Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Australian scientists identify possible coronavirus drug

A collaborative study led by Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute in Melbourne, Australia, with the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity, has shown that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world kills the virus within 48 hours.

3 Apr 2020

Researchers identify the most common characteristics of fatal COVID-19 cases

In a new study, researchers identified the most common characteristics of 85 COVID-19 patients who died in Wuhan, China in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

3 Apr 2020

UK diagnostics firm develops rapid test to fight against COVID-19

A team of UK biotech experts are close to delivering a sophisticated and affordable testing technology that will complement the simple binary COVID-19 tests currently in use.

3 Apr 2020

Scotland-based virtual tissue biobank plays key role in the battle against COVID-19

A Scotland-based virtual biobank dealing in ethically sourced human tissue samples is helping to speed up the provision of COVID-19 samples for researchers and drug developers working to find a cure for the global pandemic.

3 Apr 2020

IBM Watson Assistant for Citizens provides responses to common COVID-19 queries

With COVID-19 affecting 206 countries, areas and territories, IBM is helping government agencies, healthcare organizations and academic institutions throughout the world use AI to put critical data and information into the hands of their citizens.

From IBM Watson 3 Apr 2020

Francis Crick Institute and UCLH play vital role in national COVID-19 testing effort

NHS staff testing for COVID-19 has been boosted by repurposing the Francis Crick Institute’s laboratory facilities as a testing facility, to help combat the spread of infection and allow key workers to perform lifesaving duties and remain safe.

3 Apr 2020

St George's, University of London focuses entire research on tackling coronavirus

St George's, University of London, the UK's specialist health university, is focusing all its ongoing research on tackling coronavirus.

3 Apr 2020

UPV leads development of new mechanical ventilator for patients with COVID-19

The Universitat Politècnica de València has led the development of a new mechanical ventilator, ready for a quick industrial production. It would provide hospitals with these devices for treating COVID-19 patients.

3 Apr 2020

Medicaid nearing ‘eye of the storm’ as newly unemployed look for coverage

As the coronavirus roils the economy and throws millions of Americans out of work, Medicaid is emerging as a default insurance plan for many of the newly unemployed.

3 Apr 2020

Strategies to manage socio-economic costs of COVID-19 pandemic

The governmental decision on when to loosen social distancing measures should not only depend on the latest number of cases.

3 Apr 2020

Robots can play a major role in COVID-19 battle

Robots can significantly help in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that is spreading across the globe. As the number of cases tops one million, and the death toll reaching 53,000, scientists race to develop a drug or vaccine for the infectious disease. Now, robots are playing a major role in this fight, improving the health and safety of individuals and patients.

2 Apr 2020

UK lockdown is slowing down coronavirus spread, study says

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which has rippled across the globe and affected about 180 countries and territories. The number of infections skyrocketed, prompting many countries and territories to impose lockdowns in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.

2 Apr 2020

Loss of smell hints at coronavirus infection

The most common signs and symptoms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) include fever, dry cough, and difficulty of breathing. But patients who were infected recall another bizarre symptom tied to the coronavirus infection – loss of smell.

2 Apr 2020

Bayreuth expert presents reliable coronavirus analyses through data assimilation

Thanks to methods used in fluid mechanics, the course of a pandemic and the effectiveness of government containment measures can be assessed promptly and accurately, and forecasts can be derived.

2 Apr 2020

Who should be taking antimalarial drugs as treatment against COVID-19?

Researchers provide a guideline regarding who should be actually taking antimalarial drugs as prophylaxis to prevent getting COVID-19. They say health professionals who are being exposed to COVID-19 positive patients and those who test positive but are asymptomatic should be taking drugs such as Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine. They explain that these populations remain most in need, and because of limited supply, these individuals need to be prioritized.

2 Apr 2020

Researchers receive NSF RAPID grant to study how anxiety affects spread of COVID-19 information

Princeton researchers have been awarded a National Science Foundation RAPID grant to study how anxiety about COVID-19 influences how we learn and share information about the pandemic.

2 Apr 2020

Research shows entire brain responds to the gut through neuronal connections

You know that feeling in your gut? We think of it as an innate intuition that sparks deep in the belly and helps guide our actions, if we let it. It's also a metaphor for what scientists call the "gut-brain axis," a biological reality in which the gut and its microbial inhabitants send signals to the brain, and vice versa.

2 Apr 2020

New app provides an overview of COVID-19 spread across the globe

There is nothing quite like a quarantine to make one itch to do something useful. Three PhD students from the Department of Mathematical Sciences have done just that.

2 Apr 2020

Trump touted Abbott’s quick COVID-19 test. HHS document shows only 5,500 are on way for entire U.S.

A coronavirus test made by Abbott Laboratories and introduced with considerable fanfare by President Donald Trump in a Rose Garden news conference this week is giving state and local health officials very little added capacity to perform speedy tests needed to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

2 Apr 2020

Scientists find important clues to vaccine in SARS-CoV-2 genome

A new research paper published by scientists at the University of Bristol who sequenced the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is causing the worldwide COVID-19 illness, reveals some significant findings that could help researchers working on rolling out vaccines to stop the relentless march of the virus. The study was published online on the preprint site bioRxiv in April 2020.

2 Apr 2020