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.

Mild COVID-19 disease may trigger long-term immunity

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing that individuals who have recovered from mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) developed sustained protective immune memory against the causative agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

24 Nov 2020

Vaping does not appear to pose any significant additional risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Researchers in Mexico, New Zealand and Italy have conducted a modeling study suggesting that the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) being transmitted via indoor vaping is not significantly higher than the risk associated with other types of expiration.

24 Nov 2020

Digital warm-start CRISPR assay enables sensitive quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples

In a recent medRxiv* preprint paper, researchers from the University of Connecticut Health Center in the United States unveil their digital warm-start CRISPR (WS-CRISPR) method for stringent and sensitive quantitative detection of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in clinical samples of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

24 Nov 2020

Penn State researcher to study how vitamin D regulates host immunity to viral infection

Funding from the National Institutes of Health will enable a Penn State researcher to study whether vitamin D supplementation could help people ward off or reduce symptoms caused by COVID-19.

24 Nov 2020

Research reveals areas where the next pandemic could emerge

An international team of researchers has taken a holistic approach to reveal for the first time where wildlife-human interfaces intersect with areas of poor human health outcomes and highly globalized cities, which could give rise to the next pandemic unless preventative measures are taken.

24 Nov 2020

The role of micro-RNA in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19

A team of researchers based in Iran have explored the role of micro-RNA in COVID-19. Their study titled, “The emerging role of microRNAs in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection,” was published in the latest issue of the journal International Immunopharmacology.

24 Nov 2020

Scientists show SARS-CoV-2's viral replication with 3D integrative imaging

A team of researchers at Heidelberg University in Germany have performed a detailed imaging analysis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection to determine how the virus reprograms infected cells.

24 Nov 2020

For nurses feeling the strain of the pandemic, virus resurgence is ‘paralyzing’

For Christina Nester, the pandemic lull in Massachusetts lasted about three months through summer into early fall. In late June, St. Vincent Hospital had resumed elective surgeries, and the unit the 48-year-old nurse works on switched back from taking care of only COVID-19 patients to its pre-pandemic roster of patients recovering from gallbladder operations, mastectomies and other surgeries.

24 Nov 2020

Aprotinin inhibits SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication in cells cultures

Researchers at the University of Kent in the UK and the Hannover Medical School and Goethe University in Germany have observed that the protease inhibitor aprotinin can inhibit viral replication by preventing SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells.

24 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2's RNA folding structures are potential therapeutic targets, study finds

A team of researchers at Goethe University in Germany has observed the RNA folding structures of the SARS-CoV-2 genome that aids the infection process.

24 Nov 2020

Study finds significant gender disparities in academic productivity during COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most science and medical faculty began working from home, with women reporting a significant decrease in manuscript submissions.

24 Nov 2020

Study: 58% of adults over 50 are willing to receive COVID-19 vaccination

Once enough people receive effective vaccines against the novel coronavirus, experts say, the end of the pandemic may be in sight. But a new poll of older adults - one of the highest-priority groups for vaccination - suggests an uphill climb lies ahead to reach that goal.

24 Nov 2020

Study underscores the importance of maintaining services to prevent, treat cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality in Europe, and World Health Organization (WHO) heart disease goals will not be achieved by 2025 unless urgent action is taken. That is the finding of a European Society of Cardiology (ESC) report published today.

24 Nov 2020

Researchers recommend antibody cocktail to tackle SARS-CoV-2 mutations

A new study released on the medRxiv* preprint server indicates that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic – is developing multiple mutations that affect neutralization by antibodies.

24 Nov 2020

New A.I. is fast and accurate at detecting COVID-19 from chest X-rays

Researchers have innovated a platform that uses A.I. to detect COVID-19 at higher levels of accuracy than specialized thoracic radiologists.

24 Nov 2020

Biosensor assay SARS-CoV-2 antibody test may predict COVID-19 severity in patients

Researchers in New York, USA, have found an association of mortality with an early humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 infection within the first few days after onset of symptoms (DAOS), using a highly sensitive and automated testing-on-a-probe (TOP) biosensor assays for SARS-CoV-2.

24 Nov 2020

Researchers use AI technology to evaluate speech disorders related to Parkinson's disease

The COVID-19 pandemic is leading a Purdue University innovator to make changes as she works to provide new options for people with Parkinson's disease.

24 Nov 2020

Research links SARS-CoV-2 prevalence, hospital surfaces and patient microbiomes

Researchers found a higher bacterial diversity in SARS-CoV-2 patient rooms and surfaces in the room, suggesting bacterial diversity may play a role in virus transmission.

24 Nov 2020

Treatment of mental health issues neglected during stroke recovery

The health system is failing to recognize the importance of treating mental health issues in stroke recovery.

24 Nov 2020

Study sheds new light on impact of COVID-19 in pediatric population

In the most comprehensive analysis to date of U.S. children tested and treated for COVID-19, an organization representing seven of the nation's largest pediatric medical centers reports that some groups of children are faring significantly worse than children in general during the pandemic.

24 Nov 2020

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Mild COVID-19 disease may trigger long-term immunity

Vaping does not appear to pose any significant additional risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Digital warm-start CRISPR assay enables sensitive quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical samples

Penn State researcher to study how vitamin D regulates host immunity to viral infection

Research reveals areas where the next pandemic could emerge

The role of micro-RNA in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19

Scientists show SARS-CoV-2's viral replication with 3D integrative imaging

For nurses feeling the strain of the pandemic, virus resurgence is ‘paralyzing’

Aprotinin inhibits SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication in cells cultures

SARS-CoV-2's RNA folding structures are potential therapeutic targets, study finds

Study finds significant gender disparities in academic productivity during COVID-19

Study: 58% of adults over 50 are willing to receive COVID-19 vaccination

Study underscores the importance of maintaining services to prevent, treat cardiovascular disease

Researchers recommend antibody cocktail to tackle SARS-CoV-2 mutations

New A.I. is fast and accurate at detecting COVID-19 from chest X-rays

Biosensor assay SARS-CoV-2 antibody test may predict COVID-19 severity in patients

Researchers use AI technology to evaluate speech disorders related to Parkinson's disease

Research links SARS-CoV-2 prevalence, hospital surfaces and patient microbiomes

Treatment of mental health issues neglected during stroke recovery

Study sheds new light on impact of COVID-19 in pediatric 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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