Disease/Infection News

RSS

Breastfeeding safe and beneficial in SARS-CoV-2 infection

\With the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, hundreds of millions of people became infected worldwide, including thousands of pregnant women near term. The question of vertical transmission to the infant via the placenta or breast milk was very real, leading to a near-total ban on breastfeeding in this group.

17 May 2021

Study shows how Swedish people perceive information about COVID-19

Swedes' confidence in government officials varies greatly depending on their political leanings. Politicians are perceived as more in agreement when it comes to their views on how the corona pandemic is being handled in Sweden.

17 May 2021

Study provides valuable insight for preventing global pandemics

Whether it's plankton exposed to parasites or people exposed to pathogens, a host's initial immune response plays an integral role in determining whether infection occurs and to what degree it spreads within a population, new University of Colorado Boulder research suggests.

17 May 2021

Employment for frontline healthcare workers should be conditional on COVID-19 jab, argue ethicists

Employment for frontline healthcare workers should be conditional on COVID-19 vaccination, and unless they have a valid medical reason for not getting the jab, persistent refusniks should be temporarily redeployed to protect their colleagues and patients, argue ethicists in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

17 May 2021

Government’s covid-19 travel plan will let new variants into the UK, experts warn

The government’s covid-19 travel plan will let new variants into the UK, warn experts in The BMJ today.

17 May 2021

Delaying second dose of covid-19 vaccine could result in lower mortality under certain conditions

Delaying the second dose of covid-19 vaccines, at least for people aged under 65, could result in up to 20% lower mortality, but only under certain conditions, finds a US study published by The BMJ today.

17 May 2021

A leading group of scientists working in universities, research centres, and innovative companies across Belgium, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland just initiated a groundbreaking project hoping to treat stroke once and for all. The project, given the code name “ANGIE”, is backed by EU funding. "European scientists started developin

17 May 2021

Study reveals the first complete 3D molecular structure of immature flavivirus

Better designed vaccines for insect-spread viruses like dengue and Zika are likely after researchers discovered models of immature flavivirus particles were originally misinterpreted.

17 May 2021

Most COVID-19 patients have neurological symptoms

In a new study, published in the journal JAMA Network, University of Pittsburgh researchers for the Global Consortium Study of Neurologic Dysfunction in COVID-19 found that neurological manifestations were prevalent among patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The patients were also at a higher risk of in-hospital mortality.

17 May 2021

Nanotechnology and COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment

The development of nano-biosensors and nanoparticle-based vaccines and medicines has opened a new path toward better management of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In a recently published article in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, scientists have reviewed recent advancements in nanotechnology-based diagnostic and therapeutic interventions against human coronaviruses.

17 May 2021

New framework could help manage COVID-19, deal with other major stresses

A new analysis of the effects of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the current pandemic, on the human body has provided novel insights into the nature of resilience and how we deal with stressful situations.

17 May 2021

New way to detect a diverse range of bacteria that cause diarrheal disease in informal settlements

Monash University researchers have validated a way to successfully detect a diverse range of bacteria (pathogens) that cause diarrheal disease in informal settlements.

17 May 2021

A SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody with extensive spike binding coverage

In a recently published research paper in the journal Nature Communications, a team of scientists from China has described the antiviral efficacy of a novel anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody isolated from recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.

17 May 2021

Nanopore analysis identifies pseudouridine modifications in SARS-CoV-2

In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv* by Fleming, Mathewson & Burrows (May 10th, 2021), nanopore devices are developed that allow identification of the passage of pseudouridine through a protein sensor. This further allowed the group to identify five conserved pseudouridine sites on the 3’ end of SARS-CoV-2 sub-genomic RNAs, which could potentially be beneficial to the virus in immune evasion.

17 May 2021

Antibody to SARS-CoV-2 inhibits complement hyperactivation

Although several monoclonal antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein have been developed and clinically tested, little is known about antibodies to the nucleocapsid protein. In a paper published recently in the journal Nature Communications, researchers report a human monoclonal antibody that targets the nucleocapsid protein.

17 May 2021

Online gambling grew six-fold among regular gamblers during lockdown

Regular gamblers were more than six times more likely to gamble online compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research.

17 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Nsp2 structure revealed by cryo-EM and AI

Researchers in the United States analyzed the non-structural protein 2 (Nsp2) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in order to better understand its function and to guide future drug discovery. The research paper is currently available on bioRxiv* preprint server.

16 May 2021

Phase 2 trial shows INO-4800 SARS-CoV-2 DNA vaccine safe and tolerable in adults

Preliminary clinical trial results from an ongoing Phase 2/3 trial led by Laurent M. Humeau of Inovio Pharmaceuticals suggest the two-dose INO-4800 vaccine is safe for use in adults of varying ages. The results expand on phase 1 trial results that found the vaccine was safe and tolerable in 38 participants.

16 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617 variant shows modest resistance to vaccine-induced antibodies

The World Health Organization (WHO) has labeled the double mutant B.1.617 variant — first discovered in India —a variant of concern for its high transmission rate and ability to evade immune responses. New research posted to the preprint server bioRxiv finds B.1.617 can modestly reduce neutralizing antibody responses generated from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

16 May 2021

Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines induce robust T cell response against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing the efficacy of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at eliciting a robust T cell response against variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

16 May 2021