Disease/Infection News

RSS

A 'quick and easy' COVID-19 test developed for population-scale screening

Global endeavors to fight the Covid-19 pandemic heavily rely on accurate, fast and frequent tests for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 - "test, test, test", as the World Health Organization has bluntly put it.

24 Jun 2020

New project aims to track coronavirus using human waste

Recent studies in the Netherlands and other places have shown that the presence of SARS-Coronavirus-2, or the novel coronavirus, can be detected in human waste.

24 Jun 2020

Increase in sedentary behavior can contribute to cardiovascular health deterioration

The adverse side effects of the social isolation measures implemented to combat COVID-19 include an increase in sedentary behavior and physical inactivity, which can contribute to a deterioration in cardiovascular health even in the short term. Older people and people with chronic diseases tend to be most affected.

24 Jun 2020

New assay rapidly tests SARS-CoV-2 neutralization and screens antivirals

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, have developed a new platform that can rapidly test neutralizing antibody activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and perform high-throughput screening of potential antiviral agents.

24 Jun 2020

Effective neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 by synthetic nanobodies targeting the spike protein

In their recent bioRxiv paper, a multinational group of researchers reported rapid isolation and characterization of nanobodies from a synthetic library (known as sybodies) that target the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein – with a strikingly high neutralization ability.

24 Jun 2020

ACE inhibition in kidney could influence pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2

The dynamics of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression in the kidney could have implications for the infectivity and pathogenicity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), say researchers.

24 Jun 2020

Structured 'cut-and-paste' design enables streamlined development of SARS-CoV-2 molecular probes

A seminal study by US researchers, currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, demonstrates how structure-based design can be efficiently employed to develop molecular probes targeting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike and its domains, with possible future use in diagnostics, treatment and vaccine development.

24 Jun 2020

Common cancer treatments do not worsen COVID-19 infection, study finds

The characterization of COVID-19 in patients with cancer remains limited in published studies and nationwide surveillance analyses.

24 Jun 2020

Bacteriophage could help decrease mortality of patients with COVID-19

Bacteriophage can reduce bacterial growth in the lungs, limiting fluid build-up. This could decrease the mortality of patients affected by COVID-19, according to the peer-reviewed journal PHAGE: Therapy, Applications, and Research.

24 Jun 2020

Far-UVC light can efficiently and safely kill airborne coronaviruses

More than 99.9% of seasonal coronaviruses present in airborne droplets were killed when exposed to a particular wavelength of ultraviolet light that is safe to use around humans, a new study at Columbia University Irving Medical Center has found.

24 Jun 2020

Study ratifies the main symptoms of COVID-19

A persistent cough and fever have been confirmed as the most prevalent symptoms associated with COVID-19, according to a major review of the scientific literature.

24 Jun 2020

Statin therapy linked to lower death rate in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

The use of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins is associated with a lower death rate and a lower incidence of mechanical ventilation in patients hospitalized with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), researchers report June 24 in Cell Metabolism.

24 Jun 2020

Face masks can slow the spread of COVID-19

Regions with an early interest in face masks had milder COVID-19 epidemics, according to a new letter-to-the-editor published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

24 Jun 2020

COVID-19 pandemic could increase the global burden of tuberculosis

The global COVID-19 pandemic could significantly increase the global burden of tuberculosis (TB) due to disruptions to health services, and delays to diagnosis and treatment, according to new estimates published in the European Respiratory Journal.

24 Jun 2020

Drinking surged during the pandemic. Do you know the signs of addiction?

Despite the lack of dine-in customers for nearly 2½ long months during the coronavirus shutdown, Darrell Loo of Waldo Thai stayed busy.

24 Jun 2020

The Role of Nutrition in Recovery from COVID-19

Dr. Riccardo Caccialanza speaks to News-Medical about how implementing nutritional support can make a significant difference to COVID-19 patient recovery time.

24 Jun 2020

Kerafast offers the Delta-G-VSV Pseudotyping System for coronavirus research

Kerafast Inc., developers of an online platform to facilitate access to unique lab-made bioresearch materials, today announced the availability of the Delta-G-VSV Pseudotyping System for coronavirus research applications. The system, developed by the Michael Whitt laboratory at University of Tennessee, enables studies of SARS-CoV-2 viral entry and COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness at just biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) containment.

From Kerafast 24 Jun 2020

Avacta provides update on COVID-19 rapid antigen test development partnership with Cytiva

Avacta Group plc is pleased to announce that the rapid test strips to detect SARS-COV-2 spike protein have been evaluated by Avacta’s partners at Cytiva.

From Cytiva Life Sciences 24 Jun 2020

Abnormal findings in testicular tissue of COVID-19 patients, SARS-CoV-2 mostly undetected

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over 9.263 million cases and taken more than 477,000 lives as of June 24, 2020 – just six months after the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, was reported. The illness, called COVID-19 disease, caused by SARS-CoV-2 is a severe pneumonic illness, caused by the entry of the virus into the type II alveolar cells.

24 Jun 2020

USA riddled with SARS-CoV-2 - 80% undetected

The coronavirus pandemic is actively spreading across the globe, affecting 188 countries and territories. The United States remains the country with the highest number of infections. The official tally reveals that the U.S. has more than 2.347 million people infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

24 Jun 2020