Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

New, improved probes could make it easier to validate rapid COVID-19 diagnostic tests

Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed new and improved probes, known as positive controls, that could make it easier to validate rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests for COVID-19 across the globe.

2 Dec 2020

PTC299 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication and suppresses production of inflammatory cytokines

In an article published in the journal Virus Research, a team of researchers from various US institutions discussed their study that evaluated the antiviral activity of PTC299 against a group of RNA viruses in vitro.

1 Dec 2020

Nanomedicine's giant step into the fight against the COVID-19

A recent editorial in Nature Nanotechnology discusses the enormous feat of scientific innovation, with messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines developed to deliver the gene sequence of specific SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins into host cells using nanotechnology platforms.

1 Dec 2020

Research suggests plant flavonols could serve as effective antivirals for SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in Algeria have reviewed some of the evidence suggesting that flavonols commonly found in many plants and vegetables could be used as a therapeutic approach to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

1 Dec 2020

Does smoking increase risk of COVID-19 hospitalization?

A study conducted by UK researchers has found that patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were less likely to be current smokers than patients who had been admitted with other types of respiratory viral infections last year (2019).

1 Dec 2020

Which dietary supplements can help prevent COVID-19?

Researchers explore dietary supplement usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1 Dec 2020

Altered smell and taste impacts psychological wellbeing of COVID-19 survivors, study finds

A recent study discloses that loss of taste and smell sensation after infection with SARS-CoV-2 negatively impacts the quality of life and psychological wellbeing of those that recover but experience persistence of this symptom.

1 Dec 2020

Potential SARS-CoV-2 antiviral: Ionophore X-206 found to inhibit viral replication in cell cultures

In a study published in the journal Antiviral Research, researchers from Aarhus University, Denmark, report on their tests on different polyether ionophores to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.

1 Dec 2020

SARS-CoV-2's microRNAs may have promoted its jump to humans

A new study uses machine learning to explore the small microRNAs (or miRNAs) of SARS-CoV-2 that may determine the virus's ability to successfully infect humans by altering the course of transcriptional events.

1 Dec 2020

Chinese woman still sheds SARS-CoV-2 over four months post-infection

A new study by Chinese scientists explore an unusual case of extended viral shedding in a 68-year-old woman up to four months post-infection.

1 Dec 2020

Nucleic acid-hydrolyzing scFv 3D8 exhibits potent antiviral effects on SARS-CoV-2

3D8, a 27-kDa recombinant antibody fragment, was found in autoimmune-prone Murphy Roths Large mice. The single-chain variable fragment (scFv) has the nucleic acid hydrolyzing activity and is shown to degrade DNA or mRNA of viruses in infected cells.

30 Nov 2020

Fibromyalgia during COVID-19, anxiety and pain

Early research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic found persistent related anxiety in the general population. Researchers in the UK hypothesized that this anxiety would be associated with increased pain in chronic pain patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FM).

30 Nov 2020

Good cholesterol helps SARS-CoV-2 enter cells

The researchers explained that the SARS-CoV-2 can infect human host cells after its viral spike protein (SARS-2-S) binds to a cellular surface receptor called the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

30 Nov 2020

Clonal hematopoiesis linked to severe COVID-19

Now, an international team of researchers from the USA, South Korea and Canada has found that clonal hematopoiesis is tied to the risk of severe COVID-19.

30 Nov 2020

Infection control, widespread testing help reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools, study finds

Now, a team of researchers at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine explored which school policies had the most significant impact on reducing the risk of in-school SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

30 Nov 2020

Memory B cells persist in recovered COVID-19 patients

A team of scientists from the University of Washington, USA, and the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, has comprehensively studied the antibody-mediated immune responses in patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

30 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 immunity in the U.S. remains low

Seroprevalence studies indicate that less than 10% of people in the U. S. have detectable antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from July to September 2020.

30 Nov 2020

A mutant SARS-CoV-2 subspecies from minks may evade antibody detection

In a recent research letter published on the bioRxiv preprint server, scientists from Japan discovered that the mutation of spike glycoprotein in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) derived from farmed minks can also be found in the group of individuals with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and subsequently evade detection by our immune system.

30 Nov 2020

Virus induced lymphocytes show promise for COVID-19 and future pandemics

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study demonstrating the potential of a novel therapeutic approach to treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The therapy augments the body’s T cell response to the causative agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by providing a boost of rapidly expanded virus-specific T cells.

30 Nov 2020

Highly functional immune response in asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers in Singapore have conducted a study showing that asymptomatic individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – mount an efficient, balanced and coordinated cellular immune response that protects the host without appearing to trigger any pathological processes.

30 Nov 2020