Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Latest Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Is mild COVID-19 in children due to stronger antiviral innate immunity in the upper airway?

A new preprint on the medRxiv* server adds fuel to this train of thought, showing that the required cell program is already active in children – namely, a higher expression of specific pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which mediate an interferon (IFN) response.

30 Jun 2021

Assessing the safety of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (CoronaVac) in healthy children and adolescents

New clinical trial data, recently published in The Lancet’s Infectious Diseases, presents an initial report on the effect of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, CoronaVac, on children and adolescents from ages 3-17 in a double-blind, randomized setting.

30 Jun 2021

Improving Yield and Quality of SARS-CoV-2 Isolated Nucleic Acid

Porvair Sciences has further expanded its range of high-performance microplate products for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid purification.

From Porvair Sciences Limited 30 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 inhibited by pyrimidine biosynthesis inhibitors in conjunction with nucleoside analogs

In an effort to hasten the research on identifying antiviral drugs for SARS-CoV-2 infection, researchers from the U.S. and Switzerland performed extensive drug screening for antiviral activity using live virus infection in human respiratory cells. As a result, they identified a set of possible drug candidates that could potentially be tested in clinical trials.

30 Jun 2021

New method to transport RNA-based drugs to subpopulation of immune cells

Tel Aviv University's groundbreaking technology may revolutionize the treatment of cancer and a wide range of diseases and medical conditions. In the framework of this study, the researchers were able to create a new method of transporting RNA-based drugs to a subpopulation of immune cells involved in the inflammation process, and target the disease-inflamed cell without causing damage to other cells.

30 Jun 2021

NIH-funded adjuvant improves the efficacy India's COVID-19 vaccine

An adjuvant developed with funding from the National Institutes of Health has contributed to the success of the highly efficacious COVAXIN COVID-19 vaccine, which roughly 25 million people have received to date in India and elsewhere.

30 Jun 2021

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections fewer among fully vaccinated

A team of researchers at Indiana University reports genomic evidence of breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated individuals. The study, posted to the pre-print server medRxiv*, suggests that fully vaccinated individuals, including those with asymptomatic infections, are less likely to serve as a source of infection for others.

30 Jun 2021

Alpha (B.1.1.7) SARS-CoV-2 variant associated with more severe disease in hospitalized women

Researchers in the UK have conducted a study showing that infection with the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) lineage of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be associated with an increased risk of death or intensive care unit (ITU) admission among women, compared with non-B.1.1.7 infection.

29 Jun 2021

Widespread SARS-CoV-2 mutation escapes vaccine- and infection-induced CD8 T-cell responses

Researchers in the UK have warned that a widespread mutation that has arisen in the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) appears to escape recognition by CD8 T-cell responses in both convalescent patients and recipients of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.

29 Jun 2021

Researchers show how Covid-19 changes the size and stiffness of red and white blood cells

Using real-time deformability cytometry, researchers at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin in Erlangen were able to show for the first time: Covid-19 significantly changes the size and stiffness of red and white blood cells - sometimes over months.

29 Jun 2021

Innovative corona test offers great potential for systematic testing

A new corona test developed at the University Hospital Bonn can analyze a large number of swabs simultaneously using sequencing technology and has a similarly high sensitivity as the common qPCR test.

29 Jun 2021

More evidence that mixing COVID-19 vaccines may help elicit a robust immune response

Eight volunteers who received a complete dose or a single dose of an mRNA vaccine or the ChAdOx1 vaccine after a dose of a trial gorilla adenovirus vaccine showed a significantly high level of antibodies and T cell response against SARS-CoV-2.

29 Jun 2021

Can COVID-19 waves be predicted using early warning signal indicators?

Researchers combined daily case data and a sequential analysis using the critical slowing down model to predict coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) waves almost two weeks before their onset.

29 Jun 2021

Study offers more evidence that face masks can prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission

A new study released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server suggests that the use of face masks, of various designs, successfully prevents SARS-CoV-2 transmission. This supports the continued implementation of mask policies in public places until herd immunity is achieved in the region involved.

29 Jun 2021

How is Taiwan tackling its third wave of COVID-19?

The international community has been struggling to predict and contain successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 pathogen. The degree of success has varied between countries. In Taiwan, the use of contact tracing, with testing and isolation of confirmed cases, promises to end the ongoing third wave of the illness within two months. The strategy employed is described in a new preprint available on the medRxiv* server.

29 Jun 2021

The technology behind face masks that can diagnose COVID-19

Researchers have recently incorporated technology into standard face masks to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2.

29 Jun 2021

How does dexamethasone therapy work in severe COVID-19?

The possible mechanisms that result in dexamethasone being an effective drug against severe SARS-CoV-2 infection are investigated in a new study. The paper’s authors advance the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 infection induces cell-specific insensitivity to glucocorticoids, possibly as an unintentional result of the viral replication cycle.

29 Jun 2021

Cationic peptides inhibit SARS-CoV-2 cell entry

In a paper recently published in Pathogens, in silico affinity studies by researchers at the University of Illinois, USA, reveal several potential peptide binding sites required for HS-spike protein and ACE2-spike protein bond formation, and synthesis of suitable peptide inhibitors reveals impaired SARS-CoV-2 cell entry.

29 Jun 2021

Nanotechnology and the fight against COVID-19

In a review paper published in the open-access MDPI journal Viruses, a team of researchers explored the potential of nanotechnology to alleviate the current and future coronavirus burden. The team focused on its potential role in the detection, diagnosis, protection, and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

29 Jun 2021