Coronavirus News and Research

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Study reports a low prevalence of COVID-19 in pregnant women

New data from two studies show the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among pregnant women is low, but they still need to take extra precautions.

29 May 2020

SwRI receives $1.9 million to identify potential treatments for COVID-19

Using Department of Defense supercomputers, Southwest Research Institute is virtually screening millions of drug compounds to search for and test possible treatment options for the novel coronavirus 2019.

29 May 2020

5-day Remdesivir dose works as well as the 10-day dose in COVID-19, study finds

With more than 5.8 million people infected with the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the search is on for an effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine or drug to treat COVID-19 disease.

28 May 2020

How comorbidities affect SARS-CoV-2 viral entry

Almost from the start of the current COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that individuals suffering from other medical conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and lung disease are far more likely to contract the infection and to have a poorer outcome.

28 May 2020

Face masks essential in combating asymptomatic spread of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols and droplets

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurs through the transmission of droplets and aerosols from infected people through speaking, breathing, coughing, and sneezing. Wearing masks can reduce the airborne transmission of the novel coronavirus, a new study finds. The research is published in the journal Science.

28 May 2020

Examining the envelope protein of SARS-CoV-2

A new study by researchers at the University of Valencia and published on the preprint online server bioRxiv in May 2020 reports the topology of the envelope protein of the virus, which could contribute to a better understanding of how the virus interacts with other cell components and hopefully help to fight the disease better.

28 May 2020

Cardiac surgery stalled as novel coronavirus spread

As the novel coronavirus spread across the globe in early 2020, hospitals worldwide scaled back medical procedures, including life-saving heart surgery, to deal with the emerging threat of COVID-19.

28 May 2020

Genomic variation and descent of SARS-CoV-2 strains in India

The pandemic of COVID-19 that is still affecting over 188 countries and territories the world over has taken over 359,000 lives in just under five months, while affecting at least 5.8 million people. Different strains have diverged from the original strain detected in Wuhan, China.

28 May 2020

Ferritin heavy chain protein shows promise as a potential SARS-CoV-2 vaccine or antiviral

A new study published on the online preprint server bioRxiv in May 2020 reports the construction and testing of a new ferritin-based antigen-bearing protein that has biological activity towards the ACE2 receptor. This could indicate its potential for development as a vaccine or antiviral.

28 May 2020

Pitt researcher to explore the neurological sex-based divide in dementia

Fifty million people worldwide are living with dementia, a broad term for diseases and conditions characterized by progressive cognitive decline.

28 May 2020

Experts issue new guidance to improve stroke care amid COVID-19

Top stroke experts have issued new guidance to ensure stroke patients receive safe, timely care while preventing the transmission of COVID-19.

28 May 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Still seeking a federal coronavirus strategy

The Trump administration sent its COVID-19 testing strategy plan to Congress, formalizing its policy that most testing responsibilities should remain with individual states.

28 May 2020

Research provides important insights into genetic adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 to humans

In their groundbreaking paper available on the preprint server medRxiv, University of Pittsburgh researchers were appraising signals of SARS-CoV-2 genome evolution and found that purifying selection (i.e., removal of deleterious mutations) represents the dominant trait during early coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic - suggesting that the virus will evolve as it diversifies in a growing number of hosts.

28 May 2020

Women and minorities inadequately represented in clinical trials for novel cardiometabolic drugs

Women and minorities, particularly African Americans, continue to be inadequately represented in clinical trials for novel cardiometabolic medications, with no evidence of improvement in enrollment numbers over the past decade, according to new research published last week in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open-access journal of the American Heart Association.

28 May 2020

Some ivory towers are ideal for a pandemic. Most aren’t.

Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, is open for business this fall — but to get there, you really have to want it. Tucked amid verdant hills 23 miles east of San Francisco, accessible by a single road and a single entrance, the small, private Roman Catholic school receives almost no visitors by accident.

28 May 2020

Nearly 50% of COVID-19 patients have altered sense of tastes

Nearly half of individuals who contract COVID-19 experience changes in their sense of taste, a new analysis led by a University of Toledo researcher has found.

28 May 2020

Searching for safety: Where children hide when gunfire is all too common

Champale Greene-Anderson keeps the volume up on her television when she watches 5-year-old granddaughter Amor Robinson while the girl's mom is at work.

28 May 2020

PKU-led team identifies potent neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

A joint research team led by Sunney Xie, Director of Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics at Peking University has successfully identified multiple highly potent neutralizing antibodies against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus of the respiratory disease COVID-19, from convalescent plasma by high-throughput single-cell sequencing.

28 May 2020

For seniors, COVID-19 sets off a pandemic of despair

As states relax coronavirus restrictions, older adults are advised, in most cases, to keep sheltering in place. But for some, the burden of isolation and uncertainty is becoming hard to bear.

28 May 2020

Antibody tests were hailed as way to end lockdowns. Instead, they cause confusion.

Aspen was an early COVID-19 hot spot in Colorado, with a cluster of cases in March linked to tourists visiting for its world-famous skiing. Tests were in short supply, making it difficult to know how the virus was spreading.

28 May 2020