Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Molecular reporters produce fluorescence to expose the allies of tumor cells

Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults. Roughly five in every 100,000 people develop this type of cancer each year.

23 Dec 2020

SARS-CoV-2 mutations may evade T cell immunity

A potentially disturbing new study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may be undergoing strategic mutations that affect the host immune capacity to recognize and combat the pathogen via T effector cells.

23 Dec 2020

Cell-mediated immunity may be more important than neutralizing antibodies in COVID-19 outcome

A new study sheds light on some important differences between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

23 Dec 2020

Researchers use fruit fly model to understand COVID-19-related neurological complications

Researchers claim to have reproduced disease mechanisms due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the fruit fly, Drosophila, while also providing proof of the efficacy of one drug against these disease processes. If validated, these findings represent a new understanding of how the virus causes neurological symptoms that could help develop more effective therapies.

23 Dec 2020

Phase 2/3 COVID-19 study evaluates safety, potential identification of preliminary efficacy signals

Top-line data from the 270-patient global Phase 2/3 COVID-19 study expected Q1/2021. Top-line data from the 40-patient U.S. Phase 2 study of opaganib in severe COVID-19 expected in the coming days; this non-powered study was designed to evaluate safety and potential identification of preliminary efficacy signals in support of the global Phase 2/3 study of opaganib.

23 Dec 2020

Researchers develop a harmless air sterilization prototype to kill microbes

With COVID-19 raging around the globe, researchers are doubling down on methods for developing diverse antimicrobial technologies that could be effective in killing a virus, but harmless to humans and the environment.

23 Dec 2020

Early clinical data demonstrates the efficacy of existing drug in treating COVID-19

In what has the potential to significantly change how Corona patients are being treated and the severity of the disease, research spearheaded at Jerusalem's Hebrew University gathered early clinical evidence demonstrating the efficacy of an existing drug in treating COVID-19.

22 Dec 2020

Researchers evaluate self-administered 'scratch-and-sniff' tests for COVID-19

A self-administered 'scratch-and-sniff' test for COVID-19 may be around the corner, according to researchers at Penn State, the University of Florida and Arizona State University.

22 Dec 2020

Women suffered more than men from COVID-19 isolation

A study by University of Calgary researchers with the Hotchkiss Brain Institute examining sex and gender differences on sleep, empathy and mood during months of isolation due to COVID-19 has found that women are suffering more than men with poorer sleep and more anxiety, depression and trauma, while also feeling more empathetic than men.

22 Dec 2020

Study finds significantly lower mother-to-newborn transfer of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Pregnant women may be especially vulnerable to developing more severe cases of COVID-19 following SARS-CoV-2 infection, but little is known about their anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune response or how it may affect their offspring.

22 Dec 2020

Wearing masks may not be enough to prevent COVID-19 spread at close distances

Simply wearing a mask may not be enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 without social distancing.

22 Dec 2020

The power of public health screening in mitigating the spread of COVID-19

Testing for COVID-19 has been central in the fight against SARS-CoV-2/ COVID-19. While most efforts, including regulations, have focused on testing as a clinical medical diagnostic tool, the most powerful forms of testing to help control the pandemic have rarely been used or recognized, according to Michael Mina, MD, PhD.

22 Dec 2020

Community burden of COVID-19 linked to survival rates of hospitalized patients

High rates of COVID-19 in the county where a hospital is located appears to reduce survival rates among hospitalized patients with the virus, according to a new study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and at UnitedHealth Group.

22 Dec 2020

COVID-19 patients retain immunity against the virus for at least 8 months

Australian researchers have revealed - for the first time - that people who have been infected with the COVID-19 virus have immune memory to protect against reinfection for at least eight months.

22 Dec 2020

SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels and types differ by disease severity, study finds

Researchers have measured the antibody levels and types in hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with different disease severity. Their results suggest gut immune pathways could play a role in reducing virus-based inflammation and recovery.

22 Dec 2020

California’s COVID enforcement strategy: Education over citations

Nearly six months since Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to target businesses that are flagrantly violating public health orders to control the spread of COVID-19, California regulators have issued just 424 citations and suspended two business licenses as of Monday, according to data from 10 state regulatory and law enforcement agencies.

22 Dec 2020

Scientists isolate anti-COVID-19 nanobodies produced by a llama

National Institutes of Health researchers have isolated a set of promising, tiny antibodies, or "nanobodies," against SARS-CoV-2 that were produced by a llama named Cormac.

22 Dec 2020

Large-scale study set up in UK to assess possibility of SARS-CoV-2 re-infection among healthcare workers

Researchers from Public Health England are conducting a large-scale prospective longitudinal study to determine whether healthcare workers who have previously developed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are immune to reinfection with the causative agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

22 Dec 2020

Cadmium linked to more severe flu and pneumonia infections

In this interview, News-Medical speaks to Dr. Howard Hu about his latest research into cadmium and how it could be causing more severe pneumonia infections.

22 Dec 2020

Comparing Google AI and human intelligence for the forecasting of COVID-19

Junko Kurita et al. from Japan have compared Google AI forecasting with a statistical model by human intelligence and recently presented it in a preprint medRxiv* paper.

22 Dec 2020