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5 reasons to wear a mask even after you’re vaccinated

As an emergency physician, Dr. Eugenia South was in the first group of people to receive a covid vaccine. She received her second dose last week — even before President-elect Joe Biden.

15 Jan 2021

New DNA test quickly identifies secondary infections in COVID-19 patients

Researchers have developed a DNA test to quickly identify secondary infections in COVID-19 patients, who have double the risk of developing pneumonia while on ventilation than non-COVID-19 patients.

15 Jan 2021

Metformin drug decreases mortality rate in COVID-19 patients with type 2 diabetes

Use of the diabetes drug metformin -- before a diagnosis of COVID-19 -- is associated with a threefold decrease in mortality in COVID-19 patients with Type 2 diabetes, according to a racially diverse study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

15 Jan 2021

Study may lead to novel synthetic drugs to combat bacterial infections

Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and EMBL Hamburg have discovered remarkable molecular properties of an antimicrobial peptide from the skin of the Australian toadlet. The discovery could inspire the development of novel synthetic drugs to combat bacterial infections.

15 Jan 2021

Study reveals connection between oral sex and oropharyngeal cancer

A wide breadth of behaviors surrounding oral sex may affect the risk of oral HPV infection and of a virus-associated head and neck cancer that can be spread through this route, a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center suggests.

15 Jan 2021

Public education messaging can slow the spread of COVID-19

A novel new study suggests that the behavior public officials are now mandating or recommending unequivocally to slow the spread of surging COVID-19--wearing a face covering--should come with a caveat. If not accompanied by proper public education, the practice could lead to more infections.

15 Jan 2021

New method uses artificial intelligence to map intestinal bacteria using feces

The intestines and their bacteria are sometimes called our ’second brain’, but studying these bacteria in their natural environment is difficult. Now researchers from the University of Copenhagen have developed a method that uses artificial intelligence to map intestinal bacteria using feces.

15 Jan 2021

Males are more likely to test positive for COVID-19, indicates study

Males are more likely to test positive for COVID-19, more likely to have complications and more likely to die from the virus than females, independent of age, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Farhaan Vahidy of Houston Methodist Research Institute, US, and colleagues.

15 Jan 2021

Lab study reveals effective treatment for COVID-19

A new potential therapy for COVID-19 developed by researchers at Rush University Medical Center has shown success in preventing the disease's symptoms in mice.

14 Jan 2021

Phylogenetic analyses shows SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 originated in the UK

It was also classified as a "Variant of Concern" (VOC B.1.1.7) in December 2020. First discovered in Kent, United Kingdom, in September 2020, this new variant has since been found in more than 29 countries across the globe, including the USA.

14 Jan 2021

Excess COVID-19 deaths in overwhelmed Israeli hospitals

Researchers in Israel have conducted a study showing that increased hospital load due to rising coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases resulted in higher COVID-19-related mortality, despite hospitals not exceeding their defined threshold for meeting patients' treatment needs.

14 Jan 2021

COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacts eating behaviors

Researchers in Germany and Belgium have conducted a survey demonstrating some of the adverse effects the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had on people’s eating habits.

14 Jan 2021

What are the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 transmission inside an aircraft cabin?

A team of US scientists has recently evaluated the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among passengers present inside an aircraft cabin. The findings suggest that the risk of airborne viral transmission is minimal during long-duration flights.

14 Jan 2021

Study suggests SARS-CoV-2 could affect aquatic wildlife

Researchers have found that oxidative stress and neurotoxicity biomarkers increased in tadpoles exposed to synthetic SARS-CoV-2 spike protein peptides.

14 Jan 2021

New tests may help reveal the transcriptome of SARS-CoV-2 and predict disease course

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to infect people in their hundreds of thousands around the world, a new study describes a panel of novel tests for genomic (g) and subgenomic (sg) mRNAs generated by SARS-CoV-2. Most assays in use at present are either qualitative or semi-quantitative, and cannot evaluate the transcription molecules in detail.

14 Jan 2021

A snake venom enzyme shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro

A new study reports the virucidal and fusion-inhibiting attributes of snake venom against the COVID-19 agent SARS-CoV-2.

14 Jan 2021

No inflammation of cerebrospinal fluid in COVID-19 patients with neurological features, study finds

Many patients with COVID-19 have shown neurological complications, leading to scientific interest in the role played by its causative pathogen, SARS-CoV-2, in brain inflammation. A new study has described the absence of neuroinflammation in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

14 Jan 2021

MVA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate shows strong immunogenicity in preclinical trials

A new study reports the preclinical testing of a recombinant MVA (rMVA) candidate vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the agent that is causing the current COVID-19 pandemic.

14 Jan 2021

Could intranasal SARS-CoV-2 vaccines be a practical alternative to intramuscular shots?

The unchecked advance of COVID-19 has made it a top public health priority to produce a vaccine capable of inducing a safe and powerful protective response against its causative pathogen: SARS-CoV-2. An encouraging new study shows the immunogenicity, safety, and protective efficacy, of a Newcastle disease virus (NDV)-based intranasal vector vaccine in animal studies.

14 Jan 2021

Researchers receive $5.1 million to expand clinical trial of drug to prevent ARDS in COVID-19 patients

Researchers evaluating whether an investigational oral drug, vadadustat, can help prevent acute respiratory distress s to expand the Phase II clinical trial at The University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonQ.

13 Jan 2021