Nasopharyngeal News and Research

RSS

Siemens Healthineers launches rapid antigen test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

As society continues to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a critical public health need to get ahead of the spread with a fast and simple testing for all.

From Siemens Healthineers 20 Oct 2020

Oral antiseptics and mouthwashes may have the ability to neutralize human coronavirus

Certain oral antiseptics and mouthwashes may have the ability to inactivate human coronaviruses, according to a Penn State College of Medicine research study.

19 Oct 2020

First confirmed US case of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection

Of the cases of reinfections worldwide, a particular case has been reported by scientists at the Nevada Institute of Personalized Medicine, University of Nevada. A 25-year-old man from Washoe County in the United States, the hardest-hit country globally, has more than 7.85 million cases.

14 Oct 2020

Salivary samples highly effective in detecting SARS-CoV-2

A team of scientists from the United States has found that oral salivary samples are less sensitive than nasal-oropharyngeal swabs for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA

13 Oct 2020

Mothers transmit passive protection against SARS-CoV-2 to their newborns

A recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020 shows that newborns may be protected from acquiring severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection by antibodies in the mother’s blood that travels through the placenta.

13 Oct 2020

A new therapeutic approach for Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumors

A research team at LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) discovered that exosomes derived from Vδ2-T cells (Vδ2-T-Exos) can effectively control Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumours and induce T-cell anti-tumour immunity.

12 Oct 2020

Technological breakthrough may increase COVID-19 testing, reduce wait time and costs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for scientists at UCLA Health to begin using a new method of COVID-19 detection using sequencing technology called SwabSeq.

8 Oct 2020

Easier-to-use coronavirus saliva tests start to catch on

As the coronavirus pandemic broke out across the country, health care providers and scientists relied on the standard method for detecting respiratory viruses: sticking a long swab deep into the nose to get a sample. The obstacles to implementing such testing on a mass scale quickly became clear.

6 Oct 2020

Wyss Institute’s technologies licensed to Agile Biodetection to aid COVID-19 diagnostic efforts

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University announced today that its nasopharyngeal swab and toehold switch technologies have been licensed to Alabama-based Agile Biodetection, which will use them to develop solutions for unmet diagnostic needs in the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in environmental or clinical settings.

5 Oct 2020

Sebum changes in COVID-19 patients, for future testing and prognosis

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 shows that sebum lipids change in COVID-19. This could help develop a cheap and straightforward method of non-invasive diagnosis.

5 Oct 2020

Researchers develop AI algorithm to evaluate chest X-rays for COVID-19 diagnosis

A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota recently developed and validated an artificial intelligence algorithm that can evaluate chest X-rays to diagnose possible cases of COVID-19.

1 Oct 2020

23 SARS-CoV-2 strains circulating in the Philippines

In a new study published on the medRxiv* preprint server, scientists reported coding of complete genome sequences of 23 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains in the Philippines.

1 Oct 2020

Saliva tests could be an effective approach for detecting asymptomatic COVID-19

Testing self-collected saliva samples could offer an easy and effective mass testing approach for detecting asymptomatic COVID-19.

28 Sep 2020

Human recombinant soluble ACE2 successfully used in a patient with severe COVID-19

A multinational research group recently published a paper in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine which describes the first patient with a severe form of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that was successfully treated with human recombinant soluble ACE2.

27 Sep 2020

Yale designates three independent laboratories to perform SalivaDirect COVID-19 test

Yale has designated three independent laboratories to perform the university-developed SalivaDirectTM COVID-19 test.

26 Sep 2020

3D-printed alternative performs as well as the standard nasal swabs for COVID-19 testing

As COVID-19 quickly spread worldwide this spring, shortages of supplies, including the nasopharyngeal (nasal) swabs used to collect viral samples, limited diagnostic testing.

25 Sep 2020

Investigators assess the experience of using test-based protocol in infected health care workers

One of the of the most important questions in managing a hospital's response to the COVID-19 pandemic is determining when healthcare workers infected with COVID-19 can return to the job.

25 Sep 2020

Research says in SARS-CoV-2 canine infection, transmission unlikely

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 shows that pet dogs have been falling sick and dying of a mysterious respiratory infection, often showing the presence of anti- severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies, even though in many cases they do not test positive for COVID-19.

24 Sep 2020

Fourth Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating COVID-19 vaccine begins in the U.S.

A fourth Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating an investigational vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has begun enrolling adult volunteers.

23 Sep 2020

No discernable difference in SARS-CoV-2 viral loads of young children versus older children and adults

Sharline Madera et al. , in a recent medRxiv* preprint paper, show a detailed investigation of viral nucleic acid among young children and adults, involving over 5,000 cases confirmed by RT-PCR (Reverse Transcriptase – Polymerase Chain Reaction) assay.