Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

BIOCAD becomes Vector’s industrial partner to develop COVID-19 vaccine

The biotechnology company BIOCAD has signed an agreement with the State Scientific Center for Virology and Biotechnology &laquoVektor» (Novosibirsk) on joint work on a vaccine based on rVSV against the COVID-19 virus.

7 May 2020

Researchers develop nano-based anti-coronavirus surface coating

The coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which is responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic, is transmitted between people mainly via respiratory droplets, but it is known that the virus remains stable on various surfaces for days.

7 May 2020

British Liver Trust urges people to drink responsibly during COVID-19 pandemic

The UK’s leading liver health charity, the British Liver Trust, is urging people to drink responsibly as in-store sales of alcohol rocket since lockdown began.

7 May 2020

Researchers show how bats carry the MERS coronavirus

A University of Saskatchewan (USask) research team has uncovered how bats can carry the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus without getting sick--research that could shed light on how coronaviruses make the jump to humans and other animals.

7 May 2020

Arrayjet develops COVID-19 antibody screening technology to facilitate vaccine development

Arrayjet Limited, the Scottish-based bio-printing technology specialist for the life sciences industry, has re-purposed its in-house antibody screening technology to create a population-scale diagnostic program that will help scientists better understand the behavior of the Covid-19 virus and further the rapidity of a global vaccination program.

7 May 2020

QUT professor proposes an interim solution to relax social isolation

Your house number could be the key to the safe relaxation of COVID-19-related restrictions if government follow a new exit strategy proposal published today in the British Medical Journal.

7 May 2020

Researchers discover previously unknown anti-phage defense mechanism in certain bacteria

Researchers from Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, have discovered a new anti-phage defense mechanism found in some bacteria, which uses previously unknown features to protect their DNA.

7 May 2020

The effect of weather on COVID-19 infection rate

Viral epidemics are nothing new in human history. Several viruses circulate freely every year among human beings, causing seasonal outbreaks of disease and death, such as the seasonal flu. A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* reports that temperature plays a significant role in the growth of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

6 May 2020

Air pollution associated with greater virulence of COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in April 2020 provides convincing evidence that air pollution contributes to greater severity of COVID-19. The researchers say, “This suggests the detrimental impact climate change will have on the trajectory of future respiratory epidemics.”

6 May 2020

SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and rivers

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 shows that while the virus causing COVID-19 may be present in wastewater and rivers, the biological agent is typically devoid of vitality and unable to cause active infection. This should provide some relief to public health authorities in their quest to contain the virus.

6 May 2020

Study discovers inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 entry priming protein by approved drug

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome -coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread to most of the world, causing millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths. A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* shows that a protease inhibitor drug already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could inhibit viral entry.

6 May 2020

Low CD8 and NK cell counts in the lung linked to high SARS-CoV-2 ACE2 receptor levels

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in April 2020 reports that low levels of specific immune cells, namely, CD8 T cells and NK cells, are linked to higher expression of the ACE2 molecule, which acts as a receptor for the CoV.

6 May 2020

How do betacoronaviruses evolve?

Researchers have worked on the evolution of the pathogenic strains of the betacoronaviruses including the SARS CoV-2 that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

6 May 2020

People thinking they have had COVID-19 could increase transmission

A study conducted by researchers in the UK has found that people who think they have had COVID-19 are more likely to believe they are immune to the infection and less likely to follow social distancing rules.

6 May 2020

Spillover of more bat coronaviruses likely due to destruction of wildlife habitats

A new study available on the preprint server bioRxiv used phylogenetic analysis to demonstrate how certain groups of bats harbor multiple coronavirus lineages that are not readily transmitted across different bat taxa. However, the researchers caution that another novel human coronavirus outbreak originating from bats is imminent due to the destruction of wildlife habitats.

6 May 2020

New anti-phage defense mechanism in bacteria protects their DNA, finds study

Researchers from Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, have discovered a new anti-phage defense mechanism found in some bacteria, which uses previously unknown features to protect their DNA.

6 May 2020

Study points towards the potential spread of COVID-19 via sewage

Environmental biologists at the University of Stirling have warned that the potential spread of COVID-19 via sewage "must not be neglected" in the battle to protect human health.

6 May 2020

Combination therapy trial to understand the biology, spread, treatment of COVID-19

The HonorHealth Research Institute and HonorHealth announced today the successful enrollment on a novel combination of atovaquone and azithromycin in patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 infection.

6 May 2020

When prisons are ‘petri dishes,’ inmates can’t guard against COVID-19, they say

On April 6, an inmate named Dennis stayed up late at Indiana’s Plainfield Correctional Facility. He wrote to his wife, Lisa, and told her he was scared.

6 May 2020

GeoVax and Sino Biological establish exclusive supply agreement for research grade bioreagents related to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccine development

GeoVax Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company developing human vaccines and immunotherapies against infectious diseases and cancer, announced today that Beijing- and Philadelphia-based Sino Biological, Inc. will be its exclusive supplier of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) bioreagent research products.

From Sino Biological Inc. 6 May 2020