Coronavirus News and Research

RSS

COVID-19 ‘long-haulers’ experience lingering health effects

Called “long-haulers” or “long-termers,” some people report lingering symptoms of the illness for months. These people experience symptoms ranging from fatigue and weakness to chest pains and difficulty breathing.

15 Sep 2020

Bath scientists receive funding to monitor wastewater in cities in the UK and Africa

Chemists, biologists and mathematicians from the University of Bath have received funding to monitor wastewater in cities in the UK and Africa, to provide an early warning of the potential spread of COVID-19.

15 Sep 2020

A comprehensive response to COVID-19 must recognize the value of care work

Three American researchers have looked at the role of women in caring for COVID-19 affected individuals. The pandemic that has gripped the world for over six months now has skewed gender roles, they noted.

15 Sep 2020

Analysis of COVID-19 spread from China, Italy and Iran

A recent study looked at the patterns of the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from China, Iran, and Italy to other nations. The study by researchers at Case-Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Duke University is published on the preprint website medRxiv* in September 2020.

15 Sep 2020

3D printed nanoparticle biosensing platform detects SARS-CoV-2 antibodies within seconds

Pandemics caused by novel infectious agents like the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Zika, or Ebola virus seriously impact human health and lives while also overwhelming health care systems all over the world. Early detection and diagnosis allow isolation of the infected patients and contact tracing, which can mitigate the spread of the virus and save lives, especially when a significant number of the patients are asymptomatic.

14 Sep 2020

Central nervous system immune responses to COVID-19

A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv by scientists from Yale School of Medicine, University of California, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute examined the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the central nervous system.

14 Sep 2020

NIH and FDA examine serious side effect that surfaced in COVID vaccine trial

The Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to follow British regulators in resuming a coronavirus vaccine trial that was halted when a participant suffered spinal cord damage, even as the National Institutes of Health has launched an investigation of the case.

14 Sep 2020

RUDN geneticist finds a bifidobacterial protein that can reduce inflammation in COVID-19

A geneticist from RUDN University studied the effect of Bifidobacterium (intestinal bacteria) on the inflammatory process and discovered that their surface protein is capable of stopping excessive or uncontrollable inflammation, like the one observed in COVID-19 patients.

14 Sep 2020

Virtual reality found to be effective in opioid overdose reversal training

The United States has seen a 200% increase in the rate of deaths by opioid overdose in the last 20 years. But many of these deaths were preventable.

14 Sep 2020

Smoke from wildfires may increase COVID-19 risk

The smoke the firefighters are breathing is heightening their risk of contracting the new coronavirus, with potentially life-threatening effects. Further, fighting the huge fires may make infection control measures such as hand washing and social distancing, challenging to perform.

14 Sep 2020

Oxford University and AstraZeneca resume COVID-19 vaccine trial

More than a hundred candidate vaccine trials against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), are underway. About 35 are now undergoing clinical evaluation, and of these, nine are in the final phase of human trials, including the vaccine developed by Oxford University and the biopharmaceutical firm, AstraZeneca.

14 Sep 2020

Tiny antibody component shows high potency in SARS-CoV-2 animal models

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists have isolated the smallest biological molecule to date that completely and specifically neutralizes the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the cause of COVID-19.

14 Sep 2020

Circadian rhythm affects SARS-CoV-2 infection and host immune response

In an interesting bioRxiv preprint paper, French researchers show that the time day can affect infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as guide subsequent host immune response – implying that circadian rhythm may well be a novel target for managing viral progression.

14 Sep 2020

Keto diet could be beneficial for elderly COVID-19 patients

A recent study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine, New York University Langone Health and Washington University School of Medicine, claims that the ketogenic diet (high fat, low carbohydrate diet) is capable of mitigating clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in elderly people by improving immune-metabolic functions and reducing inflammation. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

14 Sep 2020

Children's Hospital Los Angeles is U.S. site for new study of SARS-CoV-2 spread within households

One of the mysteries about severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, is how it is spread within households, including why some family members develop the viral infection and others do not.

14 Sep 2020

Computational models screen for coronaviruses likely to infect humans

The researchers from Rochester Institute of Technology and the Hauptmann-Woodward Medical Research Institute produced models of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) found on outbreak strains of betacoronaviruses and its interaction with the host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

14 Sep 2020

Toyonaka Municipal Hospital reports successful control of COVID-19

Researchers at Toyonaka Municipal Hospital in Japan have shown that the rate of subclinical infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among staff at the hospital is no higher than among the general population in the same area.

14 Sep 2020

Are children more likely to be SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic than adults?

he frequency of children carrying asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been suggested to be higher than among adults. It is also suggested that asymptomatic children enhance viral spread. A new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in September 2020 explores the truth of this common belief.

14 Sep 2020

Should a COVID-19 vaccine be mandatory for children?

As the search for a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine continues, with some candidate vaccines nearing the completion Phase III clinical trials, a trio of experts weighs in with some sound reasoning as to whether any future vaccine should be considered mandatory for children. The viewpoint article is published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in September 2020.

14 Sep 2020

COVID-19 pandemic affects delivery of cancer care and oncologists' wellbeing

Delays and cancellation of cancer treatments and other safety measures undertaken to minimise the risk of exposure to the coronavirus (COVID-19) have generated a huge backlog in oncology care and research.

14 Sep 2020