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Could 6′,6′-difluoro-aristeromycin (DFA) have broad-spectrum antiviral potential against coronaviruses?

Researchers at the Leiden University Medical Center demonstrated that low-micromolar concentrations of 6′,6′-difluoro24 aristeromycin (DFA), an adenosine nucleoside analog, strongly inhibits the replication of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in a cell-based infection assay.

25 May 2021

Do vaccinations result in anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in human milk?

The aim of this study investigates the impact of different types of vaccines on the anti-SARS-CoV-2 Immunoglobulin A (IgA) and Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels found in human milk.

25 May 2021

Heterologous prime-boost immunization with AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines safe and well-tolerated, study finds

A team of scientists from Germany has recently evaluated the reactogenicity profile of heterologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/BNT162b2 prime-boost vaccination among healthcare workers. The findings reveal that a 12-week interval regimen of heterologous vaccination is well-tolerated among participants. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

25 May 2021

Researchers explore strategies that could help the homeless during pandemics

A team of UBC Okanagan researchers is looking at strategies that could help the homeless during a pandemic.

25 May 2021

UIC leads multi-center collaborative to help communities affected by COVID-19

The University of Illinois Chicago has been selected by the National Institutes of Health as the principal site of a multi-center collaborative in the Chicago area that will bolster research and outreach to help communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

25 May 2021

DEFINE: Trial designed to test repurposed treatments in patients with COVID-19

A team of scientists from the United Kingdom has designed an experimental medicine trial to evaluate the safety/tolerability, and efficacy profiles of a panel of candidate repurposed therapies in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. A detailed outline of the trial is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

25 May 2021

New collaborative effort to produce anti-HIV monoclonal antibodies

The Hotung Molecular Immunology group at St George's, University of London has partnered with Leaf Expression Systems, a contract development and manufacturing organization, specializing in plant-based expression and production of proteins, to explore the feasibility of producing anti-HIV monoclonal antibodies at large scale.

25 May 2021

Research looks at viral presence around hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Researchers in Canada aimed to determine the burden of SARS-CoV-2 in the air and on surfaces in the rooms of patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

25 May 2021

Healthcare workers were three times more likely to get infected by COVID-19, shows study

A study of healthcare workers shows they were three times more likely to become infected during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the general population. Around one in five of workers who were infected were asymptomatic and unaware they had COVID-19.

25 May 2021

Discovery of novel SARS-related coronaviruses in bats

In a recent study published on the bioRxiv* server, Peng Zhou, Zheng-Li Shi and colleagues at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, with collaboration from scientists at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in China, have identified a new lineage of SARS-related coronaviruses that utilize bat angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors for cell entry, which is the same receptor used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect host cells.

25 May 2021

Do mixed COVID-19 vaccines provide immunity?

The initial results of the CombivacS trial found that the antibody levels in individuals increased by 150 times when the Pfizer messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine was given after a first dose of the AstraZeneca severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine, with only mild common side effects.

24 May 2021

Why COVID-19 patients have more pathogenic bacteria in their noses

Researchers compared the nasal microbiome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, healthy individuals, and healthcare workers. These studies indicated an increase in the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa present in the nasal microbiome of COVID-19 patients, which may be responsible for other secondary infections.

24 May 2021

Researchers take steps to standardize correlates of protection against SARS-CoV-2

Antibodies, Antibody, Assay, Coronavirus, Efficacy, Healthcare, Pandemic, Protein, Receptor, Research, Vaccine, Virus, Coronavirus Disease COVID-19,

24 May 2021

Shared genetic architecture between COVID-19 severity and other health conditions

Researchers in the United States have identified a shared genetic architecture between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and other health conditions.

24 May 2021

Could an antiviral mouthwash using silver nanoparticles prevent COVID-19?

In a recent study by researchers in Mexico, Russia and Spain, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were found to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers. They propose a non-pharmaceutical public health intervention consisting of mouthwash and nose rinse with an AgNPs solution to reduce morbidity among healthcare personnel exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

24 May 2021

The potential therapeutic value of CDK6 inhibitors in critical COVID-19

While drug repurposing has been explored in the context of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the success of this strategy has been limited so far. A new study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, describes a new method of identifying a promising hit among drugs already in use.

24 May 2021

New peptide-like molecules could treat herpes, COVID-19, and the common cold

Among the powerful biochemicals of the human immune system, peptides are one of the best.

24 May 2021

Little evidence for mRNA COVID-19 vaccine-associated thrombocytopenia, suggests new FDA study

Even as a host of vaccines have been rolled out to counter the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, some serious adverse effects have been reported, in the form of thrombocytopenia. A new study in the journal Vaccine reports the results of an evaluation of reported cases of this condition, using data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

24 May 2021

Novel natural compounds may help treat COVID-19, study suggests

A new study in the journal Chemistry Europe reports two natural compounds identified by virtual screening and computational modeling as having great promise for the development of drugs against SARS-CoV-2.

24 May 2021

How conservative are the current COVID-19 pandemic global statistics?

After almost a year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic, the actual case count of those infected with its causative virus – SARS-CoV-2 – remains unclear. Though well over 167.2 million cases have been reported worldwide, this is certainly believed by many to be a massive undercount. A new epidemiological study uses the classical SIR-C mathematical model to find the peak size and date of cases, both documented and unidentified, and the gap between them.

24 May 2021