Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

How do viruses evolve in bats?

Bats have played a crucial epidemiological role in the evolution of many viruses and house many coronaviruses. Until 2002, coronaviruses had been known to cause mild respiratory ailments in human beings. However, this notion changed in the same year when a bat-borne virus caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic.

8 Mar 2021

Self-assembling nanoparticles an effective vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2

The currently developed vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 include the RBD in their immunogen. With a similar objective, a new study developed an RBD protein-based vaccine candidate against the SARS-CoV-2, using self-assembling Helicobacter pylori-bullfrog ferritin nanoparticles as an antigen delivery system. The study is published recently in the journal mBio (by the American Society of Microbiology).

8 Mar 2021

Negative impact of pandemic reduces people's cognitive capacity

Lockdown and other restrictions imposed to control the COVID-19 pandemic have had unseen negative effects on the cognitive capacity and mental health of the population.

8 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines modeled on South African variant may offer broad protection against other variants

Researchers in South Africa have submitted evidence that suggests that vaccines modeled on the South African variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) would not only be effective on that strain but would also function well against other variants.

8 Mar 2021

Continued vigilance needed as COVID lockdown is relaxed in England, warn researchers

Researchers have reported findings from round nine of the REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission Study (REACT-1) that estimates community prevalence of infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in England.

8 Mar 2021

Sniffer dogs could be used to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections, say researchers

Researchers in Germany suggest that sniffer dogs should be considered as an additional screening tool for detecting infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

8 Mar 2021

Clinical trial launched to test the effectiveness of mouthwash in reducing COVID-19 spread

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry have launched a clinical trial to test whether mouthwash can reduce a person's risk of spreading coronavirus.

8 Mar 2021

Researchers identify new biomarkers associated with severity of COVID-19

A team of researchers from the CHUM Research Centre has identified new biomarkers associated with the severity of COVID-19 in infected patients.

8 Mar 2021

Narrowing down on small molecular inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 key protease

A recent methodological study by researchers from the University of Luxembourg shows that the combination of virtual screening approaches, molecular dynamics simulations and machine learning can substantially facilitate small molecule screening investigations targeted at key SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins.

8 Mar 2021

New academic spin-out based in Finland introduces a nasal spray vaccine against COVID

Rokote Laboratories Finland Ltd., a newly-founded academic spin-out based in Finland is working to develop and introduce to the markets a nasal spray vaccine against COVID.

8 Mar 2021

Study rethinks the role of ACE2 in SARS-CoV-2 viral entry

Researchers in the US recently infected a series of human lung and head/neck cancer cell lines with SARS-CoV-2 that expressed varying levels of ACE2 and the TMPRSS2 protease to reassess their role in viral entrance.

8 Mar 2021

Impairments in immune response contribute to severe COVID-19

New research by a team of scientists at University Hospital RWTH Aachen in Germany and Erasmus Medical Centre in The Netherlands characterized changes in CD8+ T cells in response to SARS-CoV-2.

8 Mar 2021

Apoptosis is an important mediator of pathogenesis in animal coronavirus infection

A new paper in the journal Life presents an early review of the viral factors involved in initiating and effecting apoptosis within infected cells.

8 Mar 2021

On vacci-dating: Singles seem enamored of sharing vaccination status online. Is that wise?

As cold weather descended upon Washington, D.C., last fall, I deleted my dating apps.

8 Mar 2021

Novel bioinformatics tool could help improve COVID-19 diagnosis

An interesting new study by researchers at the University of Liverpool, University of Bristol and Public Health England in the UK describes a novel bioinformatics tool used to detect subgenomic messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) sequences from the virus. This may help develop new diagnostic tools and model the transmission of the virus.

8 Mar 2021

How can physicians distinguish between COVID-19 persistence and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection?

One of the most challenging tasks of physicians has been differentiating between persistent COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection. Recently, a team of researchers analyzed SARS-CoV-2 sequences from the publicly available reports on reinfection and persistence. They further characterized the markers of reinfecting sequences and studied the mutation rate in newly evolved persistent variants.

8 Mar 2021

Study shows why three-layered masks are safer than single or double-layered alternatives

If you are going to buy a face mask to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, make sure it's a three-layered mask. You might have already heard this recommendation, but researchers have now found an additional reason why three-layered masks are safer than single or double-layered alternatives.

8 Mar 2021

Study confirms B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 is more transmissible

A new modeling study published in the journal Science estimates the B.1.1.7 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant is 43% to 90% more transmissible than previous coronavirus variants. The variant was initially found in Southeast England last fall.

7 Mar 2021

FDA authorizes first molecular non-prescription, at-home COVID-19 test

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Cue COVID-19 Test for Home and Over The Counter (OTC) Use.

5 Mar 2021

Study: Monoclonal antibody 'cocktail' effective against all known COVID-19 variants

A monoclonal antibody "cocktail" developed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) to neutralize the COVID-19 virus is effective against all known strains, or variants, of the virus, according to a report published in the journal Nature Medicine.

5 Mar 2021

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

How do viruses evolve in bats?

Self-assembling nanoparticles an effective vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2

Negative impact of pandemic reduces people's cognitive capacity

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines modeled on South African variant may offer broad protection against other variants

Continued vigilance needed as COVID lockdown is relaxed in England, warn researchers

Sniffer dogs could be used to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections, say researchers

Clinical trial launched to test the effectiveness of mouthwash in reducing COVID-19 spread

Researchers identify new biomarkers associated with severity of COVID-19

Narrowing down on small molecular inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 key protease

New academic spin-out based in Finland introduces a nasal spray vaccine against COVID

Study rethinks the role of ACE2 in SARS-CoV-2 viral entry

Impairments in immune response contribute to severe COVID-19

Apoptosis is an important mediator of pathogenesis in animal coronavirus infection

On vacci-dating: Singles seem enamored of sharing vaccination status online. Is that wise?

Novel bioinformatics tool could help improve COVID-19 diagnosis

How can physicians distinguish between COVID-19 persistence and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection?

Study shows why three-layered masks are safer than single or double-layered alternatives

Study confirms B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 is more transmissible

FDA authorizes first molecular non-prescription, at-home COVID-19 test

Study: Monoclonal antibody 'cocktail' effective against all known COVID-19 variants

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

How can super-resolution technology help study neurotransmission?

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

How can super-resolution technology help study neurotransmission?

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

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