Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Latest Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

How SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 adapted to evade innate immunity

Researchers in the United States and the UK have conducted a study showing how the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) lineage of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) adapted to suppress host innate immune responses in lung epithelial cells.

8 Jun 2021

Researchers identify a novel host-directed therapeutic approach to COVID-19

Researchers in the UK have demonstrated the potential of modulating the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a novel host-directed therapeutic approach to protecting against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

8 Jun 2021

Are women more likely to develop long COVID?

Researchers found different groups of symptoms persisting after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with fatigue and higher IL-6 levels common in women. About 75% of the patients they treated were women, indicating a link between sex hormones and immune response.

8 Jun 2021

MIT researchers develop a molecular assay to detect sub-picomolar levels of the SARS-CoV-2's receptor-binding domain

A team of researchers at MIT has developed a molecular assay to detect sub-picomolar levels of the SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) using computationally validated peptide beacons in a single-step detection through the production of a fluorescence signal.

8 Jun 2021

Cell-to-cell contact helps in spreading SARS-CoV-2, finds study

People aren’t the only ones who should be social distancing — new research shows our cells need to as well. Researchers from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, USA, used in-culture techniques to confirm SARS-CoV-2 transmission via cell-to-cell contact.

8 Jun 2021

NIH researchers find that the SARS-CoV-2 Nsp15’s uridine cleavage can evade the immune response

Research conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health in the USA shows that Nsp15 targets uridines (U). Following detection of U, Nsp15 can then further cleave a broad spectrum of RNA substrates.

8 Jun 2021

What lessons have we learned over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic?

One of the pressing questions scientists are currently trying to answer is whether the current vaccines will remain effective against the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. A new piece of research has been published in the journal Biomedicines, which discusses the knowledge we have gained thus far and the questions that researchers should address in future work.

8 Jun 2021

What is the role of monoclonal antibody therapy in treating COVID-19?

A new study has been published in the journal Vaccines that deals with the present state of research on using mAbs for the treatment of the COVID-19 disease. Many clinical trials are being conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of several newly designed mAbs. Some of the mAbs are directed towards immune system responses, i.e., non-SARS-CoV-2 specific mAbs, while others are devised to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 protein structure, i.e., SARS-CoV-2 specific mAbs.

8 Jun 2021

With roots in civil rights, Community health centers push for equity in the pandemic

In the 1960s, health care across the Mississippi Delta was sparse and much of it was segregated. Some hospitals were dedicated to Black patients, but they often struggled to stay afloat.

8 Jun 2021

Boeing tested air purifiers like those widely used in schools. It decided not to use them in planes.

Aerospace giant Boeing tested two kinds of ionization technologies — like those widely adopted in schools hoping to combat covid — to determine how well each killed germs on surfaces and decided that neither was effective enough to install on its commercial planes.

8 Jun 2021

Could the intranasal route be an alternate avenue of COVID-19 vaccination?

A new study has been published in the journal Vaccines that summarizes the history of vaccines, reviews the current progress in COVID-19 vaccine technology, and discusses the status of intranasal COVID-19 vaccines as a potential pathway to immunization.

8 Jun 2021

Researchers review environmental risk assessments for recombinant COVID-19 viral vector vaccines

In a recent review, published in the journal Vaccines, researchers in Belgium look at the recombinant viral vector-vaccine candidates that are primarily against SARS-CoV-2 still in development and discuss their features from an environmental risk point of view.

8 Jun 2021

Mass vaccination the only way to tackle emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers from Poland recently analyzed key information concerning SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as their infectivity, mutations, severity, and immune susceptibility. Their work is published in the open-access journal Pathogens.

8 Jun 2021

Skin disorders on the rise during COVID‐19 pandemic due to infection and PPE use

An increase in personal protective equipment (PPE) use and hygiene measures such as the use of hand sanitizers, hand washing, and mask usage during this pandemic have increased the frequency of dermatological diseases.

8 Jun 2021

Nanozymes to the rescue - potential role in fighting COVID-19

Over the last few decades, researchers have developed artificial enzymes for many applications. Recently, they deployed nanomaterial-based enzyme mimetics or nanozymes in diagnosis and therapeutics. Nanozymes find applications in various biomedical applications, including antiviral agents and cancer therapy.

8 Jun 2021

Immunomodulatory therapies for nephrological autoimmune diseases may help treat severe COVID-19

Various viruses and bacteria have long been known to cause autoimmune diseases where there is such a predisposition. This phenomenon also seems to play a major role in SARS-CoV-2, especially in severe courses.

8 Jun 2021

No point vaccinating those who’ve had COVID-19: Cleveland Clinic study suggests

The study findings reveal that individuals with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection do not get additional benefits from vaccination, indicating that COVID-19 vaccines should be prioritized to individuals without prior infection. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

8 Jun 2021

NIH researchers identify novel small molecule inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 variants

A team of scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, has recently identified six novel small molecule inhibitors of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

8 Jun 2021

Novel COVID-19 vaccine is safe, generates immune response in healthy adults

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt and end lives around the world, and public health officials worldwide have recognized vaccines as the critical tools required for controlling the COVID-19 death toll and achieving a return to normal life.

8 Jun 2021

ACE2 functions as a gateway for COVID-19 virus

Normally, the ACE2 enzyme helps regulate our blood pressure. The enzyme sits on the surface of cells, including cells in the lungs, but in connection with COVID-19 it has been found that ACE2 also functions as a gateway for the virus.

8 Jun 2021