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Mental health problems peak alongside COVID-19 in Australia

A new study has found that during the peak of the outbreak in Australia, the rates of psychological distress, anxiety, and depression symptoms rose among adults. The study is published in the latest issue of the journal PLOS ONE.

29 Jul 2020

Sniffer dogs detect COVID-19 infections with 94 percent accuracy

Dogs have an acute sense of smell. They have up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to six million in humans, making their smell receptors up 10,000 to 100,000 more powerful than humans.

28 Jul 2020

Which face masks works best against COVID-19?

Wearing face masks is widely recommended as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to ravage across the globe. The pandemic has now topped more than 16.66 million cases, with a staggering death toll of at least 659,000.

28 Jul 2020

Basigin/CD147 discarded as an accessory SARS-CoV-2 binding receptor

By using specialized assays customized to detect specific receptor interactions, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge UK find no evidence for direct binding of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein to a transmembrane glycoprotein known as basigin.

28 Jul 2020

Emergent SARS-CoV-2 D614G spike mutation more infective due to "open" morphology

Researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Duke Human Vaccine Institute & Department of Surgery demonstrated that globally prevalent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with the amino acid substitution D614G in the spike protein is much more infective due to profitable binding encounters with the host receptors.

28 Jul 2020

Experimental vaccine rapidly controls coronavirus in the upper and lower airways of nonhuman primates

Two doses of an experimental vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) induced robust immune responses and rapidly controlled the coronavirus in the upper and lower airways of rhesus macaques exposed to SARS-CoV-2, report scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.

28 Jul 2020

Computational analyses suggest new pathway for inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2

Analyses of lung fluid cells from COVID-19 patients conducted on the nation's fastest supercomputer point to gene expression patterns that may explain the runaway symptoms produced by the body's response to SARS-CoV-2.

28 Jul 2020

Study analyzes how the coronavirus spreads indoors

A new study from the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering analyzes how the coronavirus spreads indoors - information that could help businesses and schools take precautions to reduce the chance of COVID-19 transmission as they reopen.

28 Jul 2020

Fighting a pandemic is 500 times more expensive than the costs of preventive efforts

According to new research, the failure to protect tropical rain forests has cost trillions of dollars stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, which has wreaked economic havoc and caused historic levels of unemployment in the United States and around the world.

28 Jul 2020

Evolutionary origins of SARS-CoV-2 identified

By reconstructing the evolutionary history of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, an international research team of Chinese, European and U.S. scientists has discovered that the lineage that gave rise to the virus has been circulating in bats for decades and likely includes other viruses with the ability to infect humans.

28 Jul 2020

Pitt collaborative receives $7 million to evaluate convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19

A team of University of Pittsburgh, Michigan Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina and Stanford Medicine. researchers recently were awarded funds from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, totaling more than $7 million to collaboratively study the role of convalescent plasma in mitigating symptoms of COVID-19 in patients with mild illness and preventing the progression of the disease from mild to severe.

28 Jul 2020

Protein produced by the human immune system can strongly inhibit Sars-Cov-2

A protein produced by the human immune system can strongly inhibit corona viruses, including Sars-Cov-2, the pathogen causing Covid-19. An international team from Germany, Switzerland and the USA successfully showed that the LY6E-Protein prevents coronaviruses from causing an infection.

28 Jul 2020

Cat catches coronavirus from owners

Cases of pet animals contracting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been reported since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) first emerged. Now, a pet cat has become the first animal in Britain to test positive after contracting the virus from its owners.

28 Jul 2020

Moderna coronavirus vaccine candidate moves to phase 3 with 30,000 participants

The world’s most significant coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine study is underway in the United States, with a planned 30,000 volunteers. The phase 3 clinical trial aims to examine the efficacy and safety of the candidate vaccine developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc.

28 Jul 2020

Swiss study shows how critical time is in responding to COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in July 2020 reveals the crucial nature of time as a factor in controlling the mortality rate in the current COVID-19 pandemic.

27 Jul 2020

Low plasma vitamin D level appears to be an independent risk factor for COVID-19 infection

Vitamin D is recognized as an important co-factor in several physiological processes linked with bone and calcium metabolism, and also in diverse non-skeletal outcomes, including autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity and cognitive decline, and infections.

27 Jul 2020

Yale and AI Therapeutics launch clinical trial of potential COVID-19 drug

Yale School of Medicine and the biopharmaceutical firm AI Therapeutics have launched a multi-institutional clinical trial of a drug for treating COVID-19.

27 Jul 2020

Brigham to play two key roles in phase 3 trial of COVID-19 vaccine candidate

A vaccine candidate for preventing COVID-19 is advancing to a 30,000-participant phase 3 trial that begins today, and Brigham and Women's Hospital will play two key roles in the trial's next phase.

27 Jul 2020

Alternative amplification technique could accelerate COVID-19 testing

An alternative amplification technique to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA could offer a way to rapidly test large numbers of people for COVID-19, although the technique is not as sensitive as quantitative RT-PCR, the current standard method for COVID-19 testing.

27 Jul 2020

AI Therapeutics announces start of Phase II clinical trial of potential COVID-19 treatment

AI Therapeutics announced the start of Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients in collaboration with Yale University.

27 Jul 2020