Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

KAUST researchers develop a safe, fast and cheap testing method to detect viruses

A safe, fast and cheap testing method that uses magnetic nanoparticles to detect viruses in both clinical and wastewater samples has been developed by KAUST researchers.

25 Feb 2021

FDA approval provides targeted treatment option for patients with rare DMD mutation

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval for Amondys 45 (casimersen) injection for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in patients who have a confirmed mutation of the DMD gene that is amenable to exon 45 skipping (Exons are pieces of DNA that provide information for making proteins in a person's genome).

25 Feb 2021

International cooperation is key to get equal access to COVID-19 vaccines

Almost 130 countries are yet to receive a single COVID-19 vaccine dose, as ten high-income countries secure the majority.

25 Feb 2021

Study addresses COVID-19 pandemic concerns and guidelines for increasing food safety

A team of researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture examined how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed food practices and safety protocols for workers in food-processing plants.

25 Feb 2021

New vaccine, enhanced surveillance needed to combat childhood pneumonia

A rise in vaccine-resistant bacteria shows the need for a new vaccine to fight childhood empyema after a spike in hospitalisations, a new UNSW study reveals.

25 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 transmission bottleneck is of the order of one to three virions

Now, a new study, posted to the bioRxiv preprint server by the same researchers, focussing on the Austrian region, found that SARS-CoV-2 transmission bottlenecks to be much tighter than previously thought.

24 Feb 2021

Complement system appears to be specifically implicated in severe COVID-19

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing that activation of the complement system is specifically implicated in the pathogenesis of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), rather than being a broader indicator of critical illness.

24 Feb 2021

Survey finds highest ever vaccination rates during the 2020-2021 flu season

More U.S. adults reported receiving or planning to receive an influenza vaccination during the 2020-2021 flu season than ever before, according to findings from a December 2020 national survey.

24 Feb 2021

Electronic doctors’ notes could help hospitals plan for surges in COVID-19 cases

A new study, published today in Nature Digital Medicine, found that 'natural language processing' (NLP) of information routinely recorded by doctors - as part of patients' electronic health records - reveal vital trends that could help clinical teams forecast and plan for surges in patients.

24 Feb 2021

Household odorant smell tests could help detect COVID-19, say study

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and other institutions developed a new tool to help detect COVID-19 infection. The team developed and tested a real-time tool to measure olfactory perception impairment by asking the participants to smell household odorants.

24 Feb 2021

GW team to play a role in Sanofi COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial

The George Washington University announced today its participation in a Sanofi COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial. GW was selected as one of approximately 25 sites in the United States to launch a phase 2 study for its adjuvanted recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

24 Feb 2021

Basigin does not facilitate SARS-CoV-2 entry, say researchers

Researchers investigated the significance of a transmembrane glycoprotein basigin, or CD147, as a host cell co-receptor required for the entry of SARS-CoV-2. The findings reveal that recombinant human basigin does not interact with full-length spike protein or spike RBD of SARS-CoV-2.

24 Feb 2021

Corticosteroid receptor inhibitor shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vivo

A team of researchers examined PT150, which is an allosteric modulator of androgen and glucocorticoid receptors, to assess whether it had any antiviral activity or immunomodulatory activity to decrease the hyperinflammatory response of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

24 Feb 2021

Researchers identify 'violent' physical processes which cause wheezing

A team of engineers has identified the 'violent' physical processes at work inside the lungs which cause wheezing, a condition which affects up to a quarter of the world's population.

24 Feb 2021

Hyperactive immune system contributes to COVID-19 severity, lung damage

Researchers have pinpointed a helper T cell population in the lungs of patients with severe COVID-19 that may be central to the development of hyperinflammation, lung injury, and subsequent acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) during disease.

24 Feb 2021

Exhaled breath from infected people can spread COVID-19

COVID-19 can spread from asymptomatic but infected people through small aerosol droplets in their exhaled breath. Most studies of the flow of exhaled air have focused on coughing or sneezing, which can send aerosols flying long distances.

24 Feb 2021

COVID-19 may alter host proteins to cause autoimmunity

To better understand the transient and chronic autoimmune symptoms caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Guizhou Medical University, and biotech company Curandis embarked on an endeavor to establish a comprehensive autoantigenome for COVID19.

23 Feb 2021

‘Resuscitating’ old antibiotics to combat the growing threat of superbugs

Holding off the rise of superbugs could be achieved by 'resuscitating' old antibiotics, with The University of Queensland researchers leading an international project to help combat the growing threat.

23 Feb 2021

Glycan switch may explain why SARS-CoV-2 causes such variable symptoms

Researchers in Portugal have provided evidence that might explain why infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes mild or even asymptomatic illness in some individuals, but severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in others.

23 Feb 2021

New rapid diagnostic tests can differentiate between COVID-19 variants and multiple viruses

University of Minnesota Medical School researchers have developed two new rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 - one to detect COVID-19 variants and one to help differentiate with other illnesses that have COVID-19-like symptoms.

23 Feb 2021