Coronavirus News and Research

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New study raises red flags about strategy to block cancer drug resistance

Sooner or later, most cancer patients develop resistance to the very chemotherapy drugs designed to kill their cancer, forcing oncologists to seek alternatives.

17 Apr 2020

Delayed clearance of SARS-CoV2 may explain why men fare worse than women

Researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine may have solved a mystery surrounding the novel coronavirus pandemic: Why men infected by the virus generally show more severe symptoms and are more likely than women to die from COVID-19.

17 Apr 2020

A promising antiviral drug to fight COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 patients in a clinical trial at Houston Methodist Hospital are responding quickly to the antiviral drug Remdesivir. The trial's criteria allows for the treatment of patients early in their clinical course and, in some cases, at times where they might have otherwise been intubated.

17 Apr 2020

NYC nurse says he’s not scared: ‘I am only doing my job’ for COVID-19 patients

Before the deadly coronavirus hit New York, Francisco Díaz's job as a gerontological nurse practitioner was educating seniors on managing their diabetes. Now, he's at the heart of the pandemic, working in a New York City emergency room.

17 Apr 2020

Sense accelerates launch of new SARS-CoV-2 disposable test

Sense Biodetection Limited has today announced an accelerated programme to launch the world’s first instrument-free, point-of-care molecular diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

17 Apr 2020

Research examines impact of coronavirus pandemic on young carers

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young carers is being examined in a new research project involving the University of East Anglia.

17 Apr 2020

Researchers develop COVID-19 guide for primary care health workers

Primary care health workers now have a guide for conducting remote consultation of suspected COVID-19 patients, developed by a team of researchers from Singapore and the UK.

17 Apr 2020

Obama: GOP’s stance on preexisting conditions off-base, especially during pandemic

Endorsing his former vice president, Joe Biden, to win the White House, former President Barack Obama sought to contrast the 2020 platforms of Democrats and Republicans on a critical plank: their stance on the Affordable Care Act. It's a difference, he argued, that has assumed newfound urgency.

17 Apr 2020

‘It’s not over until it’s over’: 5 things to know about hitting the COVID-19 peak

As New York, California and other states begin to see their numbers of new COVID-19 cases level off or even slip, it might appear as if we're nearing the end of the pandemic.

17 Apr 2020

California shies away from calls to eliminate restrictions on nurse practitioners

As the demand for health care workers surges with the coronavirus case count, many states are rushing to lift restrictions on nurse practitioners, who provide much of the same care as doctors do.

17 Apr 2020

The COVID-19 bailout that’s left every hospital unhappy in its own way

In the throes of the novel coronavirus outbreak in early April, Kenneth Raske, president of the powerful Greater New York Hospital Association, took his case for needing billions in federal relief funding to another New Yorker, well placed in the White House.

17 Apr 2020

URMC launches new coronavirus study to examine immune response

The University of Rochester Medical Center is launching a new study to understand how the body's immune system responds to COVID-19, including if and when a person could be re-infected with the virus and whether some people have pre-existing immunity.

17 Apr 2020

Scientists predict how the novel coronavirus spreads in a typical household

A team of scientists recently carried out a study on the transmissibility of the virus in households. Simply put, they’re trying to predict how the virus spreads in a typical family: if one person gets sick, how many others get sick? How sick? How long would it take the family to recover? These are the practical questions this study tries to answer.

17 Apr 2020

Gimsilumab trial starts in first US patient with ARDS and COVID-19

The first American patient with COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been put on the drug gimsilumab at Temple University Hospital, as part of the BREATHE clinical trial. The trial, sponsored by Roivant Sciences, will evaluate the effectiveness of intravenous gimsilumab in preventing death in patients with COVID-19 and ARDS.

16 Apr 2020

Random testing key to a safe exit from COVID-19 lockdown

The coronavirus disease (COVID019) global pandemic has placed many countries and regions in lockdown. There are thousands of cases reported daily, with the global infection toll topping 2.15 million. How can nations shift from lockdown back to normal daily routines while ensuring there won’t be a second wave of viral infection?

16 Apr 2020

On and off social distancing may be needed until 2022

Lockdown and social distancing measures are in place in many countries across the world, intended to stem the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic. These measures work by reducing the risk of viral transmission in communities, reducing the burden of the healthcare system in dealing with the surge of patients, overwhelming its resources and workforce. Now, experts warn that these social distancing measures may still be needed until 2022.

16 Apr 2020

Experts explain how to decontaminate N95 masks from SARS-CoV-2

Amid the coronavirus global pandemic, the world is facing a shortage of medical supplies, especially those intended to protect health workers. With the high demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), including surgical masks and N95 masks, many people are left with no choice but to try and decontaminate this equipment for extended use. Now, a new study by experts shows how N95 masks can be adequately decontaminated for further use.

16 Apr 2020

Supercomputer helps find 64 compounds as potential inhibitors of the COVID-19 protease

A new study published in Chemrxiv in April 2020 describes the identification of 64 compounds that could potentially be inhibitors of replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is causing the current COVID-19 disease pandemic. The research was carried out using a pharmacophore model of an essential viral enzyme, mining data from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) database of conformations of approved drugs.

16 Apr 2020

Six novel coronaviruses found in bats

While the world grapples with the pandemic, which has spread to 185 countries and territories, infecting more than 2.15 million people and killing more than 143,000 people, a team of researchers at the Smithsonian's Global Health Program has found six novel coronaviruses in bats in Myanmar.

16 Apr 2020

Research shows speed of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Boston homeless shelter

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is straining healthcare resources across the globe, prompting countries to impose social distancing measures to reduce the transmission of the virus. The problem is, the virus can spread even if the infected person has no symptoms, making contact tracing and isolation measures more difficult. Now, a new study reveals the rapidity of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 transmission that occurred in a Boston homeless shelter.

16 Apr 2020