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COVID-19 now likely leading cause of death among 25-44's in USA

A team of researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School, aimed to determine changes in all-cause mortality or excess deaths among adults between 25 and 44 years old in the United States. Further, they also want to identify the years of lost life (YLL) among this age group.

26 Oct 2020

Population-based COVID-19 prevalence surveys in Europe and Americas show risk of bias

A team of researchers from the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul performed a systematic review to assess these population-based COVID-19 prevalence surveys' reliability and biases qualitatively. Their study is published on the preprint server medRxiv.

26 Oct 2020

Researchers present COVID RdRp structure at 2.5A

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint publication, Christopher J. Russo et al. report the structure of favipiravir ribonucleoside triphosphate (favipiravir-RTP) in complex with the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) bound to a template: primer RNA duplex. They determine the structure by electron cryomicroscopy (cryoEM) to a resolution of 2.5 Å.

26 Oct 2020

NRP-1 receptor potentiates SARS-CoV-2 infectivity

The COVID-19 pandemic is still actively spreading in many parts of the world, causing redoubled efforts to develop antivirals and vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A recent study explores the role of a second type of cell surface receptor, called neuropilin, in the virus's entry into the host cell and its subsequent replication.

26 Oct 2020

New inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 RNA translation

As the search for effective severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) inhibitors continues, a recent study by Yale University School of Medicine researchers published on the preprint server bioRxiv in October 2020 reports the inhibitory effect of the drug merofloxacin on frameshifting during SARS-CoV-2 replication.

26 Oct 2020

Startling high SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Veracruz, Mexico

A surprising new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020 reports a very high seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the city of Vera Cruz, Mexico. They are among the highest to be reported anywhere in the world.

25 Oct 2020

Graphene-enhanced PPE for COVID-19

To tackle this need, nanotechnology researchers from Italy have suggested using bidimensional graphene to improve existing PPE kits. Their research is published on the preprint server medRxiv.

25 Oct 2020

Tocilizumab fails to affect COVID-19 disease outcomes in Boston trial

Researchers from the various Massachusetts hospitals performed the Boston Area COVID-19 Consortium (BACC) Bay Tocilizumab Trial using tocilizumab administered early in the disease course to determine if early IL-6 receptor blockade limits progression of COVID-19 to hypoxemic respiratory failure or death. Their work is published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.

25 Oct 2020

Neuropilin-1: A new route of SARS-CoV-2 entry

A new study published in the reputed journal Science in October 2020 reports the potential therapeutic value of the second type of host transmembrane receptor, called neuropilins, which attach to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and may enhance its infectivity.

25 Oct 2020

Air pollution increases SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Evidence from China indicates that higher air pollution could lead to increased transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), leading to more COVID-19 cases.

25 Oct 2020

COVID-19 incubation period potentially much longer than previously thought

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have provided an updated estimate of the incubation period for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

25 Oct 2020

Universal testing in schools may be needed to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada have warned that within the school setting, even small differences in individuals' contribution, their environment, and their activities to the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) result in highly variable sizes of transmission clusters.

25 Oct 2020

Antenatal steroids improve preterm newborn survival in low-resource settings, finds study

The results of a new clinical trial, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that dexamethasone- a glucocorticoid used to treat many conditions, including rheumatic problems and severe COVID-19- can boost survival of premature babies when given to pregnant women at risk of preterm birth in low-resource settings.

23 Oct 2020

Molecular processes in kidney cells may increase diabetics' vulnerability to COVID-19 infection

People with diabetes -- especially the 20 to 40 percent with diabetic kidney disease -- are among the most at risk for serious complications and death from COVID-19.

23 Oct 2020

COVID-19 pandemic has escalated into a ‘syndemic’ for chronic disease patients

The COVID-19 pandemic has escalated into a ‘syndemic’ for people with chronic illnesses, a new UNSW study analysing data from low and middle-income countries shows.

23 Oct 2020

Researchers propose using complexity science to respond better to the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally disrupted U.S. healthcare organizations. Hospitals have faced drug and device shortages and created new ICUs overnight. Care plans have evolved out of necessity, and hospitals' carefully constructed patient flow systems were up-ended.

23 Oct 2020

HU laboratories develop novel treatment methods and technology to fight against COVID-19

A couple of days before October, the world hit another bleak milestone as the number of deaths due to COVID-19 reached one million.

23 Oct 2020

Researchers develop lab-grown lung model to study SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of Duke University researchers has developed a lab-grown living lung model that mimics the tiny air sacs of the lungs where coronavirus infection and serious lung damage take place.

23 Oct 2020

Vitamin C and COVID-19: A Review

In a recent review published in Preprints*, Patrick Holford et al. address vitamin C's role as adjunctive therapy for respiratory infection, sepsis, and COVID-19.

23 Oct 2020

Seropositivity to SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic blood donors in New York

New York was the hardest-hit U.S. state during the peak of the outbreak in the country. Now, a team of researchers from the New York Blood Center and Serimmune, an immune intelligence company, aimed to determine the prevalence of seropositive people for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, among healthy blood donors.

23 Oct 2020