Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

What are the natural origins of SARS-CoV-2?

Researchers from the UK and China performed a comprehensive analysis of horseshoe bat and pangolin Sarbecoviruses to shed light on the origins of SARS-CoV-2.

29 Jan 2021

Study finds protective genetic associations with mild COVID-19

Using self-reported survey data, researchers have defined eight phenotypes associated with COVID-19 outcomes. Analysis of the data revealed possible protective genetic associations.

29 Jan 2021

How feasible is at-home antibody testing for COVID-19?

Researchers at King’s College, London, have found that self-administered, at-home antibody testing could be a simple method for virus surveillance on university campuses.

29 Jan 2021

Researchers develop ‘next-generation vaccine platform’ against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have designed a subunit vaccine based on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein co-administered with CpG (Oligodeoxyribonucleotides) adjuvant.

29 Jan 2021

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 may be more widespread than previously thought

Researchers in Cambodia, France, and the United States have conducted a study indicating that viruses related to SARS-CoV-2 – the agent that causes COVID-19 – are far more geographically widespread than previously thought.

28 Jan 2021

Variants emerging during COVID-19 pandemic resist antibody neutralization

Researchers in the U.S. have warned that recently emerged variants of SARS-CoV-2 have become worryingly resistant to monoclonal antibody therapies, plasma from convalescent patients and sera from vaccinated individuals.

28 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2 is resistant to extreme variations in temperature, finds study

A recent study from Belize and Taiwan shows that four essential proteins of SARS-CoV-2 are well adapted to habitable temperatures and exhibit extreme thermostability, which means temperature changes between the winter and summer months have a negligible effect on the viral spread.

28 Jan 2021

Moderna vaccine shows robust suppression of SARS-CoV-2 infection in animal model

Researchers have demonstrated that the prime or prime-boost vaccination of Moderna vaccine in hamsters induced robust neutralizing antibodies, ameliorated weight loss, and suppressed SARS-CoV-2 replication in the airways.

28 Jan 2021

COVID-19 patients in high-altitude ICUs had improved survival in case study

A team of researchers in Ecuador and the U.K. found that high altitudes may be linked to improved COVID-19 survival – particularly among patients with no comorbidities.

28 Jan 2021

COVID-19 vaccines should be given to pregnant or breastfeeding people, argue experts

People who are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive should be offered the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine based on ethical grounds, argue authors of a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

28 Jan 2021

Biliverdin shields SARS-CoV-2 from host antibody response, study finds

A team of international scientists has recently revealed that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) interacts with two heme metabolites, bilirubin and biliverdin, to escape the antibody-mediated host immune responses.

27 Jan 2021

Anakinra shows therapeutic potential in critically ill COVID-19 patients

A team of international scientists recently conducted an open-level clinical trial to investigate the effects of personalized immunotherapy on critically ill COVID-19 patients.

27 Jan 2021

CDC researchers back U.S. school re-openings but with strict COVID-19 regulations

As the U.S. continues to grapple with surging cases and the complex logistics of mass vaccination, is the country in a position to fully re-open its schools for in-person learning? Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) think so – notwithstanding a few very important caveats.

27 Jan 2021

Could spironolactone treat COVID-19-related pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis?

Researchers have described the potential of the drug spironolactone, a potassium-sparing diuretic, and anti-androgen, in preventing or alleviating the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia, and in preventing pulmonary fibrosis.

27 Jan 2021

What do we know about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines so far?

A new study surveys what we know so far about SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates from advanced clinical trials.

27 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2 spike may impair antigen presentation by CD8 T cells

A new study published on the bioRxiv preprint server aims to identify specific viral epitopes on the spike protein from various regions of the spike protein and the T cell responses they evoke.

27 Jan 2021

Rapid transmission of N501Y variants may be due to favorable effects on host receptor binding

Now, in new research posted to the preprint server bioRxiv*, scientists use an experimental structure of the Spike RBD domain co-crystallized with part of the ACE2 receptor and several in silico methods to analyze the possible impacts of three amino acid replacements (Spike K417N, E484K, N501Y) concerning ACE2 binding.

27 Jan 2021

Mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain analyzed

Using more than 100,000 virus genome sequences uploaded in the GISAID database, researchers found around 9,000 mutations in the virus spike protein RBD.

26 Jan 2021

Rapid reopening crucial in promoting the second wave of COVID-19

The spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected almost a hundred million people, with over two million deaths being attributed to this illness over the past 12 months or so. The only means to counter this so far has been through non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).

26 Jan 2021

Antibodies and inflammatory markers may help identify COVID-19 cases and predict severity

A new preprint appearing on the medRxiv server describes the changes that occur in numerous antibodies and inflammatory molecules with age and at varying stages, or severity, of the infection and resulting illness. The results may help to predict the risk in individual cases.

26 Jan 2021