Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Latest Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Scientists are exploring to find the 'Achilles heel' of coronavirus

Coronavirus, or more exactly SARS-CoV-2, has the world in its grip. How does the virus manage to bind to cells in the human body? How does it gain entry to the cell? How does it hijack the cell's machinery to make it help to replicate the viral genome?

5 May 2020

COVID-19 progression linked to B cell activation

The disease course of COVID-19 is diverse, ranging from asymptomatic to fatal respiratory failure. Scientists have been working to uncover the immunological reasons behind this heterogeneity. A recent study on B cells, published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020, shows that extrafollicular B cells could be a marker of severe infection in the early stages, predicting the need for earlier immunomodulatory therapy.

4 May 2020

Study: Brazilian president’s attitude to coronavirus increases 'risky behavior' in the country

Jair Bolsonaro's public undermining of pandemic prevention efforts reduces social distancing in the parts of Brazil where his voter base is strongest, according to a new study using location data from over 60 million phones.

4 May 2020

Loss of smell may be related to neuroinvasive propensity of SARS-CoV-2

The novel coronavirus has rapidly infected millions over the world in over 187 countries and territories, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. One of the often-neglected and under-reported symptoms of the virus is the loss of the sense of smell or anosmia. Now, a new study out of Germany published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 provides a quantified estimate of the magnitude of anosmia as a symptom of the coronavirus.

4 May 2020

Uncovering immune cell reactions in COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 suggests that an overactive immune response is responsible for the more severe manifestations of the illness.

4 May 2020

Asymptomatic carriers transmit SARS-CoV-2 with normal breathing

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) first emerged in a seafood market in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Since then, it has spread to 187 countries, infecting more than 3.58 million people. The novel coronavirus spreads rapidly partly due to asymptomatic carriers. Now a new study shows that asymptomatic carriers may transmit the virus by merely breathing.

4 May 2020

Loss of smell should be listed as early symptom of COVID-19

Though the two common symptoms are cough and fever, recent studies and reports point to a loss of smell as a symptom early in the disease process. A team of researchers at the Technical University Dresden (TU Dresden) revealed that the sudden loss of smell is experienced by many patients infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

4 May 2020

Human endemic coronavirus reinfection possible after recovery

The novel coronavirus started spreading in December 2019, and since then, it has rippled across the globe, affecting 187 countries and territories, and infecting more than 3.18 million people. However, the behavior and mechanism of the virus, including whether it provides adaptive immunity, is still unclear. There have been reports of reinfection out of South Korea and Japan

4 May 2020

Dead virus fragments are causing COVID-19 reinfection false positives

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has ravaged across the globe, infecting a staggering 3.5 million people, and taking over 251,000 lives. One of the most significant concerns in this global pandemic is the possibility of reinfection as previous reports in South Korea and Japan show people testing positive with the coronavirus again.

4 May 2020

Analysis of India's battle with COVID-19

A new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020 suggests, based on mathematical models, that premature removal of lockdown restrictions in India could be highly counterproductive, enhancing the secondary spread of COVID-19, pushing up the number of fatalities and prolonging the course of the pandemic in India.

4 May 2020

Study reveals an unprecedented pace and openness in COVID-19 research

The early academic response to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was specified by research aiming to define the disease, with prompt response from all scholarly publishing stakeholders and short manuscript turnaround times, shows a new study available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

4 May 2020

New information on viral antigens could improve COVID-19 testing

Researchers in France and China have characterized antibody responses to a wide range of antigens present on severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

4 May 2020

Artificial intelligence model can distinguish between pneumonia and COVID-19 from chest x-rays

A research team from Valencia's Polytechnic University, from the CVBLab, has developed a predictive artificial intelligence model that can tell the difference between healthy patients, those who are ill with pneumonia and those who have COVID-19, from chest x-rays.

4 May 2020

Meditation combined with aerobic exercise reduces stress in medical students

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School student Paul Lavadera expected his career would put him on the front lines of dealing with medical emergencies.

4 May 2020

Scientists develop a highly sensitive COVID-19 diagnostic platform

Cima Universidad de Navarra researchers have developed a large-scale, highly sensitive COVID-19 diagnostic platform more efficient than the commercial PCR test kits currently available.

4 May 2020

ASU team identifies new, unique SARS-CoV-2 mutation

As the coronavirus pandemic has swept across the U.S., in addition to tracking the number of COVID daily cases, there is a worldwide scientific community engaged in tracking the SARS-CoV-2 virus itself.

4 May 2020

MU researcher finds four antiviral drugs effective in inhibiting novel coronavirus

Now, a researcher at the University of Missouri has found that four antiviral drugs, including remdesivir, a drug originally developed to treat Ebola, are effective in inhibiting the replication of the coronavirus causing COVID-19.

4 May 2020

RAND releases new COVID-19 tool to estimate effects of public health interventions

A new tool designed to help state and local officials estimate the effects of social distancing and other public health interventions used to combat the COVID-19 pandemic has been released by the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation.

4 May 2020

New recommendations for treating the most critical COVID-19 patients

As the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise and the deaths mount, the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs has drafted a set of recommendations for health care workers on the front lines, to help them make decisions on how to treat the most critical patients, those with severe lung or heart failure

4 May 2020

New computer modeling systems to predict spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus

Joe Mihaljevic, mathematical epidemiologist and assistant professor in Northern Arizona University's School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, is leading a new project to create computer modeling systems to predict outcomes of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, across four northern Arizona counties--Coconino, Navajo, Apache and Mohave.

4 May 2020