Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Pancreatitis drug Nafamostat shows promise for coronavirus

With the increasing number of infections across the globe, scientists have resorted to studying existing drugs in the hope of discovering a cure for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A team of researchers has found that an existing drug, Nafamostat or Fusan, a drug used to treat acute pancreatitis, may effectively block the process used by the novel coronavirus to spread and cause illness.

1 Apr 2020

Study examines preventative health behavior relating to COVID-19 virus

By now, most have gotten the gist of it: Wash your hands - frequently and for at least 20 seconds. Don't touch your face. Keep a distance of at least six feet between you and other people.Stay home, and stay safe.

1 Apr 2020

'Pool testing' for COVID-19 may help increase testing capacities across the globe

Now, a team of researchers at the German Red Cross Blood Donor Service and the Institute for Medical Virology at the University Hospital Frankfurt at Goethe University have developed a pool testing procedure that will make it possible to rapidly increase worldwide testing capacities for SARS-CoV-2.

1 Apr 2020

ERC awards grants to 158 European scientists to identify effective immunotherapy strategies for cancer

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced it will support Professor Thomas Blankenstein to the tune of €2.5 million over five years. This year the ERC is awarding Advanced Grants to a total of 158 scientists across Europe.

1 Apr 2020

D-Wave Systems offers free quantum cloud access to those working on COVID-19 response

D-Wave Systems Inc., the leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services, today announced the immediate availability of free access to its quantum systems via the Leap quantum cloud service for anyone working on responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

1 Apr 2020

Researchers are working to visualize regional indicators for better decision making on COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the globe, it is fast becoming clear that no one is exempt from its disruptive effects.

1 Apr 2020

Antihypertensive drugs may protect against COVID-19 in heart patients

Common drugs used in high blood pressure, heart failure, and diabetic patients with kidney damage, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), could be protective in patients with COVID-19.

31 Mar 2020

Spit and feces test positive for SARS CoV-2 even after recovery

A new study reveals that samples of sputum and feces continue to test positive for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus even after a person has recovered from COVID-19 and nasopharyngeal secretions test negative for the virus.

31 Mar 2020

Paper-based device to detect coronavirus in wastewater

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread to180 countries and territories, affecting more than 850,000 people. The transmission of the coronavirus is through respiratory droplets. However, the risk of transmission through feces is low, based on data from previous coronavirus outbreaks. Though transmission of the novel coronavirus through sewerage systems is low, testing could help predict coronavirus outbreaks or spread.

31 Mar 2020

COVID-19 peak could be delayed until November with social distancing

While these numbers are alarming, a group of experts has predicted that we are far from seeing a peak effect of this infection, and if the present measures of social distancing work, the peak of the epidemic in New South Wales, Australia would be less severe and occur in November.

31 Mar 2020

TGen ramps up testing for COVID-19 to combat global health threat

Since mid-January, the Translational Genomics Research Institute has joined the world-wide effort to test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing the COVID-19 disease.

31 Mar 2020

FDA nod for first experimental plasma therapy for COVID-19 in the U.S.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic has rapidly spread across the globe, now affecting 180 countries and territories. The United States is the front runner with the highest number of confirmed cases, surpassing both China, Italy, and Spain in the case toll. With the vast spread of the novel coronavirus, scientists and health experts are opting for varied treatments in the hope of helping ailing patients infected with COVID-19.

31 Mar 2020

COVID-19: Ban on eating wild meat deprives some forest communities

As efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic accelerate around the world, wildlife conservationists have welcomed a move by the Chinese government to outlaw the hunting and consumption of all terrestrial wild animals.

31 Mar 2020

Virus-scanning tool could identify previously undetected cases of COVID-19 infections

When a virus invades the body, it leaves fingerprints behind. A research tool known as VirScan can detect this evidence - from just a single drop of blood - and identify the viruses that have infected a person in the past. Soon, the new coronavirus will join the VirScan lineup.

31 Mar 2020

Guidelines and best practices to provide care for seniors during COVID-19 pandemic

Older adults are at elevated risk for complications from COVID-19 and are dying at a higher rate than younger patients.

31 Mar 2020

China's control measures during the first 50 days may have limited spread of COVID-19

China's control measures during the first 50 days of the COVID-19 epidemic may have delayed the spread of the virus to cities outside of Wuhan by several days and, by interrupting transmission nationwide, prevented more than 700,000 infections across the country, according to an international team of researchers.

31 Mar 2020

Three Australian experts explain the course of COVID-19

Researchers have been studying the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) closely since its beginning in December 2019. To date, the virus has infected over 850,000 individuals across the globe and killed over 41,000.

31 Mar 2020

Individuals taking glucocorticoids are at high risk if infected with COVID-19

Individuals taking a class of steroid hormones called glucocorticoids for conditions such as asthma, allergies and arthritis on a routine basis may be unable to mount a normal stress response and are at high risk if they are infected with the virus causing COVID-19, according to a new editorial published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

31 Mar 2020

Sheltered at home, families broach end-of-life planning

Long before she contracted COVID-19 at a Kirkland, Washington, nursing home, Barbara Dreyfuss made sure to document the wishes that would govern how she died.

31 Mar 2020

Cobra Biologics and Karolinska Institutet join forces to develop DNA vaccine against COVID-19

Cobra Biologics, an international CDMO for biologics and pharmaceuticals, and the Karolinska Institutet, one of the world’s leading medical universities, today announced they have been awarded €3 million emergency funding by Horizon 2020 for research and development, and phase I clinical trial testing of a DNA vaccine against COVID-19, as part of the OPENCORONA consortium to support global efforts tackling the pandemic.

31 Mar 2020