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Eight UCD projects receive €1.5 million to help respond to COVID-19 pandemic

Eight (8) University College Dublin research projects been awarded just under €1.5 million in funding by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under the COVID-19 Rapid Response Research and Innovation Programme.

24 Sep 2020

New $1.5 million, multi-state data project to examine COVID-19 outcomes and treatments

The power of data, often an underappreciated catalyst to fixing the world's pressing problems, was recognized by Dr. Sally Hodder as a critical key in battling COVID-19 before West Virginia even reported its first case.

24 Sep 2020

Climate anomaly exacerbated WWI mortality and the Spanish flu pandemic

Scientists have spotted a once-in-a-century climate anomaly during World War I that likely increased mortality during the war and the influenza pandemic in the years that followed.

24 Sep 2020

India and Denmark to benefit from NTNU COVID-19 tests

A highly sensitive COVID-19 test, developed by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), relies on magnetic nanoparticles to extract viral RNA.

24 Sep 2020

A possible inverse relationship between Dengue and COVID-19 in Brazil

Their study titled, “How super-spreader cities, highways, hospital bed availability, and dengue fever influenced the COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil,” was released pre-peer review on the preprint medRxiv* early this week.

24 Sep 2020

Experimental cancer drug AR-12 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 virus

Nine months into the global pandemic, which has infected more than 32 million people, there is still no approved effective and safe drug or vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

24 Sep 2020

Linoleic acid binds SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

Now, a team of researchers at the Max Planck-Bristol Center for Minimal Biology and Bristol's School of Biochemistry has identified a druggable pocket in the virus's spike protein that can be used to prevent the infection of cells. The study findings, published in the journal Science, are a groundbreaking discovery that will help develop new therapies and drugs to stem the growing pandemic.

24 Sep 2020

School re-openings in US may increase COVID-19 spread unless targeted interventions are in place

In a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv, a team of researchers on behalf of the Imperial College London COVID-19 Response Team used longitudinal and age-specific population mobility and COVID-19 mortality data to model and predict SARS-CoV-2 spread in the US.

24 Sep 2020

Cold plasma inactivates SARS-CoV-2

In one such effort, Zhitong Chen et al., in a recent medRxiv* preprint paper find that by employing an efficient cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) with argon feed gas on different surfaces inactivates the infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus.

24 Sep 2020

Genetic variation not linked with differences in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality

A comprehensive search of genetic variation databases has revealed no significant differences across populations and ethnic groups in seven genes associated with viral entry of SARS-CoV-2.

24 Sep 2020

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 with D614G mutation in a second wave infection in Houston

A recent study reveals that the genetic variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detected in the initial phase of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic differ from the variants detected in a massive second wave of infection in Houston, Texas. The study is currently available on the medRxiv preprint server.

24 Sep 2020

Ethnic minority groups disproportionally affected by COVID-19

The study, which assessed the clinical records of more than 17 million adults, also identified inequalities in the risk of needing admission to ICU and the risk of COVID-19-related death.

24 Sep 2020

Tokyo citizens may have developed COVID-19 herd immunity, say researchers

Researchers in Japan and the United States have conducted a study showing that herd immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may have developed among the citizens of Tokyo during the summer.

24 Sep 2020

These secret safety panels will pick the COVID vaccine winners

Most Americans have never heard of Dr. Richard Whitley, an expert in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

24 Sep 2020

Death counts fail to convey the true mortality effects of COVID-19

More than 200,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19. Some argue that statistic is inaccurate due to inconsistencies in how deaths are being reported.

24 Sep 2020

Molecular analysis of COVID-19's second wave shows mutant viruses linked to rapid spread

Molecular analysis of COVID-19's powerful second wave in Houston – from May 12 to July 7 – shows a mutated virus strain linked to higher transmission and infection rates than the coronavirus strains that caused Houston's first wave.

24 Sep 2020

Automated computational protocol identifies potential SARS-CoV-2 MPro inhibitor

As scientists race to discover new and effective antiviral drugs against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), many novel approaches are being utilized. Now, a new study published on the preprint bioRxiv in September 2020 reports on the discovery of a potentially beneficial enzyme blocker that could inhibit SARS-CoV-2 viral replication.

24 Sep 2020

AI used to define the cytokine storm implicated in fatal COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 reports the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to identify an invariant or universal host immune response found in all viral pandemics so far. The association of this response with severe COVID-19 phenotypes indicates a new understanding of the human immune response in viral pandemics.

24 Sep 2020

Research says in SARS-CoV-2 canine infection, transmission unlikely

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 shows that pet dogs have been falling sick and dying of a mysterious respiratory infection, often showing the presence of anti- severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies, even though in many cases they do not test positive for COVID-19.

24 Sep 2020

New model counters the threat of recurring pandemic waves

How a second wave of COVID-19 infections may evolve across Europe over the next few months, using data on infection rates and travel within and between European countries, is modelled in a Scientific Reports paper.

24 Sep 2020