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WHO confirms 'emerging evidence' of airborne coronavirus

Scientists from around the world wrote a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO), urging the agency to acknowledge that the novel coronavirus is airborne. More than 230 scientists presented evidence that people can catch the virus from droplets floating in the air.

9 Jul 2020

Pigs and chickens not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2

A team of researchers in Germany aimed to investigate the susceptibility of potential animal hosts and the risk of zoonosis spill-over infections, which are illnesses transmitted to humans from animals. On the other hand, reverse zoonosis pertains to infections in humans that jump to animals.

9 Jul 2020

Manifestations of COVID-19 in newborn babies

In a new study titled, “The clinical course of SARS-CoV-2 positive neonates,” Italian researchers led by Guiseppe De Bernado from Division of Pediatrics Neonatology and NICU, Ospedale Buon Consiglio Fatebenefratelli, Naples, explain the course of the infection among newborn babies.

9 Jul 2020

Novel antibody test for SARS-CoV-2

A team of researchers in the United States have developed highly specific and sensitive assays that could improve understanding of the antibody response in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and help to determine the effectiveness of vaccines.

9 Jul 2020

SARS-CoV-2 a dagger to the aging heart

Researchers in Europe have shown that genes involved in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are expressed to a higher degree in older heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) than they are in younger cardiomyocytes.

9 Jul 2020

OU researcher receives $1.3 million grant to study stress-induced irritable bowel syndrome

Anyone who suffers from irritable bowel syndrome can testify to its signature trait: It gets worse during times of stress.

9 Jul 2020

Use of whole blood transcriptomes may improve COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment

In a new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv*, a multinational group of researchers provide the first evidence for the use of whole blood transcriptomics to distinguish coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from other infections, and also to monitor and potentially predict disease outcomes.

9 Jul 2020

Mass psychogenic illness identified as the likely cause of Havana Syndrome

Dozens of embassy staff reported an array of complaints that have baffled the medical community, the most prominent being concussion-like symptoms without head trauma.

9 Jul 2020

Mapping immune landscape of hematological malignancies may help improve cancer therapies

Activating the immune system of the body is a promising form of treatment for cancer. Researchers at the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital as well as the University of Eastern Finland mapped out the immune landscape of hematological malignancies in a dataset covering more than 10,000 patients to identify drug targets and patient groups which could potentially benefit from immunotherapies.

9 Jul 2020

Pasteurization of breast milk inactivates novel coronavirus

Pasteurizing breast milk using a common technique inactivates severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) making it safe for use, according to new research in CMAJ.

9 Jul 2020

UNM study sheds new light on transition of fear to anxiety

A deadly coronavirus pandemic, economic instability and civil unrest menace the mental well-being of millions.

9 Jul 2020

Research shows how SARS-CoV-2 alters translation

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in July 2020 shows that the 5’ end of the RNA molecule is capable of inhibiting the binding of mRNA to the ribosomal 40S subunit, thus preventing translation.

9 Jul 2020

Researchers map RNA structure throughout SARS-CoV-2 genome

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is currently at the heart of a pandemic that has cost the world more than 550,000 lives, 12 million infections, and uncounted years of productivity, is an RNA virus with the largest genome among all such viruses. This 30 kb size virus has caused many difficulties for scientists in search of a vaccine.

9 Jul 2020

Tracing adaptation to ACE2 use in sarbecoviruses

A detailed study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in July 2020 argues that recombination accounts for the appearance of the ability of both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 to use the human angiotensin-converting enzyme (hACE) 2 as the binding receptor mediating viral infection of human cells.

8 Jul 2020

Research sheds doubt on the Pangolin link to SARS-CoV-2

A startling new study by researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and the University of British Columbia and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in July 2020 casts doubt on the hypothesis that the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was transmitted from pangolins acting as the intermediate host. Instead, the authors suggest, the pangolins themselves were incidentally infected from other animals in captivity or from humans.

8 Jul 2020

UofSC researchers win NIH grant to develop data-driven system to track COVID-19

University of South Carolina researchers from its Big Data Health Science Center initiative have received $1.25 million in grant funding from the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop a data-driven system to track COVID-19 in South Carolina.

8 Jul 2020

A biomaterial vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 - quick and scalable

A recent 'tour-de-force' research endeavor, led by scientists from Harvard University, explored the propensity of a biomaterial vaccine based on mesoporous silica rods to spawn highly protective humoral responses against relevant antigens of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

8 Jul 2020

Study aims to more accurately define methods for measuring delirium severity

In a study published in the journal Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorder, researchers reported on their effort to improve and validate tools used to assess the severity of a condition called delirium, an acute confusional state often experienced by older hospitalized patients.

8 Jul 2020

Community coronavirus testing in England shows lockdown had "intended effect"

UK researchers say the proportion of people testing positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) significantly declined in England between 26 April and 28 June 2020.

8 Jul 2020

Small molecule drugs binding Mac1 domain of SARS-CoV-2

Now, an intriguing new study out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee reveals that numerous small molecule drugs like the proton pump inhibitors omeprazole and rabeprazole bind the important Mac1 domain on the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus.

8 Jul 2020