Coronavirus News and Research

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New cellular pathway protects cells from infection by Ebola virus, coronaviruses

Discoveries from the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) have identified a new cellular protection pathway that targets a common vulnerability in several different pandemic viruses, and collaborators at Case Western Reserve University, Boston University School of Medicine and MRIGlobal have shown that this pathway can protect cells from infection by Ebola virus and coronaviruses, like SARS-CoV-2.

28 Aug 2020

COVID-19 can serve as catalyst for digital innovation in healthcare

COVID-19 has upended essentially every sector of the economy, and none more so than healthcare. Healthcare leaders from across the United States share their experiences with disruption and innovation in responding to the COVID-19 crisis in the Fall 2020 issue of Frontiers of Health Services Management, a publication of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

28 Aug 2020

FDA grants Abbott's COVID-19 rapid antigen test emergency-use authorization

Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency-use authorization to Abbott Laboratories for a $5 rapid-response COVID-19 antigen test, called BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card, which is roughly the size of a credit card.

27 Aug 2020

Blood thinners help reduce the risk of COVID-19 deaths, study finds

Now, a new study by a team of researchers at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York has shown that blood thinners may reduce the risk of death by up to 50 percent among severely ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

27 Aug 2020

New low-cost COVID-19 test quickly delivers accurate results

A new low-cost diagnostic test for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quickly delivers accurate results without the need for sophisticated equipment, according to a study published August 27 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Teng Xu of the Vision Medicals Center for Infectious Diseases, Tieying Hou of the Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Bing Gu of the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Jianwei Wang of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, and colleagues.

27 Aug 2020

SARS discovery boots search for COVID-19 drugs

An extensive search and testing of current drugs and drug-like compounds has revealed compounds previously developed to fight SARS might also work against COVID-19.

27 Aug 2020

Mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 model helps advance the development of COVID-19 vaccines

A new COVID-19 mouse model developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill captures many of the features of human disease and has helped advance a COVID-19 vaccine candidate to clinical trial.

27 Aug 2020

Study shows furin cleavage site is crucial for SARS-CoV-2 replication

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, researchers from the United States demonstrate the pivotal role the furin cleavage site insertion in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike glycoprotein plays in viral replication and pathogenesis – highlighting, in turn, the need for mutation monitoring when developing therapeutics and vaccines.

27 Aug 2020

Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus particles in heart tissue

Researchers in Milan, Italy, have identified the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the heart tissue of deceased coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who had died from respiratory failure, without showing any signs of cardiac involvement.

27 Aug 2020

Study: Estrogen may reduce severity of COVID-19 symptoms in women

Why are men at greater risk than women for more severe symptoms and worse outcomes from COVID-19 regardless of age?

27 Aug 2020

Two viral gene targets needed in SARS-CoV-2 detection by PCR, say researchers

Researchers at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, and collaborators have warned against only targeting one viral gene when carrying out reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

27 Aug 2020

First lethal mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 developed

Army scientists have developed the first lethal mouse model of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, using mice that were genetically engineered to express the human ACE2 gene--a key mechanism by which the virus enters human cells.

27 Aug 2020

NIAID awards $17 million to establish the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, one of the National Institutes of Health, today announced that it has awarded 11 grants with a total first-year value of approximately $17 million to establish the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

27 Aug 2020

Pence praises Trump’s ‘seamless’ COVID response, leaves out his state feuds

Vice President Mike Pence portrayed his boss, President Donald Trump, as a leader who has reached out across the aisle to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

27 Aug 2020

Scientists say insect repellent kills the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on surfaces

Now, a team of scientists at Britain's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) has shared preliminary findings of their research, showing that a product in insect repellent can kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

27 Aug 2020

Voters' education accounts for largest divide among respondents, show poll results

Incumbent Edward Markey has opened up a double-digit lead over challenger U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III one week before the Democratic primary in the race for U.S. Senate, according to a new poll of Massachusetts voters released today.

27 Aug 2020

Coronavirus can spread through drain pipes in bathrooms, study suggests

Now, a new study reveals that the virus may spread via aerosols through drain pipes in bathrooms, after scientists examined an abandoned apartment in Guangzhou, China. The findings add to the body of evidence suggesting the virus is transmissible via aerosols.

27 Aug 2020

UKRI funding could initiate clinical trial for Cambridge-developed DNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2

A Cambridge-developed DNA vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 could begin clinical trials in the UK in late autumn or early next year, thanks to a £1.9 million award from the UK government.

27 Aug 2020

Obesity ups COVID-19 death risk by 48 percent

Now, a new study by researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC), the World Bank, and Saudi Health Council, shows that obesity increases the risk of dying from COVID-19 by as much as 48 percent, hinting that a vaccine against the virus could be less effective in obese people.

26 Aug 2020

Novel cell-based therapy holds promise for obesity and diabetes

Obesity is the main cause of type 2 diabetes and related chronic illnesses that together will kill more people around the globe this year than the Covid-19 coronavirus.

26 Aug 2020