Severe Acute Respiratory News and Research

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When a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine arrives, who should be vaccinated first?

This new study by the researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, Tacoma and published on the preprint server medRxiv in August 2020 describes one viewpoint concerning the optimized allocation of the vaccine, showing that under different efficacy scenarios, either the old or the young may be the best candidates for initial vaccination.

18 Aug 2020

Study shows coronavirus thrives in dry air with low humidity

A new study by researchers from the University of Sydney and the Fudan University School of Public Health in Shanghai suggests that low humidity increases the risk of spreading the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

18 Aug 2020

Majority of recovered COVID-19 patients have low neutralizing antibody titers

Now, a new study by researchers at New York University and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports on the type and intensity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in recovered COVID-19 patients and the implications of these findings.

18 Aug 2020

Pigs appear to be immune to SARS-CoV-2

Now, a team of researchers at Kansas State University aimed to determine if pigs are potential carriers of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

18 Aug 2020

Number of children contracting SARS-CoV-2 steadily increasing, CDC says

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidance revealing that the number and infection rate of COVID-19 cases among children have steadily increased between March and July, which may worsen as schools start to re-open.

18 Aug 2020

Mild COVID-19 cases can trigger robust memory T cell responses

Mild cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can trigger robust memory T cell responses, even in the absence of detectable virus-specific antibody responses, researchers report August 14 in the journal Cell.

17 Aug 2020

Pre-COVID-19 coronavirus immunity does not protect against SARS-CoV-2

A recent study by researchers in France that's currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server claims that having previous immunity against common coronaviruses (alpha and beta) cannot protect against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

17 Aug 2020

Fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 in big cats at the Bronx Zoo

Researchers studying tigers and lions at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Bronx Zoo in New York City have studied the first known cases in the United States of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) being naturally transmitted from humans to animals.

17 Aug 2020

SARS-CoV-2 poses significant threat to many marine mammal species

A new study conducted by researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, has found that many species of marine mammal are highly vulnerable to infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

17 Aug 2020

Startling report suggests COVID-19 may have first appeared in 2012

Now, a report on the website Independent Science News by researchers Jonathan Latham, and Allison Wilson suggests that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), may not have originated at a Wuhan wet market in 2019, but 1,000 miles away in 2012, in a Chinese mineshaft where workers fell ill with a mysterious, pneumonia-like illness after being exposed to bats.

17 Aug 2020

Can the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 be spread through frozen food?

It is well-known that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), can spread through respiratory droplets when people sneeze, cough, or talk. Recent evidence has also shown that the virus can hang in the air for hours, hinting at the possibility of airborne transmission.

17 Aug 2020

Scientists claim signs of lasting SARS-CoV-2 immunity

Questions have been raised by many health experts on whether being infected with SARS-CoV-2 brings lasting immunity. Now, scientists have uncovered signs of strong and lasting immunity in people who even had a mild illness of COVID-19.

17 Aug 2020

Coronacept - A trap-and-destroy molecule against SARS-CoV-2

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports a novel engineered molecule based on human and other mammalian orthologues of ACE2 fused with the Fc part of the antibody. This molecule interacts more tightly with the viral receptor-binding domain (RBD) to constitute a powerful immunoadhesin that targets the virus for destruction.

17 Aug 2020

Targeting SARS-CoV-2 with off-the-shelf CAR-NK cells

The current COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread and cause disease and death in many countries even today. At present, there is no effective treatment. A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 reports the potential of a new class of drugs called CAR NK cells, which could be used off-the-shelf to treat this disease.

17 Aug 2020

Potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 identified

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 reports the discovery of two inhibitors of the helicase enzyme, which is essential for viral replication and the most highly conserved non-structural coronavirus (CoV) protein.

16 Aug 2020

ARDS may not be the primary lung iInjury in COVID-19

A new Italian study published on the preprint server medRxiv in August 2020 shows that this may not be an adequate explanation, since ARDS is a nonspecific diagnosis. Instead, they say, antemortem lung biopsy shows a “Covid pattern” of acute lung injury, which could guide the application of therapeutics.

16 Aug 2020

Scientists reveal most likely order of COVID-19 symptoms

Now, a team of researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) has revealed the order of symptoms often experienced by those who infected with SARS-CoV-2. Knowing the order of the symptoms may help the patients seek medical help immediately. The research is published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

16 Aug 2020

U.S. scientists to create coronavirus strain for human challenge trials

Now, a team of scientists in the United States plans to create a coronavirus strain that can be used for human challenge trials, a controversial type of study wherein health volunteers would be vaccinated and intentionally infected with the virus.

16 Aug 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike pocket is a putative target for antiviral design

In a methodologically rigorous study, researchers from the University of Oxford have recently shown how the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike glycoprotein harbors a lipid-binding pocket which modulates the stability of the prefusion trimer and provides conformational shielding from antibodies. Their findings are currently freely available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

16 Aug 2020