Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Researchers pinpoint multiple zoonotic origins of SARS-CoV-2

In a pair of related studies, published July 26, 2022 online via First Release in Science, researchers at University of California San Diego, with colleagues on four continents, show that the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 was at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, and resulted from at least two instances of the SARS-CoV-2 virus jumping from live animal hosts to humans working or shopping there.

26 Jul 2022

A pair of analyses reveals early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19-causing coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, likely first spread to humans from animals in two separate transmission events in a Wuhan market in late November 2019, according to a pair of analyses by international teams co-led by Scripps Research scientists.

26 Jul 2022

CDC: Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine can be used as another primary series option for adults

Today, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP) recommendation that Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine be used as another primary series option for adults ages 18 years and older.

26 Jul 2022

How has vaccination shaped the global evolutionary trajectory of SARS-CoV-2?

In a new study, researchers developed a maximum likelihood model to capture severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 evolutionary dynamics in multiple geographical regions.

26 Jul 2022

Tunneling nanotubes can assist SARS-CoV-2 propagation

A new study found that tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) offer a pathway for SARS-CoV-2 neuronal spreading.

26 Jul 2022

Naturally-infected, captive white-tailed deer in Texas have persistent anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Researchers performed a longitudinal study to examine the neutralizing antibody kinetics of a naturally-SARS-CoV-2 infected white-tailed deer population for around 16 months.

26 Jul 2022

Scientists explore immune memory of common cold coronaviruses before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic era

In a new study, researchers assessed the immune memory of common cold coronaviruses (CCCs) three years before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

26 Jul 2022

Researchers report ‘hybrid immune damping’ following SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection

Researchers explore the impact of differential immune imprinting patterns in individuals vaccinated against COVID-19 with a history of prior infection.

25 Jul 2022

How SARS-CoV-2 Omicron spike mutations contribute to increased infectivity

Researchers study the functional impact of Omicron mutations.

25 Jul 2022

Quarantine guidance for Omicron infection

The CDC provides updated guidelines on how the U.S. population can protect themselves and others from the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

25 Jul 2022

A VSV-based COVID vaccine effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants

A new study discusses the development of recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus COVID-19 vaccines.

25 Jul 2022

Long-COVID is relatively infrequent, but still poses a threat

A new study suggests that long COVID complaints may not be common among COVID-19 patients as compared to the general population.

25 Jul 2022

Why Omicron is more infectious than other SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers describe SARS-CoV-2 Omicron mutations and their impact on neutralization and infectivity.

25 Jul 2022

Insights into molecular folding of AAT protein will help develop new therapies for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

In a major new development in the quest to develop better gene therapies with which to treat a host of diseases, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and UMass Chan Medical School recently announced that they have mapped the expression and maturation of the protein alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) with unprecedented clarity.

25 Jul 2022

New method uses drones to quickly deliver at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests

Researchers at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health have developed a new COVID-19 test distribution method that uses drones to quickly deliver at-home diagnostic tests to individuals who suspect they have COVID-19.

25 Jul 2022

Scientists investigate how interferons interact with SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have investigated how antiviral proteins called interferons interact with SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19.

25 Jul 2022

Medical professionals use Twitter amplifiers to tackle COVID-19 misinformation

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when false information about the virus began to spread on Twitter, physicians and scientists from Northwestern Medicine and other institutions banded together to combat the deadly misinformation and disinformation and support one another when they ultimately were attacked online for doing so.

25 Jul 2022

SARS-CoV-2 oral vaccine candidate found to induce neutralizing mucosal IgA

A new study reported the outcomes of a clinical trial evaluating the oral vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 developed by Vaxart.

25 Jul 2022

Using CRISPR technology to successfully prevent and treat SARS-CoV-2 infections

In what is believed to be a first, a research team led by Duke Health has demonstrated a way to use CRISPR technology to successfully prevent and treat COVID infections.

25 Jul 2022

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks tiny bridges that link infected cells with neurons to gain access to brain cells

COVID-19 often leads to neurological symptoms, such as a loss of taste or smell, or cognitive impairments (including memory loss and concentration difficulties), both during the acute phase of the disease and over the long term with "long COVID" syndrome.

25 Jul 2022