Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Common cold in the past may provide some protection from COVID-19

Seasonal colds are by all accounts no fun, but new research suggests the colds you've had in the past may provide some protection from COVID-19.

29 Sep 2020

Case fatality rates for COVID-19 and health indicators

Researchers from Turkey and Switzerland collaborated to study the nation-specific case fatality rates for COVID-19 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The pandemic has affected around 33.5 million people worldwide and killed over 1 million making it one of the largest global health crises in recent memory.

29 Sep 2020

Self-collection of blood for COVID-19 antibody testing may be a reliable and easy alternative

Some evidence suggests that IgGs appear at 6-15 days after infection and may persist for months. However, large-scale testing over time is required to understand the immunological response to COVID-19 with greater accuracy. A recent pilot study published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 reports the use of self-collected capillary blood for serology, with highly promising results.

29 Sep 2020

SARS-CoV-2 infects human embryonic epithelial and lung cells

As COVID-19 continues to spread the world over, investigators are still trying to understand how it ravages the human body. A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in September 2020 shows that the virus is capable of infecting human embryonic cells that are destined to form the epithelial surfaces of the body, both internal and external, as well as lung cells.

29 Sep 2020

Discovery of specific kinase as a novel drug target against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses

By using a modern genome-wide knockout approach to single out coronavirus host factors in human cells, researchers from Rega Institute in Belgium discovered a potential new target that might be exploited for developing drugs against the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, but also future outbreaks of highly pathogenic coronaviruses

29 Sep 2020

UC researchers find potential treatment that could be applied to COVID-19

By examining preexisting research for other conditions, researchers at the University of Cincinnati have found a potential treatment that could be applied to COVID-19.

29 Sep 2020

Naturally occurring enzyme holds potential as low-cost therapeutic to treat COVID-19

Researchers from UCLA and China have found that catalase, a naturally occurring enzyme, holds potential as a low-cost therapeutic drug to treat COVID-19 symptoms and suppress the replication of coronavirus inside the body.

29 Sep 2020

Corralling the facts on herd immunity

For a term that's at least 100 years old, "herd immunity" has gained new life in 2020.

29 Sep 2020

Computer model unravels mystery behind severe inflammation in people with COVID-19

A study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Cedars-Sinai addresses a mystery first raised in March: Why do some people with COVID-19 develop severe inflammation?

29 Sep 2020

Normal conversations can spread exhaled particles inside buildings

With implications for the transmission of diseases like COVID-19, researchers have found that ordinary conversation creates a conical 'jet-like' airflow that quickly carries a spray of tiny droplets from a speaker's mouth across meters of interior space.

29 Sep 2020

Efforts to keep COVID-19 out of prisons fuel outbreaks in county jails

When Joshua Martz tested positive for COVID-19 this summer in a Montana jail, guards moved him and nine other inmates with the disease into a pod so cramped that some slept on mattresses on the floor.

29 Sep 2020

PrimeStore® MTM novel viral transport media successfully evaluated by Public Health England for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation

EKF Diagnostics announces that the novel viral transport media PrimeStore® MTM has been successfully evaluated for effective SARS-CoV-2 inactivation.

From EKF Diagnostics 29 Sep 2020

Specific anti-bacterial T cells are strongly activated in people with moderate to severe COVID-19

A type of anti-bacterial T cells, so-called MAIT cells, are strongly activated in people with moderate to severe COVID-19 disease, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden that is published in the journal Science Immunology. The findings contribute to increased understanding about how our immune system responds against COVID-19 infection.

29 Sep 2020

How might India's monsoon season impact COVID-19 ?

A new study, by two Goethe University Frankfurt researchers, published on the preprint server medRxiv* in September 2020 explores the relationship between the monsoon season, the chances of exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, and the COVID-19 mortality.

29 Sep 2020

Study shows how Zika virus degrades key protein involved in neurological growth

In a study published in Autophagy, researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) shed new light on how Zika virus hijacks our own cellular machinery to break down a protein that is essential for neurological development and cellular communication, getting it to "eat itself."

29 Sep 2020

MU researchers identify mutations in virus causing COVID-19

When Saathvik Kannan's father, a faculty member at the University of Missouri, saw his friend, Kamlendra Singh, a research professor at MU, on television being interviewed for his research identifying possible treatments for COVID-19, he called Singh to congratulate him on his work.

29 Sep 2020

Fasting blood glucose levels upon admission tied to COVID-19 prognosis, study finds

In the study, which appeared on the pre-print open-source medRxiv* server, the investigators aimed to determine the prognostic value of blood glucose in predicting outcomes in COVID-19 disease, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

28 Sep 2020

Mental preparedness of nurses and nursing students in India for COVID-19

Researchers from Bengaluru, India, tried to assess the psychological preparedness of Indian nurses and nursing students in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic that has now affected over 33.27 million people worldwide seems to rage on unabated and is something that these healthcare workers have never faced before in their careers.

28 Sep 2020

SARS-CoV-2 re-infection is real but rare: Case study

Now, American researchers have looked at all reported cases of re-infection and the possible reasons behind them. Their study titled, “Re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and Failure of Humoral Immunity: a case report,” is published online on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020.

28 Sep 2020

Healthy vitamin D levels could reduce COVID-19 complications

Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study investigates the link between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and its effect on adverse clinical outcomes and parameters of immune function and mortality due to COVID-19.

28 Sep 2020