Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Latest Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Low acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine among healthcare workers in USA

A recent preprint research paper published on the medRxiv server in January 2021 reports that vaccine acceptance is low even among healthcare workers (HCWs) in the USA.

6 Jan 2021

Increased socializing may have jeopardized lockdown benefit in England

Researchers in the UK report that much of the potential beneficial impact of the November 2020 English National lockdown on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic was likely undermined in many areas due to increased socializing in the days running up to its implementation.

6 Jan 2021

More stringent measures may be needed to control new SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant in England

Researchers in the UK have conducted a comprehensive epidemiologic analysis of the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant in an effort to learn more about the expanded range and frequency of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in England.

6 Jan 2021

In-silico modeling provides new understanding of immune response to SARS-CoV-2

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has crippled global healthcare systems and triggered an economic crisis in many countries. The pandemic is not showing signs of a slowdown even in 2021 with a new and more infectious variant of the virus wreaking havoc in the UK and many other parts of the world.

6 Jan 2021

Study shows durable specific humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 after mild or asymptomatic infection

As a part of the COMMUNITY (COVID-19 Immunity) study, researchers from Sweden reveal long-lasting IgG neutralizing antibody response against spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the vast majority of convalescent individuals – even after asymptomatic or mild infection. Their results are currently available on medRxiv* preprint server.

6 Jan 2021

Neutralization antibodies affected by only a few mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, US researchers mapped in detail how mutations to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affected antibody binding in convalescent human serum – and revealed that it is influenced by mutations at only a handful of dominant epitopes.

6 Jan 2021

Groundbreaking technology could revolutionize the dairy industry

Might a new technological development of researchers from Tel Aviv University soon revolutionize the dairy products we consume?

6 Jan 2021

Older adults with cognitive impairment who live alone are hit hard by pandemic

The pandemic has exacerbated isolation and fears for one very vulnerable group of Americans: the 4.3 million older adults with cognitive impairment who live alone.

6 Jan 2021

Smokers at increased risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19

Smoking is associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 symptoms and smokers are more likely to attend hospital than non-smokers, a study has found.

6 Jan 2021

NIAID set to conduct large monoclonal SARS-CoV-2 antibody clinical trial

A large clinical trial, known as the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV-2), is set to take place, which aims to test monoclonal antibody efficacy and safety in people who have mild or moderate COVID-19.

6 Jan 2021

Vitamin D supplementation found to reduce COVID-19-related mortality, says study

Researchers have shown that prescribing vitamin D supplementation to COVID-19 patients seems to decrease the mortality rate, the severity of the disease, and serum levels of inflammatory markers.

6 Jan 2021

Disulfide-reducing agents demonstrate potential antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers recently demonstrated that chemical agents capable of reducing disulfide (S-S) bonds can be potentially used as antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2, the causative pathogen of COVID-19.

6 Jan 2021

Modified Vaccinia Ankara model vaccine prevents COVID-19 in transgenic mice study

A new study shows the effectiveness of a novel recombinant vaccinia virus that expresses modified SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen, in preventing the replication of the virus in the respiratory tract of transgenic mice, and to prevent lethal disease.

6 Jan 2021

Are SARS-CoV-2 antibodies associated with disease enhancement?

As SARS-CoV-2 continues to wreak its havoc, antibodies that neutralize the virus and protect against infection have become an important focus of research. However, there is a concern as to whether these antibodies can actually enhance the disease.

6 Jan 2021

Children’s hospitals grapple with wave of mental illness

Krissy Williams, 15, had attempted suicide before, but never with pills.

6 Jan 2021

Researchers claim SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant likely to become globally dominant

The new variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) detected in England replicates more than two times faster than the earlier strains. This replication advantage promises to make it the dominant global variant very shortly. This finding comes from a startling preprint that appeared on the medRxiv* server in December 2020.

6 Jan 2021

New mathematical model proposes optimal treatment strategies for COVID-19

Getting control of COVID-19 will take more than widespread vaccination; it will also require a better understanding of why the disease causes no apparent symptoms in some people but leads to rapid multi-organ failure and death in others, as well as better insight into what treatments work best and for which patients.

5 Jan 2021

Researchers identify natural products with potential to disrupt viral spread

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California San Diego have broken down the genomic and life history traits of three classes of viruses that have caused endemic and global pandemics in the past and identify natural products - compounds produced in nature - with the potential to disrupt their spread.

5 Jan 2021

Glycyrrhizin in licorice root neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 in vitro by inhibiting the main protease Mpro

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, researchers from Germany analyzed aqueous licorice root extract for its neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. They identified glycyrrhizin, the primary active ingredient in the root, and revealed the underlying mechanism of viral neutralization.

5 Jan 2021

One-third of COVID-19 survivors manifest neurological problems

In a longitudinal study recently published on the preprint server medRxiv*, Andrea Pilotto et al. find that one-third of COVID-19 infection survivors have long-term neurological manifestations after hospitalization.

5 Jan 2021