Common Cold News and Research

RSS

Research identifies ways to prevent coronavirus spread to the nervous system

A number of studies have shown that human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19, appear to attack neurons and the nervous system in vulnerable populations.

23 Mar 2021

COVID-19 prevention strategies may have led to a decrease in common respiratory infections

Wearing masks and physical distancing - two key infection prevention strategies implemented to stop the spread of COVID-19 - may have led to the dramatic decrease in rates of common respiratory viral infections, such as influenza.

23 Mar 2021

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine protects against symptomatic disease

Results from a large clinical trial in the United States and South America indicate that AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222, is well-tolerated and protects against symptomatic COVID-19 disease, including severe disease or hospitalization.

22 Mar 2021

Engineering immunogens to focus immune response to SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have designed constructs by adding more glycans and adding the receptor-binding motif from related sarbecoviruses to focus the immune response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor-binding motif. Such immunogens could potentially also neutralize other variants and coronaviruses.

18 Mar 2021

Can vaccination and infection rates add up to reach Covid herd immunity?

It's been a long, dark winter of Covid concerns, stoked by high post-holiday case counts and the American death tally exceeding 530,000 lives lost.

17 Mar 2021

Genome-wide CRISPR screening used to identify factors essential for SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans

In a methodologically trailblazing paper published in the journal Nature Genetics, a team of Belgian scientists uncovered an assembly of coronavirus host factors that may be exploited to develop drugs against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but also potentially forthcoming zoonotic coronaviruses.

14 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2 is extremely sensitive to type I IFN pre-treatment, study finds

Researchers have found that SARS-CoV-2 is extremely sensitive to type I IFN pre-treatment. Therefore, strategies such as focusing on limiting the production of IFN, rather than its function, could restrict the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 that increases its viral load with delayed or absent symptoms.

12 Mar 2021

How likely is SARS-CoV-2 reinfection?

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has already caused over 117.6 million confirmed cases the world over. Yet, researchers debate the exact incidence of reinfection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19’s causative pathogen.

10 Mar 2021

Graphene oxide-silver nanoparticles shown to rapidly neutralize RNA viruses

While the vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are administered, and extensive research is conducted for targeted therapeutics to control the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), it is equally crucial to develop more novel, broad-spectrum antiviral compounds.

2 Mar 2021

Antibody and T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 persist up to 8 months: Study of Ski Resort Ischgl

The first instance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in Austria was observed in the Ski resort Ischgl in early March 2020. Later, the virus spread across Austria and other countries in Northern Europe.

25 Feb 2021

What makes viruses infectious?

In this interview, News-Medical spoke to Professor Peter Stockley about his latest research that looked at what makes viruses infectious.

23 Feb 2021

Some nutritional supplements may help prevent or mitigate COVID-19 severity

A new study in the Journal of dietary supplements shows that nutritional supplements, including several vitamins and the mineral zinc, may be useful in preventing the infection or reducing its severity if caught.

22 Feb 2021

Juvenile inflammatory rheumatic disease associated with higher antibody responses to seasonal coronaviruses

A new study released on the bioRxiv* server compared the antibodies produced in young patients with these three conditions against the two immunodominant coronavirus antigens, the spike and the nucleocapsid antigens.

19 Feb 2021

Study: First influenza infection does not make people immune to future flu viruses

A child's first influenza infection shapes their immunity to future airborne flu viruses-;including emerging pandemic strains.

19 Feb 2021

Probiotics may be beneficial in COVID-19 treatment

A new study explores the role of common probiotics in managing the disease, which could prove to be of great value, given the emergence of new variants and the broad spectrum of clinical disease in COVID-19.

17 Feb 2021

Scientists to develop highly sensitive antibody tests for infection caused by all coronaviruses

Scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and SunYat-Sen University in China have set the stage for the development of highly sensitive antibody tests for infection with all known human coronaviruses, including new variants of SARS-CoV-2.

17 Feb 2021

Exposure to seasonal coronaviruses does not produce antibodies that protect against SARS-CoV-2

Past exposure to seasonal coronaviruses (CoVs), which cause the common cold, does not result in the production of antibodies that protect against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, according to a study led by Scott Hensley, PhD, an associate professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

10 Feb 2021

COVID-19 pandemic and nanotechnology

Writing in the International Journal of Nanomedicine, Professor Dongki Yang, from the Department of Physiology, Gachon University, South Korea, has reviewed the available knowledge on the coronaviruses, current approaches to tackle the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the innovative application of nanotechnology in the COVID-19 pandemic.

8 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 N501Y mutation adversely affects cellular immune response

Among these is the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant, with its characteristic N501Y mutation. A new preprint on the bioRxiv server reports the impact of this mutation on CD4 T cell responses, including antigen presentation on cells expressing Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class II molecules.

4 Feb 2021

Researchers explore adaptive immunity against human coronaviruses

A recent study shows that long-term adaptive immunity to endemic coronaviruses is widespread, but low in magnitude, and that it shares phenotypic features of spike-specific antibodies and T cell memory across all tested coronaviruses.

29 Jan 2021