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Symptomatic COVID-19 patients less likely to be smokers

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages in many parts of the world, a new study shows that smoking may not play a significant role in increasing the severity of illness in these patients. The study is published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020.

12 May 2020

SARS-CoV-2 binds heparan sulfate, preventing host cell infection

A new study published in May 2020 on the preprint server bioRxiv shows that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can bind to a sugar molecule called heparan sulfate (HS), thereby hindering its entry into the host cell.

12 May 2020

Study sheds more light on the evolutionary ancestry of SARS-CoV-2

There is ongoing debate among policymakers and the general public about where SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, came from. While researchers consider bats the most likely natural hosts for SARS-CoV-2, the origins of the virus are still unclear.

12 May 2020

Antiviral cocktail may help treat mild COVID-19 patients

The skyrocketing number of cases due to the coronavirus pandemic has taken a massive toll on the health systems in many countries. Since the advent of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), hundred of research teams are racing to find an effective vaccine and treatment to combat the deadly infection. Now, a team of researchers in Hong Kong suggests that combining three existing antivirals may help treat COVID-19 patients.

12 May 2020

Study provides genetic explanation behind the sex bias observed in certain diseases

Some diseases exhibit a clear sex bias, occurring more often, hitting harder or eliciting different symptoms in men or women.

12 May 2020

Collaborative approach is essential to speed up COVID-19 vaccine candidates, say NIH experts

A harmonized and collaborative approach to the clinical testing, scale-up and distribution of candidate vaccines to prevent COVID-19 is essential, scientific leaders write in a perspective published today in Science.

12 May 2020

Hydroxychloroquine is not effective against COVID-19, extensive U.S. study shows

Over the past few months, doctors resorted to repurposing medicines that have already been approved for other diseases to treat coronavirus patients. One drug that was widely used in the pandemic, hydroxychloroquine, has been found to be ineffective in treating the viral infection.

11 May 2020

SARS-CoV-2 could spread through surface of the eyes

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus could spread via ocular or eye surfaces. This is because the receptor where the virus binds – the ACE2, is also expressed on human eyes, they note.

11 May 2020

Genomic sequences from all over the world help fight SARS-CoV-2

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the world, killing hundreds of thousands and infecting over 4.1 million, researchers are racing against time to understand the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The SARS-CoV-2 genome has now been sequenced in many different regions of the world, and researchers are collaborating by sharing information to better understand the make-up and mutations that the virus has undergone.

11 May 2020

Varied performance of SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests in detecting protective immunity

The performance of commercially available serological tests in real patient samples and the correlates of immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) provided by IgG antibodies are still a matter of debate. A new bioRxiv preprint paper cross-examines the performance of several assays and proclaims the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) as a method of choice.

11 May 2020

South Africa obtains first laboratory isolate of SARS-CoV-2

While much of the scientific and medical community rushes to develop therapeutic agents for COVID-19 based on clinical data, getting a better understanding of the brand-new virus remains crucial.

11 May 2020

GCS centers support research to fight against global COVID-19 pandemic

In December 2019, the world learned of a new and deadly pathogen. News coming out of Wuhan, China confirmed public health experts' worst fears--a novel coronavirus appeared to have jumped from animals to humans.

11 May 2020

Scientists explore why some COVID-19 patients lose their sense of smell

Doctors have reported that partial or total loss of the sense of smell is often an early symptom of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

11 May 2020

Clinical trial launched to evaluate experimental COVID-19 therapies

Clinical leaders from the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center, College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy have launched a clinical trial for experimental therapies to treat patients infected with COVID-19.

11 May 2020

Study finds bowel abnormalities in patients with COVID-19

Patients with COVID-19 can have bowel abnormalities, including ischemia, according to a new study published today in the journal Radiology.

11 May 2020

COPD and smoking linked to greater COVID-19 severity and mortality

Current smokers and people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have an increased risk of severe complications and higher mortality with COVID-19 infection, according to a new study published May 11, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Jaber Alqahtani of University College London, UK, and colleagues.

11 May 2020

Researchers launch antibody test to understand COVID-19 immunity

University of Kentucky researchers have launched antibody testing that will help to understand what immunity to COVID-19 really means.

11 May 2020

Expanding sick leave protection is crucial during the COVID-19 crisis

At a time when the world's attention is focused on curbing the spread of infectious disease, new research by the UCLA WORLD Policy Analysis Center shows that strengthening guarantees of paid sick leave is crucial to protecting health and economic security around the globe.

11 May 2020

Southwest CEO’s boast about airplanes’ low COVID risk flies by key concerns

During a May 3 appearance on "Face the Nation," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said that he believed it was safe for Americans to fly during the coronavirus epidemic and that a plane is as safe as any other space.

11 May 2020

Keeping the COVID plague at bay: How California is protecting older veterans

Dr. Vito Imbasciani has been at war with viruses since he was 5. Growing up near the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York, he contracted polio in 1952 and couldn't walk for two months. In medical school in Vermont 30 years later, he witnessed AIDS steal the lives of otherwise healthy gay men.

11 May 2020