Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Latest Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

S-pseudotyped VLPs offer promising COVID-19 vaccine platform

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 reports on a Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) platform that produces VLPs expressing the important spike antigen of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

18 Sep 2020

Key China COVID-19 study produced results that influenced subsequent research on coronavirus

Early in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a small study in China produced results that influenced subsequent research on the virus.

18 Sep 2020

Study invalidates Ebselen and other broad-spectrum SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors

Other novel compounds with Mpro inhibitory activity have also been claimed to have antiviral activity. These include ebselen, disulfiram, tideglusib, carmofur, shikonin, and PX-12. A new research paper discusses the role of these molecules as potential Mpro inhibitors in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

18 Sep 2020

Study: 90-minute COVID-19 test has high sensitivity and specificity

A 90-minute COVID-19 test has been shown to have over 94 per cent sensitivity, and 100 per cent specificity in a new study.

18 Sep 2020

A new framework to improve global sustainability

From loaning pandas to welcoming tourists to hike to sacred monuments, to regulating the sale of wild animals for meat, policies across the world seek to forge clear paths to sustainability.

18 Sep 2020

Study sheds new light on the mechanism of COVID-19 infection

The spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can adopt at least ten distinct structural states, when in contact with the human virus receptor ACE2, according to research from the Francis Crick Institute published in Nature today.

18 Sep 2020

Engineered, high-affinity ACE2 receptors neutralize SARS-CoV-2

In a study published in the preprint server bioRxiv, researchers from the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and Osaka University Japan, discuss how they engineered ACE2 to enhance its affinity to RBD in human cells.

17 Sep 2020

Animal data supports efficacy of baricitinib vs SARS-COV-2

The high burden of disease caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to much research on effective ways to mitigate the health, social, and economic impact of the spread of the infection. A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 reports on the characteristics of the drug baricitinib when used as monotherapy to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

17 Sep 2020

T cells on the front line of COVID-19 response

In the new study, published in the journal Cell, the team has found that the uncoordinated responses produced by the immune system, especially in people who are more than 65 years old, maybe the reason why older adults are more at risk.

17 Sep 2020

Mayo Clinic's tracking tool features latest COVID-19 data, expert guidance

The number of COVID-19 cases is surging in some regions and retreating in others, making consistent, reliable information and personalized guidance on the pandemic more important than ever.

17 Sep 2020

Safer UVC light effectively kills SARS-CoV-2

A study conducted by Hiroshima University researchers found that using Ultraviolet C light with a wavelength of 222 nanometers which is safer to use around humans effectively kills SARS-CoV-2 -- the first research in the world to prove its efficacy against the virus that causes COVID-19.

17 Sep 2020

Biomarker predicts disease severity in COVID-19 patients

Airway cell analyses showing an activated immune axis could pinpoint the COVID-19 patients who will most benefit from targeted therapies.

17 Sep 2020

Wearing eyeglasses protects against SARS-CoV-2

A team of scientists from China suggests that people who wear eyeglasses for more than 8 hours a day may be less susceptible to infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The study is published recently in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

17 Sep 2020

New drug candidate suppresses SARS-CoV-2 replication

Researchers at Stanford University and Utah State University have developed a novel inhibitor of the coronavirus main protease (Mpro) that effectively suppresses the viral replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

17 Sep 2020

Flexibility of glycosylated membrane-bound ACE2 suggests mechanical energy source in opening of SARS-CoV-2 spike

Angiotensin, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2, Cell, Coronavirus, Enzyme, Glycoprotein, Neck, Protein, Receptor, Respiratory, Severe Acute Respiratory, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Syndrome, Virus, SARS-CoV-2, Coronavirus Disease COVID-19,

17 Sep 2020

Could pineapples be a new weapon against COVID-19?

Results of a recent research endeavor from the United States indicate that bromelain or bromelain rich pineapple stem may be utilized as an antiviral agent against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but also for potential future coronavirus outbreaks. This exciting paper is currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

17 Sep 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: It’s scandal week

President Donald Trump finally released his promised executive order aimed at bringing down drug costs.

17 Sep 2020

LOX-1-immature neutrophils may help identify COVID-19 patients at risk of thrombosis complication

To predict severe outcome in COVID-19 patients, innate immune cellular signals are analyzed, identifying two novel neutrophil subsets: LOX-1- and CD123-expressing CD10-CD64+. Thromboembolic events correlated with high LOX-1 immature neutrophils – a potential prognostic signature.

17 Sep 2020

COVID-19 could be diagnosed using stroke scans

New research from King's College London has found that COVID-19 may be diagnosed on the same emergency scans intended to diagnose stroke.

17 Sep 2020

Students’ mass migration back to college gets a failing grade

Who thought it would be a good idea to move thousands of teenagers and young adults across the country to college campuses, where, unencumbered by parental supervision, many college kids did what college kids do?

17 Sep 2020