Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Portable, reusable coronavirus sensor produces results within a minute

"Testing, testing, testing." It's a mantra that health officials have been constantly promoting because screening people for COVID-19 is the best way to contain its spread. In the U.S., however, that crucial necessity has been hampered due to a lack of supplies.

7 May 2020

How the pandemic and an anti-vax health official are roiling a Montana community

Even as Montana begins a gradual easing of stay-at-home restrictions intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the political schism it highlighted is creating reverberations in one community in the northwestern corner of the state.

7 May 2020

EFP develops safety protocol for dental practices during Covid-19

Oral healthcare is severely affected all over the world by the Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic because of the risk implied for both dental professionals and patients.

7 May 2020

Economic blow of the coronavirus hits America’s already stressed farmers

Richard Oswald, still mourning the loss of his family's homestead to flooding along the Missouri River, is planting corn and soybeans into ground that last year was feet deep underwater.

7 May 2020

Cholesterol lowering drugs can improve composition of gut bacteria in obese individuals

The human gut microbiota consists of trillions of bacteria, fungi and virus constituting an inner chemical factory producing a multitude of microbial compounds affecting immunity, neurobiology and metabolism of the human host.

7 May 2020

Twist Bioscience Identifies Competitive Antibodies for SARS-CoV-2

Twist Bioscience Corporation has identified competitive antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, which could potentially be used for diagnostic tests and treatments.

7 May 2020

Researchers shed new light on the structure of RNA

Australian and US researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding the structure of a key genetic molecule, called RNA, and revealing for the first time how these changes impact RNA's function.

7 May 2020

Severe blood clotting and high bleeding risk identified in critically ill COVID-19 patients

Emerging data is pointing to a faulty blood clotting system in the most critically ill COVID-19 patients. Patients with underlying health problems are presenting a severe risk of VTE (blood clotting) – previously an unknown risk factor – as well as an increased bleed risk.

7 May 2020

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