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Kids misusing soft drinks to corrupt SARS-CoV-2 tests

A group of collaborating researchers systematically tested a variety of different soft drinks to determine their ability to create false-positive results.

8 Jul 2021

Instant biosensor can detect COVID-19 variants even if someone is asymptomatic

RMIT University is collaborating with partners including Australian biomedical start-up Soterius on the biosensor, which can detect the presence of tiny amounts of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants.

8 Jul 2021

Physical fitness at a young age linked to protection against severe COVID-19

Of the Swedish men in their late teens who performed well in the physical fitness tests for military conscription, a relatively high proportion were able to avoid hospital care when they became infected with COVID-19 during the pandemic up to 50 years later.

8 Jul 2021

A type of echocardiogram may predict COVID-19 patients most at risk of developing atrial fibrillation

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have shown that a type of echocardiogram, a common test to evaluate whether a person's heart is pumping properly, may be useful in predicting which patients with COVID-19 are most at risk of developing atrial fibrillation - an irregular heartbeat that can increase a person's risk for heart failure and stroke, among other heart issues.

8 Jul 2021

How women in England faced childbirth in the COVID-19 pandemic

Pregnant women have suffered considerable uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only were the effects of the virus on the baby unknown, but social restrictions in place threatened their ability to plan their delivery experience or have their birthing partners with them. This is the focus of a new paper, which illustrates the need to provide proper guidance and support to pregnant women during such periods, especially allowing them to feel supported and in control of their childbirth experience.

8 Jul 2021

Do lockdowns exert selection pressure on overdispersion of SARS-CoV-2 variants?

New research recently released on the medRxiv* preprint server describes a mathematical model that has been developed to evaluate competitions between variants that differ in their level of overdispersion (k) and their mean infectiousness.

8 Jul 2021

How do host factors like the lung microbiome aid in SARS‐CoV‐2 infection?

A new article has been published in Cellular and Molecular Lifesciences, which focuses on the connection between host factors and the worsening of the COVID-19. Further, the impact of the virus on the host’s microbiome and secondary infection has also been studied.

8 Jul 2021

Using regular monitoring is most effective in limiting COVID-19 outbreaks in schools

Current methods of limiting the spread of COVID-19 infection in schools are unsuited for controlling outbreaks, with research indicating that regular monitoring measures may be better suited.

8 Jul 2021

Delta variant surges in Colorado as the bands play on

Dr. Rachel LaCount grasped a metal hoop at a playground and spun in circles with her 7-year-old son, turning the distant mesas of the Colorado National Monument into a red-tinged blur.

8 Jul 2021

Women at higher risk of post-COVID-19 syndrome

To better understand post-COVID sequelae, researchers at the University Hospital Basel and the University Hospital Zurich conducted a multicentre prospective observational cohort study.

8 Jul 2021

DIY oxygen conversion unit could be a low-cost solution to fight COVID-19 in India

As COVID-19 continues to devastate much of India, a group of international researchers led by Monash University have developed an oxygen conversion unit that can be built from local materials, enabling doctors to provide life-saving oxygen treatment.

8 Jul 2021

Growing concern over SARS-CoV-2 Lambda variant

A new report from Chile – currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server – reveals how mutations in the spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Lambda variant can confer protection from neutralizing antibodies and increase viral infectivity rates, which means massive vaccination campaigns should be accompanied by strict genomic surveillance.

8 Jul 2021

Using commensal bacteria to produce vaccine-like immune responses to dangerous bacterium

Researchers have produced vaccine-like immune responses to a dangerous bacterium by colonizing 26 healthy volunteers with a related, but harmless, commensal bacterial species. The first-in-human, controlled infection study showed the strategy was safe, as no side effects were reported and the volunteers didn't transmit the commensal bacteria to bedroom-sharers over the 90-day study.

8 Jul 2021

Hospitals may not be adequately prepared for the next pandemic, study finds

As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes in the U.S., a new study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) finds that hospitals nationwide may not be adequately prepared for the next pandemic.

8 Jul 2021

Striking increase in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies seen with prime dose AstraZeneca vaccine followed by Pfizer-BioNTech

Researchers in Germany have provided evidence that a booster shot of a messenger RNA (mRNA)-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine following prime immunization with AstraZeneca’s adenoviral vector-based vaccine is sufficient to achieve high levels of neutralizing antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

8 Jul 2021

Enzyme inhibitor boosts immune system to fight MRSA and other dangerous skin infections

In what turned out to be one of the most important accidents of all time, Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming returned to his laboratory after a vacation in 1928 to find a clear zone surrounding a piece of mold that had infiltrated a petri dish full of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), a common skin bacterium he was growing.

8 Jul 2021

Changes to COVID-19 vaccination strategy could speed up herd immunity

Researchers in the United States have proposed changes to the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination strategy that they say would increase the likelihood of herd immunity being achieved in the most timely and cost-effective manner.

8 Jul 2021

Scientists study how our immune system responds to COVID-19 variants

Australian scientists researching how our immune system responds to COVID-19 have revealed that those infected by early variants in 2020 produced sustained antibodies, however, these antibodies are not as effective against contemporary variants of the virus.

8 Jul 2021

How SARS-CoV-2 has evolved over the course of the pandemic

In an effort to understand the ongoing evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, researchers constructed a phylogenetic tree of all available SARS-CoV-2 genomes.

7 Jul 2021