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.

U.S. adults experienced increased mental health issues as COVID-19 cases skyrocketed

U.S. adults increasingly experienced symptoms associated with acute stress and depression as COVID-19 cases and deaths skyrocketed between mid-March and mid-April 2020, according to a study of more than 6,500 people from three large, nationally representative cohorts.

19 Sep 2020

New method isolates antibody-like proteins that capture and neutralize SARS-CoV-2

Scientists have used a new high-speed, in vitro selection method to isolate 9 antibody-like proteins (ALPs) that bind to the SARS-CoV-2 virus - 4 of which also exhibited neutralizing activity - within 4 days, according to a new study.

19 Sep 2020

UM receives $33.4 million for development and clinical trials of opioid vaccines

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of Montana a five-year, $33.4 million award for the development and clinical trials of opioid vaccines. It is the largest such award in University history.

19 Sep 2020

Access to low or no-cost meals disrupted due to school closures during COVID-19

School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted access to low or no-cost school breakfast and lunch programs for millions of low-income children.

19 Sep 2020

Rising stress and depressive symptoms linked to pandemic-related losses, media consumption

Experiencing multiple stressors triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic – such as unemployment – and COVID-19-related media consumption are directly linked to rising acute stress and depressive symptoms across the U.S., according to a groundbreaking University of California, Irvine study.

19 Sep 2020

Scientists identify new drug to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection consequences

Scientists from the Department of Cell Biology of the University of Malaga and the Andalusian Centre for Nanomedicine and Biotechnology have made progress in finding new rapid implementation therapies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying a new drug that could prevent or mitigate the consequences derived from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

19 Sep 2020

Confidence in COVID-19 restrictions leads to good mental health

In March 2020, Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic, and governments around the world imposed restrictions to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus.

19 Sep 2020

Genetic variants of human ACE2 are differentially recognized by SARS-CoV-2

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin reveals that the genetic variants of human angiotensin 2 (ACE2) receptors can have altered recognition by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

18 Sep 2020

Researchers develop non-infectious nanoparticle probes to study SARS-CoV-2

Scientists and researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, submitted their findings to ACS Nano, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal, on their collaboration to develop SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle probes that are used to study fundamental interactions between SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins and human cells.

18 Sep 2020

Ineffective immune responses may be responsible for COVID-19 mortality rates in men and the elderly

News-Medical speaks to Dr. Nicole Lieberman about her latest research that discovered delayed immune responses may affect COVID-19 mortality rates.

18 Sep 2020

S-pseudotyped VLPs offer promising COVID-19 vaccine platform

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 reports on a Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) platform that produces VLPs expressing the important spike antigen of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

18 Sep 2020

Key China COVID-19 study produced results that influenced subsequent research on coronavirus

Early in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a small study in China produced results that influenced subsequent research on the virus.

18 Sep 2020

ACC’s initiative can help cardiologists address critical patient needs, deliver high-quality care

The American College of Cardiology's ongoing COVID-19 response initiative is welcoming support from the Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company Alliance to continue providing real-time clinical guidance on COVID-19.

18 Sep 2020

Study invalidates Ebselen and other broad-spectrum SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors

Other novel compounds with Mpro inhibitory activity have also been claimed to have antiviral activity. These include ebselen, disulfiram, tideglusib, carmofur, shikonin, and PX-12. A new research paper discusses the role of these molecules as potential Mpro inhibitors in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

18 Sep 2020

Study: 90-minute COVID-19 test has high sensitivity and specificity

A 90-minute COVID-19 test has been shown to have over 94 per cent sensitivity, and 100 per cent specificity in a new study.

18 Sep 2020

A new framework to improve global sustainability

From loaning pandas to welcoming tourists to hike to sacred monuments, to regulating the sale of wild animals for meat, policies across the world seek to forge clear paths to sustainability.

18 Sep 2020

Study sheds new light on the mechanism of COVID-19 infection

The spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can adopt at least ten distinct structural states, when in contact with the human virus receptor ACE2, according to research from the Francis Crick Institute published in Nature today.

18 Sep 2020

Engineered, high-affinity ACE2 receptors neutralize SARS-CoV-2

In a study published in the preprint server bioRxiv, researchers from the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and Osaka University Japan, discuss how they engineered ACE2 to enhance its affinity to RBD in human cells.

17 Sep 2020

Animal data supports efficacy of baricitinib vs SARS-COV-2

The high burden of disease caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to much research on effective ways to mitigate the health, social, and economic impact of the spread of the infection. A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 reports on the characteristics of the drug baricitinib when used as monotherapy to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

17 Sep 2020

International researchers set out to compare different countries' COVID-19 responses

The typical measures of the efficacy of a country's response to COVID-19 are the contagion curve and the number of deaths from the disease.

17 Sep 2020

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

U.S. adults experienced increased mental health issues as COVID-19 cases skyrocketed

New method isolates antibody-like proteins that capture and neutralize SARS-CoV-2

UM receives $33.4 million for development and clinical trials of opioid vaccines

Access to low or no-cost meals disrupted due to school closures during COVID-19

Rising stress and depressive symptoms linked to pandemic-related losses, media consumption

Scientists identify new drug to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection consequences

Confidence in COVID-19 restrictions leads to good mental health

Genetic variants of human ACE2 are differentially recognized by SARS-CoV-2

Researchers develop non-infectious nanoparticle probes to study SARS-CoV-2

Ineffective immune responses may be responsible for COVID-19 mortality rates in men and the elderly

S-pseudotyped VLPs offer promising COVID-19 vaccine platform

Key China COVID-19 study produced results that influenced subsequent research on coronavirus

ACC’s initiative can help cardiologists address critical patient needs, deliver high-quality care

Study invalidates Ebselen and other broad-spectrum SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors

Study: 90-minute COVID-19 test has high sensitivity and specificity

A new framework to improve global sustainability

Study sheds new light on the mechanism of COVID-19 infection

Engineered, high-affinity ACE2 receptors neutralize SARS-CoV-2

Animal data supports efficacy of baricitinib vs SARS-COV-2

International researchers set out to compare different countries' COVID-19 responses

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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