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.

Life science sector is thriving in Northern Ireland

The growing importance of Northern Ireland’s pharmaceutical and life sciences industries is revealed today [Tuesday 20 October 2020] in a new report tracking the significant contribution the sector makes to the NI economy.

21 Oct 2020

Allergy charities encourage parents, teachers to ‘Check It, Don’t Chance It’ to safeguard allergic children

To mark Allergy Awareness Week (19-25 October), two leading allergy charities are urging parents and teachers to ‘Check It, Don’t Chance It’ to ensure pupils and young adults with allergies are safe in schools.

21 Oct 2020

Wyatt technology announces breakthrough in Field Flow Fractionation (FFF) separation technology

Wyatt Technology, the world leader in instrumentation for absolute macromolecular and nanoparticle characterization, reveals the launch of its 6th-generation Eclipse FFF system that represents an entirely new paradigm of FFF technology.

From Waters | Wyatt Technology 21 Oct 2020

New research highlights potential global hesitancy to accept a COVID-19 vaccine

A research team from the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Georgetown University Law School announced today that Nature Medicine has published their research revealing potential global hesitancy to accept a COVID-19 vaccine.

21 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks mitochondria

An important phase of the viral protein translation relies on the mitochondrial translation machinery. Towards this goal, the molecular mechanism involved in the SARS-CoV-2 entry into human cells is studied by Zhenguo Cheng et al.

21 Oct 2020

Researchers use supercomputers to simulate the inner working of Ebola virus

As the world grapples with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, another virus has been raging again in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in recent months: Ebola.

21 Oct 2020

Researchers explore SARS-CoV-2 at single cell resolution in human airway epithelial cells

The cellular tropism of the SARS-CoV-2 virus affects several aspects of infection, such as the spread of the virus within and between hosts, tissue pathology, immune control mechanisms, and the response to treatment with promising antiviral drugs.

21 Oct 2020

CDC says 'mask up' when traveling

These updates focus on the prevention of the spread of the infection during travel. Since the onset of the pandemic, international and intra-state travel has been restricted across many nations.

20 Oct 2020

Coronavirus pandemic perceived as the greatest health risk

Next on the list of concerns, though notably less frequently mentioned, are unhealthy or wrong diet as well as climate and environmental pollution - these were the most frequently mentioned concerns in February's survey.

20 Oct 2020

New smart surface pulls critical COVID-19 marker from the blood

When COVID-19 attacks, the immune system produces a cytokine, or protein, called Interleukin-6 (IL-6), whose concentrations can offer vital information about a patient's level and stage of infection.

20 Oct 2020

3D imaging of SARS-CoV-2 infection in ferrets using light sheet microscopy

Researchers from the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health demonstrate the ability to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in 3D tissue samples in ferrets. This will allow the detection of infection patterns in tissues and their interrelations.

20 Oct 2020

Engineered decoy receptor could protect against coronaviruses

Researchers in the United States have shown that an engineered soluble decoy receptor tightly binds the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated viruses. This could potentially provide protection against zoonotic betacoronaviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

20 Oct 2020

Psoriasis patients taking immunosuppressants have high COVID-19 survival rates

Patients with psoriasis who are taking drugs that affect their immune system have high rates of survival from COVID-19. According to the first findings from a global registry of psoriasis and COVID-19 patients, led by Guy's and St Thomas' clinicians, over 90% survive.

20 Oct 2020

Serious ongoing symptoms in COVID-19 survivors

Although predominantly a respiratory illness, emerging data suggests that multi-organ injury is common, particularly in moderate to severe infections. A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in October 2020 describes the illness's sequelae in the months after recovery.

20 Oct 2020

Scientists are developing a point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 detection system based on photonic sensors

Detecting SARS-CoV-2 virus and related antibodies is essential to control the COVID-19 pandemic. A multidisciplinary team of scientists from the University of Malaga, led by Robert Halir, researcher of the Department of Communications Engineering of the Higher Technical School of Telecommunications Engineering, aware of the limitations of current techniques, are developing a point-of-care detection system based on photonic sensors.

20 Oct 2020

Scientists suggest that anti-malarial drugs could be repurposed to treat COVID-19

An international group of researchers believe there is enough evidence that anti-malarial drugs could be repurposed to treat COVID-19 and that they should be assessed for efficacy in clinical trials.

20 Oct 2020

Siemens Healthineers launches rapid antigen test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

As society continues to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a critical public health need to get ahead of the spread with a fast and simple testing for all.

From Siemens Healthineers 20 Oct 2020

Progressive group highlights Trump, Tillis weakness on insulin price tags

During the first presidential debate of 2020, President Donald Trump touted his efforts to curb skyrocketing drug prices and declared that insulin is now "so cheap, it's like water."

20 Oct 2020

Can ordinary COVID patients get the Trump treatment? It’s OK to ask

When Terry Mutter woke up with a headache and sore muscles on a recent Wednesday, the competitive weightlifter chalked it up to a hard workout.

20 Oct 2020

Older males who have recovered from COVID-19 are best plasma donors for treatment

Sex, age, and severity of disease may be useful in identifying COVID-19 survivors who are likely to have high levels of antibodies that can protect against the disease, according to a new study co-led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

20 Oct 2020