020

Green tea and some fruit juices inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

Green tea, chokeberry juice, and pomegranate juice killed flu and SARS-CoV-2 viruses when incubated with the viruses in vitro. Thus, oral rinsing using these might be effective in preventing COVID-19.

5 Nov 2020

Election rallies linked to an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University, Israel, Harvard Medical School, Boston, and Tel Aviv University, Israel, have studied the correlation between large gatherings and hospitalization risk due to COVID-19. Their study titled, “Association of Mass Gatherings and COVID-19 Hospitalization,” was published as a preprint on the medRxiv server.

4 Nov 2020

Novel approach for modeling spread of infectious disease

The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 across the world despite the early shutdown of borders and the cessation of international travel has sparked interest and given rise to changes in knowledge regarding the spread of infections.

4 Nov 2020

Case study reports prolonged infectious SARS-CoV-2 shedding from an asymptomatic leukemia patient

The majority of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 appear to actively shed infectious virus for about 8 days, but there is a wide range of variability from person to person.

4 Nov 2020

Zinc-embedded polyamide fabrics are effective in absorbing and inactivating SARS-CoV-2

An international team of scientists has recently demonstrated that zinc-embedded polyamine fibers can effectively absorb and inactivate human respiratory viruses, including influenza A virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Thus, a face mask or other personal protective equipment (PPE) made from this fiber is expected to provide better protection against viral transmission.

4 Nov 2020

Computational study reveals SARS-CoV-2 spike protein structural stability

Using dynamic contact maps and energy differences between different conformations of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein (or S-protein), an international team of researchers have recently published an article on the bioRxiv preprint server showing the different stable conformations of the spike protein.

4 Nov 2020

An analysis of genetic diversity of D614G mutation in SARS-CoV-2

A new study published in the preprint server bioRxiv in November 2020 reports that the effect of the mutation is minimal, in terms of pathogenicity or altered response to neutralizing antibodies elicited against the native virus strain.

4 Nov 2020

Ozone water found to rapidly inactivate SARS-Cov-2

As the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic appears here to stay, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in November 2020 reports an effective and rapid inactivation tactic for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); namely, through the use of ozone water.

4 Nov 2020

RNA-binding proteins may suppress antiviral defenses against SARS-CoV-2

Conducted by researchers in South Korea at the Institute for Basic Science and the International Vaccine Institute, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in November 2020 describes the many host proteins that bind with the ribonucleic acid (RNA) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and regulate the replication of the virus.

4 Nov 2020

Study shows brilacidin strongly inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in laboratory cell lines

A recent study by US researchers reveals that brilacidin, a small synthetic molecule with peptide-like properties, exerts potent in vitro antiviral activity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – both as a standalone treatment and in combination with FDA-approved remdesivir. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

4 Nov 2020

Correlations found between 'long-COVID' patients and preexisting health conditions

Researchers from the nference (a biotech information firm) in Cambridge, MA, USA, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, USA, and nference Labs based in Bengaluru, India, recently performed a retrospective analysis of 266 COVID-19 patients.

4 Nov 2020

Living with children does not increase adults’ risk of severe COVID-19, say researchers

Researchers working on behalf of NHS England have found no evidence that adults who live with school-age children are at any increased risk of severe outcomes following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

4 Nov 2020

Delirium accompanied by fever could be an early symptom of COVID-19

Delirium accompanied by fever could bean early symptom of COVID-19. This is the main conclusion drawn by a scientific research review carried out by researchers from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

4 Nov 2020

Lions and tigers and anteaters? US scientists scan the menagerie for COVID

As COVID-19 cases surge in the U.S., one Texas veterinarian has been quietly tracking the spread of the disease — not in people, but in their pets.

4 Nov 2020

‘Is this worth my life?’: Traveling health workers decry COVID care conditions

David Joel Perea called from Maine, Vermont, Minnesota and, ultimately, Nevada, always with the same request: "Mom, can you send tamales?" Dominga Perea would ship them overnight.

4 Nov 2020

Study sheds light on possible lung damage caused by COVID-19 virus

The study, published today in The Lancet's eBioMedicine, by King's College London in collaboration with University of Trieste and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biology in Italy, shows the unique characteristics to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and may explain why patients suffer from 'long COVID'.

4 Nov 2020

Discoverey of four SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors, boceprevir, calpain inhibitors II and XII and GC-376

A team of scientists from the United States has recently revealed that small molecule inhibitors of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease exhibit potent antiviral activity. These inhibitors show better efficacy when used in combination with antiviral medicine Remdesivir. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

3 Nov 2020