Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Researchers uncover new 'hidden' gene in SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have discovered a new "hidden" gene in SARS-CoV-2--the virus that causes COVID-19--that may have contributed to its unique biology and pandemic potential.

10 Nov 2020

Lessons from USS Theodore Roosevelt on limiting shipborne COVID-19 outbreaks

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in November 2020 discusses such a scenario in terms of various possible approaches. It suggests that a viable strategy could be evacuating everyone from the ship and extensive surveillance testing.

10 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome structure reveals potential targets for development of drugs

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus RNA genome structure was studied in detail by researchers from the University of Groningen, the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, and Leiden University.

10 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein optimized for conditions present in human airways

Researchers from Belgium and Germany demonstrated how the spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is fine-tuned towards the temperature and protease conditions of the human airways, which in turn enhances viral transmission and subsequent pathology. Their study is available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

10 Nov 2020

Endothelial cells resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of scientists from Imperial College London has conducted a series of in vitro studies to investigate the susceptibility of endothelial cells to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the causative pathogen of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

10 Nov 2020

Critically ill COVID-19 patients experience novel platelet-activating immune complexes, study finds

Canadian researchers from McMaster University, Ontario, have pinpointed platelet activating immune complexes in coagulation disorders associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the condition caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

10 Nov 2020

Orange County struggles with health equity — and battles state restrictions

California's most popular amusement park has become the focal point of a struggle over how best to contain COVID-19 while keeping the economy afloat.

10 Nov 2020

Severe COVID-19 linked to age, body mass index and ABO blood group

With the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infecting over 50 million people worldwide with hundreds of thousands experiencing severe respiratory illness, researchers have been trying to find the factors associated with severe disease. From the start of the pandemic in March this year, several studies have indicated heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, etc. could be linked to severe disease. Now German researchers have published a study on the association between severe respiratory infection caused by SARS CoV-2 and factors such as age, body mass index (BMI) and ABO blood group.

10 Nov 2020

Identifying SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mutations resistant to antibodies

Using a set of different monoclonal antibodies, researchers determined different mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that leads to resistance. Understanding these resistant mutations is important in developing effective therapeutic strategies.

10 Nov 2020

UVA develops new method to understand how HIV begins the infection process

Scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have developed a method to understand how HIV and other viruses first begin to infect our cells, and that could help us prevent COVID-19 and other diseases.

10 Nov 2020

Researchers shed new light on stigma and conspiracy theories about coronavirus

The World Health Organization calls the spread of false information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) an "infodemic," and the results are broadly visible across society.

10 Nov 2020

Mask wearing, social distancing considerably reduce incidence of many diseases

Measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 through non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as mask wearing and social distancing are a key tool in combatting the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

10 Nov 2020

Study shows dexamethasone can reduce chance of COVID-19-related death

Research has shown that dexamethasone, a widely available steroid, can significantly reduce the chance of death from COVID-19.

10 Nov 2020

Genetic disposition plays key role in the human immune system

A genetic disposition that plays a role in the development of the heart in the embryo also appears to play a key role in the human immune system.

10 Nov 2020

New three-step approach promises to improve COVID-19 testing accuracy

One critical barrier in efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic has been the relatively high false-negative rate of the most commonly-used Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing methods.

10 Nov 2020

Japanese woman diagnosed with frosted branch angiitis

Leukemias and lymphomas are life-threatening malignancies affecting white blood cells and the immune system; fortunately, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, combined with stem cell therapy, can improve survival significantly.

10 Nov 2020

Exosome-mediated mRNA delivery generates broad immune response to multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins

Recently, researchers from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA, and Capricor Therapeutics, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA, USA, described a new approach to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development using exosomes to deliver mRNAs that encode the antigens from multiple structural proteins of the virus.

9 Nov 2020

Using wastewater epidemiology to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in Houston

Now, a team of researchers at Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine, and the Houston Health Department show SARS-CoV-2 RNA wastewater levels to be a strong predictive of trends in the nasal positivity rate two weeks in advance. This could help track the positivity rate for populations, speeding up the isolation and treatment of infected people.

9 Nov 2020

After SARS-CoV-2 antibodies fade B and T-cells persist

Now, an international team of thirty researchers from Sweden, Italy, Germany, the USA, and China aimed to determine the longevity of the immune response against SARS-CoV-2, particularly the specific memory B-cell and T-cell responses over time in convalescent COVID-19 patients.

9 Nov 2020

Research explores links between Alzheimer's and Parkinson′s to COVID-19

In a recent medRxiv* preprint paper, Dr. L. Miguel Martins and colleagues from the University of Cambridge investigate the links between neurodegeneration and COVID-19.

9 Nov 2020