Respiratory News and Research

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Mutated European strain of coronavirus more contagious but less potent

The coronavirus pandemic is far from over as it actively spreads across the globe. The infection toll has reached a staggering 10.84 million people since it emerged in late December 2019 in Wuhan City, China. The virus that has left the city has now spread to 188 countries and territories and has mutated, becoming more infectious.

3 Jul 2020

Markers of vascular damage in COVID-19

A new study by researchers at Yale University and published on the preprint server medRxiv reports on the plasma levels of biomolecules that reflect vascular damage in COVID-19.

2 Jul 2020

Effectiveness of NPI's in COVID-19 - conclusions are predictable, NPI's work

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* looks at how the effects of these NPIs can be quantified in order to keep the public health response to COVID-19 at an adequate level. While NPIs are known to reduce the peak of the infections, in general, the researchers wanted to quantify different components separately.

2 Jul 2020

Researchers find possible cause for SARS-CoV-2 reactive T cells in uninfected individuals

The current pandemic of COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) -2, leading to severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and death in a sizable minority of cases. However, the most significant number are asymptomatic or have only mild infection from which they rapidly recover.

2 Jul 2020

New drug discovery shows promise in fighting acute respiratory illnesses

A collaboration between the University of Toronto's Faculty of Dentistry and the National Jewish Health in Denver -- the top-ranked respiratory research hospital in the U.S. -- has yielded a new drug discovery that could be useful to combat inflammation of all varieties and shows promise in fighting acute respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19.

2 Jul 2020

Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shows promise - virus neutralizing antibodies achieved

In a recent medRxiv* paper, a research group from the U.S. and Germany showed a robust immunogenic response and a promising safety profile of the novel BNT162b1 RNA-based vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) – actively encouraging its accelerated clinical development and potential rapid production.

2 Jul 2020

New platform prioritizes synergistic drug combinations against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in the U.S. have used a new web-based platform to help identify synergistic and antagonistic drug combinations and their underlying mechanisms of action in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

2 Jul 2020

Study provides possible explanations for silent hypoxemia in COVID-19 patients

A new research study provides possible explanations for COVID-19 patients who present with extremely low, otherwise life-threatening levels of oxygen, but no signs of dyspnea (difficulty breathing).

2 Jul 2020

Newer form of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus dominates global infections

Research out today in the journal Cell shows that a specific change in the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus virus genome, previously associated with increased viral transmission and the spread of COVID-19, is more infectious in cell culture.

2 Jul 2020

Structure of the full SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome in infected cells

The current COVID-19 pandemic caused by a single-stranded RNA virus, thought to have jumped across species barriers to infect humans, has spread rapidly across the globe infecting over 10 million individuals. The virus, now known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the causative agent of COVID-19 disease. COVID-19 disease is a respiratory illness where symptoms can range from very mild to severe and include fever, coughing, a sore throat, and shortness of breath.

2 Jul 2020

SARS-CoV-2 infection modeling in iPSC-derived type 2 cells

The most fatal form of COVID-19 disease is acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), caused by direct viral injury as well as indirect noxious effects caused by cytotoxic chemicals and inflammatory processes. A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 shows that this is partly due to the rapid onset of inflammation caused by the infection of type 2 alveolar cells with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2 Jul 2020

Novavax SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate shows promise in animal models

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 shows that a candidate spike protein vaccine can induce neutralizing antibodies, antiviral T cell responses, and protection against infection.

2 Jul 2020

Repurposed drug for acute lung injury in COVID-19

Now, a new study addresses the possible use of an FDA-approved monoclonal antibody, called fostamatinib, a spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor (SYK), to reduce the levels of mucin-1, a molecule associated with acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). People who have severe COVID-19 disease may develop ARDS.

2 Jul 2020

How lockdown stopped the virus in Italy

Previous studies have shown that many severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cases were tied to asymptomatic carriers or those who do not manifest symptoms of the viral infection. Now, a new study reveals that in the first Italian town hit by the virus, as much as 40 percent of the population had no symptoms of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

1 Jul 2020

Coronavirus immunity is higher than previously thought, study finds

Now, a team of researchers at the Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden has found that the number of people immune to COVID-10 may be higher than previously thought, and that antibody testing may no longer be the appropriate tool to trace it.

1 Jul 2020

Scientists find coronavirus' Achilles' heel

A team of scientists at the University of California San Francisco has found out how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) invades proteins in the cells that serve as master regulators of key cellular processes.

1 Jul 2020

Which facemasks work best at stopping coronavirus?

A new study shows how wearing masks can prevent the spread of droplet borne infections and is an excellent preventive measure to stop the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The study titled, "Visualizing the effectiveness of face masks in obstructing respiratory jets," is published in the latest issue of the journal Physics of Fluids.

1 Jul 2020

New tool to increase accessibility for COVID-19 testing

A research group from the University of California Santa Barbara recently demonstrated a cost-effective, simple, and much less toxic method to isolate host and pathogen nucleic acids and proteins in order to streamline the detection of DNA and RNA viruses – including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

1 Jul 2020

Important new findings on T cell immunity in COVID-19

Researchers at the Karolinska University Hospital and University Hospital of Wales report that people who have recovered from asymptomatic or mild cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may have long-term T-cell immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

1 Jul 2020

Blood cell damage in COVID-19 may compromise oxygen transport

Researchers in the U.S. have shown that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may alter key protein structures on red blood cells and compromise the transport and delivery of oxygen in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

1 Jul 2020