Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Researchers update automated computation tool for SARS-CoV-2 genome analysis

Researchers updated a previous version of an automated tool to include SARS-CoV-2 genome analysis. Genome analysis using the freely available software could help track the evolution of the virus and promptly identify variants that increase viral transmission or virulence.

22 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2’s nonstructural proteins dysregulate immune responses, study finds

Researchers provide an overview of SARS-CoV-2 and its life cycle pathways, addressing the functional changes in the viral proteins, providing important strategic clues to help that may help in the ongoing development of therapies against COVID-19.

22 Jan 2021

Does hypertension always lead to severe COVID-19?

Researchers have developed some prognostic factors to predict the severity of COVID-19 among hypertensive patients.

22 Jan 2021

Study identifies a host of agents with anti-SARS-CoV-2 potential

A team of researchers at the Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, in Taiwan, evaluated the efficacy of 2,855 agents against SARS-CoV-2.

22 Jan 2021

A traditional Chinese medicine could help treat COVID‐19 symptoms

A team of researchers in China – at Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine and Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine – recently explored the therapeutic properties of Yinqiao powder in treating COVID-19 symptoms. Their findings were recently published in Phytotherapy Research.

22 Jan 2021

Accurate quantitative COVID-19 antibody test kit by EKF

EKF Diagnostics, the global in vitro diagnostics company, announces that it has introduced one of the first tests to precisely measure levels of COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies in individuals.

From EKF Diagnostics 22 Jan 2021

Vaccinating people over 60 is the most effective way to mitigate COVID-19 mortality

Vaccinating people over 60 is the most effective way to mitigate mortality from COVID-19, a new age-based modeling study suggests.

22 Jan 2021

Infusion of convalescent blood plasma benefits patient with severe COVID-19

A 72-year-old woman was hospitalized with severe COVID-19 disease, 33 days after the onset of symptoms.

22 Jan 2021

People with severe COVID-19 cases may have more protective "memory" T cells

A big question on people's minds these days: how long does immunity to SARS-CoV-2 last following infection?

22 Jan 2021

Trial results support efficacy of incentivizing vaccine adherence

As the United States struggles to control record-breaking increases in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, the roll-out of two approved vaccines offers tremendous hope for saving lives and curbing the pandemic.

22 Jan 2021

New SERS-based sensor can detect influenza A viral pathogens with high reproducibility

Respiratory diseases like influenza can spread rapidly and escalate to global health crises. Thus, to control them, simple yet sensitive detection techniques are needed. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a potential candidate but currently lacks reproducibility.

22 Jan 2021

Prioritizing older adults for COVID-19 vaccination will save more lives

Vaccinating older adults for COVID-19 first will save substantially more U.S. lives than prioritizing other age groups, and the slower the vaccine rollout and more widespread the virus, the more critical it is to bring them to the front of the line.

21 Jan 2021

New model shows key role of innate immunity in controlling COVID-19 viral load

Since SARS-CoV-2 was identified in December 2019, researchers have worked feverishly to study the novel coronavirus. Although much knowledge has been gained, scientists still have a lot to learn about how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with the human body, and how the immune system fights it.

21 Jan 2021

New data on impact of spike mutations and B117 UK variant on neutralization by mAbs and sera

A recent paper by British and Dutch scientists, currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, shows that the neutralizing activity of monoclonal antibodies can be dramatically reduced by mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein – unlike polyclonal antibodies generated after natural infection that remain active regardless of any introduced amino acid changes.

21 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2 variants appear to arise independently of local transmission

Researchers at the University of Michigan in the United States have cautioned against only using within-host minor genetic variations to resolve the genomic epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

21 Jan 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shows reduced neutralization potential against SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 spike variant

Researchers in the UK have conducted a study assessing the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2 against the new variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

21 Jan 2021

Positive messages could potentially increase mask usage during the pandemic

Many organizations are looking at effective ways to communicate the importance of wearing a mask, especially as highly transmissible new strains of coronavirus threaten to cause a surge in infections.

21 Jan 2021

Randomized trials could help clarify uncertainties around reopening schools safely

Schools are closing again in response to surging levels of COVID-19 infection, but staging randomised trials when students eventually return could help to clarify uncertainties around when we should send children back to the classroom, according to a new study.

21 Jan 2021

Older age may offer a buffer against negative feelings brought on by the pandemic

Older adults are managing the stress of the coronavirus pandemic better than younger adults, reporting less depression and anxiety despite also experiencing greater general concern about COVID-19, according to a study recently published by researchers at the UConn School of Nursing.

21 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2 suppresses host innate immunity

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, blocks the processes of innate immune activation that normally direct the production and/or signaling of type I interferon (IFN-I) by the infected cell and tissues.

21 Jan 2021