Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

Determination of vaccine-elicited SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in breastmilk

A new study has analyzed the levels of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies elicited by the novel COVID-19 vaccines in breastmilk.

30 Mar 2021

More people now willing to get vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, study finds

The study, which appeared on the pre-print server medRxiv, aimed to examine the general public's willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines and their safety concerns.

30 Mar 2021

Scientists develop new method to estimate prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

In the study, which appeared on the pre-print server medRxiv*, the team also modeled the pandemic phases with exponential growth and decay. The model improves upon maximum likelihood estimates by conditioning on more data.

30 Mar 2021

Nanoparticles elicit neutralizing antibodies to diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants

Spike-protein-based nanoparticle vaccine candidates were retained longer in follicular dendritic cells and showed higher germinal center reactions in lymph node follicles compared to soluble spike protein vaccine.

30 Mar 2021

Study shows how innate valence is encoded

Since the beginning of the pandemic, a loss of smell has emerged as one of the telltale signs of COVID-19. Though most people regain their sense of smell within a matter of weeks, others can find that familiar odors become distorted.

30 Mar 2021

NIST develops “encounter metrics” to slow down or prevent future pandemics

When you bump into someone in the workplace or at your local coffee shop, you might call that an "encounter." That's the scientific term for it, too.

30 Mar 2021

Using ACE2 structure to predict SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility in animals

Researchers based at the Rice University, Texas, USA, have now demonstrated a novel method of predicting a species' susceptibility to contracting COVID-19, based on the animal's structure of ACE2.

30 Mar 2021

New diagnostic test can detect COVID-19 virus even when it mutates

A team of scientists led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has developed a diagnostic test that can detect the virus that causes COVID-19 even after it has gone through mutations.

30 Mar 2021

Arginine methylation important in SARS-CoV-2 viral replication

Researchers show that methylation of arginine in the virus nucleocapsid protein controls the protein's functions and plays a role in the life cycle of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

29 Mar 2021

Emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants and co-mutations in India

The study "Genomic surveillance and phylodynamic analyses reveal the emergence of a novel mutation and co-mutation patterns within SARS-CoV2 variants prevalent in India" is available as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review.

29 Mar 2021

FDA-approved cancer drug blunts SARS-CoV-2 protein's detrimental effects

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers have identified the most toxic proteins made by SARS-COV-2-;the virus that causes COVID-19 – and then used an FDA-approved cancer drug to blunt the viral protein's detrimental effects. In their experiments in fruit flies and human cell lines, the team discovered the cell process that the virus hijacks, illuminating new potential candidate drugs that could be tested for treating severe COVID-19 disease patients.

29 Mar 2021

Varied physical activity can promote well-being and better mental health

The recommendations are clear: physical activity is good for mental health. But it also depends on how varied it is. That's what a new study by researchers at the University of Basel shows, pointing to one of the reasons why well-being suffers during the pandemic.

29 Mar 2021

Health care issues during COVID-19 may worsen pregnancy, chronic disease-related inequities

Pregnancy complications affect up to one in three pregnancies and are increasingly linked to future chronic disease.

29 Mar 2021

UVA-led researchers urge rapid action to better prepare for the next pandemic

An international team of researchers led by a University of Virginia School of Medicine professor is warning that scientists must better prepare for the next pandemic - and has developed a plan to do just that.

29 Mar 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine causes steep drop in COVID-19 among healthcare workers

A team of scientists from Spain has recently evaluated the efficacy of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2). Their findings reveal that a 2-dose regimen of BNT162b2 vaccine is capable of providing almost 100% protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers.

29 Mar 2021

Corticosteroid therapy in pregnant women with COVID-19

A new study describes the outcome of corticosteroid use in pregnancy.

29 Mar 2021

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted birth statistics in the U.S.?

A new study examines national-level changes in fertility, preterm birth and other obstetric outcomes, in the U.S., over the period of the pandemic throughout 2020.

29 Mar 2021

Rare genetic variant may explain severe COVID-19 in young healthy male patients

A recent study describes the association of rare alleles in a specific gene with severe COVID-19 in young male patients.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers develop new rapid and highly sensitive SAR-CoV-2 RNA detection test

In an alternative approach to the PCR-based methods, CRISPR-Cas proteins have been employed by a large team of researchers to identify the SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA in patient samples with PCR-derived cycle threshold (Ct) values up to 22 - corresponding to ~1600 copies/µl in the assay.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers examine circRNAs encoded by MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2

New research published in Briefings in Bioinformaticsm has identified thousands of circRNAs in Betacoronaviruses, including MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2, from the RNA-sequencing data of viral infections. These coronaviruses have a similar genomic structure with a diverse circRNA coding ability. Researchers have also systematically characterized circRNAs in coronaviruses, with regard to their size, sequence feature, expressions, genome, location preference, and functions. This opens the door to further explore and understand the mode of action of individual circRNAs in coronaviruses.

29 Mar 2021