Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Scientists describe new mechanism of cellular locomotion

Whilst the whole world is in lockdown during the current Corona crisis, certain cells within our bodies are still travelling long-distance: while this happens when you develop pneumonia, any ordinary cut on your finger will also trigger white blood cells--aka leukocytes--to instantly move out of your blood vessels into the site of inflammation.

14 May 2020

Machine learning can be used to track public interest in COVID-19 topics on popular internet sites

Machine learning can be used to track surges in interest in health topics on popular online comment boards, like Reddit, according to a new study conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Medicine).

14 May 2020

Comparison of flu deaths with COVID-19 deaths

A new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine in May 2020 reports that false comparisons between the count of COVID-19 deaths as reported by various hospitals in the US, and the estimated flu-related deaths, causes significant confusion and may impair the ability to design public health policies.

14 May 2020

Lessons for COVID-19 from 2009 H1N1

The world has experienced many outbreaks of viral diseases. Over the past two decades, we have also seen the emergence of zoonotic human respiratory coronaviruses with pandemic potential.

13 May 2020

Low albumin levels could predict poor outcome in COVID-19

A Spanish study has revealed that COVID-19 patients who have a low level of albumin have a poorer outcome compared to those with normal levels of blood albumin. The study titled, “Low albumin levels are associated with poorer outcomes in a case series of COVID-19 patients in Spain: a retrospective cohort study,” was released prior to peer-review on the open-access preprint server site Medrxiv*.

13 May 2020

Study shows 19 out of 25 COVID-19 patients improved with convalescent plasma treatment

The country's first convalescent plasma transfusion trial results have been published and show 19 out of 25 patients improved with the treatment, and 11 were discharged from the hospital.

13 May 2020

Leave packages unopened and untouched for 72 hours to prevent the spread of COVID-19

Researchers have advised that people need to leave their parcels and packages unopened and untouched for 72 hours to help stop the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 disease. The virus, as is evident from the raging pandemic across the world, is highly infectious and could survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours.

13 May 2020

Does HIV infection increase the severity of COVID-19?

A new study by researchers at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 reports that being infected with HIV at the time of acquiring COVID-19 does not significantly increase the severity of illness or the risk of complications.

13 May 2020

Should school closures related to COVID-19 be continued long-term?

Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, many countries have introduced restrictive measures to curb the circulation and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

13 May 2020

WPI receives NSF Grant to study how coronavirus pandemic impacts student learning

Worcester Polytechnic Institute researchers with expertise in fields ranging from psychology to architectural engineering will use a $199,999 grant from the National Science Foundation to study how the novel coronavirus global pandemic is affecting stress in college students and their ability to learn in remote settings.

13 May 2020

Research explores how COVID-19 is spreading and mutating in the environment

A multi-disciplinary team of experts in virology and computer modeling has quickly assembled at San Diego State University to learn more about how the new coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads in the environment and how its trajectory can be better predicted.

13 May 2020

Study shows why older individuals are vulnerable to COVID-19

A group of tiny RNA that should attack the virus causing COVID-19 when it tries to infect the body are diminished with age and chronic health problems, a decrease that likely helps explain why older individuals and those with preexisting medical conditions are vulnerable populations, investigators report.

13 May 2020

Hospital workers complain of minimal disclosure after COVID exposures

Dinah Jimenez assumed a world-class hospital would be better prepared than a chowder house to inform workers when they had been exposed to a deadly virus.

13 May 2020

Racial status and the pandemic: A combustible mixture

In early March, Madalynn Rucker, then 69, agonized over whether to close her Sacramento consultancy office.

13 May 2020

Researchers assess potential impact of COVID-19 on people with psychosis

Researchers at Orygen and La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia have completed a rapid review of contemporary epidemic and pandemic research to assess the potential impact of COVID-19 on people with psychosis.

13 May 2020

New study investigates the effect of asymptomatic COVID-19 transmission

COVID-19's rapid spread throughout the world has been fueled in part by the virus' ability to be transmitted by people who are not showing symptoms of infection.

13 May 2020

Innovative approach turns 'cold' tumors 'hot' to improve cancer immunotherapy

Scientists from the Tumor Immunotherapy and Microenvironment research group led by Dr Bassam Janji at the Luxembourg Institute of Health Department of Oncology, and the Swedish pharma company Sprint Bioscience published the results of an innovative approach that turns “cold” tumors “hot”. “Cold”, immune-desert tumors are classically immunotherapy-resistant.

13 May 2020