Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Scientists make plant genome public to help combat COVID-19

Plant Nicotiana benthamiana is currently used as a bio-factory for several experimental vaccines against SARS-COV-2.

11 Apr 2020

American Lung Association launches a $25M initiative to end COVID-19

As the nation’s leading voluntary lung health organization, the American Lung Association is launching a $25M initiative to end COVID-19 and defend against future respiratory virus pandemics.

10 Apr 2020

To ‘keep the lights on,’ doctors and hospitals ask for advance Medicare payments

Darrin Menard, a family physician in Lafayette, Louisiana, has spent the past month easing patients' anxieties about the coronavirus that has killed 10 people in his parish so far.

10 Apr 2020

A Colorado ski community planned to test everyone for COVID-19. Here’s what happened.

In late March, residents of the Colorado town of Telluride and surrounding San Miguel County stood in line, along marked spots spaced 6 feet apart, to have their blood drawn by medical technicians wearing Tyvek suits, face shields and gloves for a new COVID-19 test.

10 Apr 2020

Millennial zeitgeist: Attitudes about COVID-19 shift as cases among young adults rise

When Laura Mae, 27, first heard about the coronavirus, it didn't seem like a big deal.

10 Apr 2020

UofL researchers use computers in schools across Kentucky to identify drugs for COVID-19

The novel coronavirus may have K-12 students in Kentucky's school districts learning at home, but researchers at the University of Louisville are using the computing power of thousands of computers in classrooms across the state to identify drugs to treat COVID-19.

10 Apr 2020

Low-cost anti-coronavirus face shield made using clear plastic file

When dealing with coronavirus disease, it is essential for healthcare personnel to wear appropriate personal protective equipment.

10 Apr 2020

Researchers design simple, cost-effective oxygen concentrators

The new virus is conquering the world. The more people who become infected with Sars-CoV-2, the more cases there will be in which severe illness will occur.

10 Apr 2020

Arizona COVID-19 Genomics Union to study how the virus may be evolving

The Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope, The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at Northern Arizona University, and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona have formed a union dedicated to tracking the COVID-19 coronavirus, it was announced today.

10 Apr 2020

Mechanical ventilators based on a simple modification of CPAP and BiPAP machines

As hospitals in New York City and beyond are facing a shortage of mechanical ventilators for COVID-19 patients in critical care, many are turning to readily available CPAP and BiPAP machines as a measure.

10 Apr 2020

Researchers identify COVID-19 drug lead treatments

An international team of researchers has tested more than 10,000 compounds to identify six drug candidates that may help treat COVID-19.

9 Apr 2020

Immunizing with plasma to fight against COVID-19

Is it possible that the blood of those who have recovered from COVID-19 can help cure those who are now sick?

9 Apr 2020

Novel ventilator bed hoods keep coronavirus contained within ICU

Researchers from the University of Melbourne have come up with devices called ventilation hoods that could help decrease the spread of COVID-19 from ICU patients to health workers who treat them, and to other patients.

9 Apr 2020

Novel clinical trial fast tracks testing of COVID-19 therapies

A novel clinical trial developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine launched today at UPMC to address one of the most important debates during the COVID-19 pandemic:

9 Apr 2020

Microneedle patches for potential COVID-19 vaccines or therapeutics

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading over the world, causing panic and illness on a scale unprecedented in one hundred years. Even while the death toll nears 100,000, with over 1.5 million confirmed cases worldwide, public health experts and medical professionals are battling it using all the weapons available. Unfortunately, these are all too few.

9 Apr 2020

Testing One, Two, Three - Over 75% of people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic

A new study published in the British Medical Journal in April 2020 suggests that the number of people infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is astonishingly higher than the number of cases reported so far. This could help shape future social distancing measures.

9 Apr 2020

Weekly COVID-19 fatality predictions from leading epidemiologists

While many developed and developing countries are reeling under the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19 disease, preventive and therapeutic measures alike need more accurate forecasts of fatal and non-fatal events to achieve preparedness and ensure an optimal outcome. Now scientists at Imperial College, London, have come up with a new weekly forecast of the number of deaths due to coronavirus and the likely number of cases reported in countries where the virus is actively spreading.

9 Apr 2020

Hypertensive patients on ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers may have improved COVID-19 prognosis

Emerging concerns that common antihypertensive treatment approaches with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) – jointly known as renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors – may exert a negative effect in COVID-19 patients are not grounded in scientific evidence, as reported by researchers in a recent review article published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings journal.

9 Apr 2020

‘Baby, I can’t breathe’: America’s first ER doctor to die in heat of COVID-19 battle

At about 5 a.m. on March 19, a New York City ER physician named Frank Gabrin texted a friend about his concerns over the lack of medical supplies at hospitals.

9 Apr 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Who will pay for COVID-19 care?

In the absence of clear leadership from the federal government, states and private companies are pursuing their own plans to help Americans cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

9 Apr 2020