Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Blood viscometers could help guide the treatment of Covid-19 patients

One of the biggest challenges facing medical teams treating Covid-19 patients is identifying which ones are likely to suffer the most extreme responses to the virus.

17 Sep 2020

Anti-CD73 molecule CPI-006 activates B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause an immense impact across many parts of the world, the role played by immune responses is becoming more evident every day. A recent funded paper published on the preprint server medRxiv* in September 2020 reports the initiation of a Phase I trial of a drug that increases antibody and cell-mediated immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

17 Sep 2020

Azelastine antihistamine inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in nasal tissue in vitro

In a study published on the bioRxiv preprint server, researchers from the University of Pécs, University of Vienna, and CEBINA GmbH, Vienna, show the ability of the antihistamine azelastine to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in human nasal tissue in vitro.

16 Sep 2020

Changes in risk perception and protective behavior during coronavirus pandemic

In the first week of the coronavirus pandemic, people living in the United States underestimated their chances of catching the virus, or of getting seriously ill from the virus, according to a recently published Caltech-led study.

16 Sep 2020

UC Davis uses microneedles to deliver gene therapy for retinal diseases

A novel approach to delivering gene therapy for retinal diseases eliminates the need for complex eye surgery and treats more damaged cells than existing methods, a team of UC Davis physicians and veterinary eye specialists has found.

16 Sep 2020

Pandemic spread could make more people susceptible to xenophobia, racism

When viruses, parasites and other pathogens spread, humans and other animals tend to hunker down with immediate family and peer groups to avoid outsiders as much as possible.

16 Sep 2020

Conditions linked to obesity leave the lungs of obese patients more susceptible to COVID-19

Conditions related to obesity, including inflammation and leaky gut, leave the lungs of obese patients more susceptible to COVID-19 and may explain why they are more likely to die from the disease, UTSW scientists say in a new article published online in eLife.

16 Sep 2020

New York City’s initial lockdown reduced coronavirus spread by 70 percent, study says

A team of researchers at Columbia University and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene have shown that this move by the government was effective in reducing the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

16 Sep 2020

CDC reports low mortality among children from COVID-19, but minorities are at risk

In the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 121 deaths among young people under the age of 21. Children from ethnic and racial minorities, those with underlying medical conditions, and in this age group, those between the ages of 18 and 20 are more likely to die from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19.

16 Sep 2020

SARS-CoV-2 with D614G mutation is prevalent in central India

A team of scientists at the Defence Research and Development Establishment, India, reveals that there are multiple viral introduction events in central India, and SARS-CoV-2 with D614G mutation is the prevalently circulating strain.

16 Sep 2020

Self-assembling nanoparticles as a way towards next-generation COVID-19 vaccines

In a promising study by US researchers, the receptor-binding domain (RBD) and stabilized spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were displayed on nanoparticles as vaccine antigens and elicited potent immune responses.

16 Sep 2020

Low birth weight appears to increase risk of severe COVID-19 in adults

Researchers in Barcelona, Spain have conducted a study showing that low birth weight seems to be an independent risk factor for severe illness among non-elderly adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

16 Sep 2020

Tough to tell COVID from smoke inhalation symptoms — and flu season’s coming

The patients walk into Dr. Melissa Marshall's community clinics in Northern California with the telltale symptoms. They're having trouble breathing. It may even hurt to inhale. They've got a cough, and the sore throat is definitely there.

16 Sep 2020

Lack of antigen test reporting leaves country ‘blind to the pandemic’

More than 20 states either don't release or have incomplete data on the rapid antigen tests now considered key to containing the coronavirus, which has sickened more than 6 million Americans.

16 Sep 2020

COVID vaccine trials move at warp speed, but recruiting Black volunteers takes time

Participation in clinical trials among Black people is low, according to Food and Drug Administration statistics.

16 Sep 2020

Pfizer's anti-viral 3CL protease inhibitor shows antiviral potential against SARS-CoV-2

Now, a new study by researchers from Pfizer, University of Arizona, Purdue University, The Scripps Research Institute, and UC San Diego School of Medicine and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in September 2020 reports that an enzyme inhibitor may act in synergism with the approved antiviral remdesivir to suppress viral replication in COVID-19.

16 Sep 2020

Critical insights into COVID-19 exposure for healthcare workers

A recent Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine study published in the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 shows that the use of standard guidelines of infection control, including personal protective equipment (PPE), helps to prevent the undue risk of infection among HCWs as well.

16 Sep 2020

Heparan sulfate aids COVID-19 virus to penetrate human lung cells

A molecule known as ACE2 sits like a doorknob on the outer surfaces of the cells that line the lungs. Since January 2020, researchers have known that SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, primarily uses ACE2 to enter these cells and establish respiratory infections.

16 Sep 2020

Arizona COVID-19 Genomics Union tracks SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences

Initial findings reported by the Arizona COVID-19 Genomics Union (ACGU) suggest that following Arizona's first reported case of COVID-19 in late January, the state experienced no cases that went undetected and was COVID-free until at least 11 distinct incursions occurred between mid-February and early April.

16 Sep 2020

Johns Hopkins professor to study how climate and environmental elements influence the spread of COVID-19

Ben Zaitchik, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Johns Hopkins University, is available to speak with the media about the vigorous research still needed to definitively determine if and how climate, environmental and meteorological elements influence the spread of COVID-19.

16 Sep 2020