Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Latest Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

About 15% of COVID-19-related deaths linked to long-term exposure to air pollution

Long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of dying from COVID-19 and, for the first time, a study has estimated the proportion of deaths from the coronavirus that could be attributed to the exacerbating effects of air pollution for every country in the world.

27 Oct 2020

Genome-wide screens reveal new helpful and harmful COVID-19 related genes

Researchers at Yale University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard screened hundreds of millions of cells exposed to the COVID-19 and MERS viruses and identified dozens of genes that both enable the viruses to replicate in cells and also those that seem to slam the door on the virus.

27 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 is mainly spread in households and household-like settings

Ten months into the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, health experts have a good understanding of how the virus spreads. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spreads through respiratory droplets and aerosols and enters the body through the mouth, nose, and eyes.

27 Oct 2020

COVID-19 antibiotic risk factors

Now, a team of researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center aimed to determine antibiotic prescribing rates and risk factors for antibiotic prescribing in hospitalized patients. They found that almost one-third of patients received more than one course of antibiotics.

27 Oct 2020

10-24-year-olds are as susceptible to COVID-19 as older adults

In an attempt to replicate the results of previous studies, a team of researchers performed statistical analyses on COVID-19 prevalence data from the U.S. to compare the number of cases in adolescents and youth to that in older adults. Their work is published on the preprint server medRxiv.

27 Oct 2020

New research on small non-coding RNAs and SARS-CoV-2

A recently published mini-review in the Frontiers in Microbiology on the altered expression of small non-coding RNAs during coronavirus-mediated infections.

26 Oct 2020

Phase 1 trial results of gorilla adenovirus vaccine for COVID-19

A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in October 2020 reports the development of a novel vaccine based on a simian adenoviral vector obtained from a group C gorilla isolate called GRAd32. This could help speed up vaccine development.

26 Oct 2020

Researchers generate a transcriptomic map of the COVID brain

COVID-19 is known to be associated with multiple changes in gene expression, but many of these are also seen in chronic brain conditions as well as in some abnormal mental conditions. A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in October 2020 uncovers the molecular basis of this association.

26 Oct 2020

New peptide derivatives that target the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

In a new study published in the journal Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, researchers report peptide derivatives, or peptidomimetics, based on the circle residues involved in the interaction of the spike protein and ACE2.

26 Oct 2020

Transcriptomics identifies possible COVID-19 therapies

By using a diverse set of transcriptomic SARS-CoV-2 signatures, US researchers put to use their previously developed drug repositioning pipeline to pinpoint potential drug candidates for the treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The study is currently available on bioRxiv preprint server.

26 Oct 2020

Study suggests 5’UTR of SARS-CoV-2 might be of pangolin coronavirus origin

Findings from a new genomic sequencing study support the hypothesis that the pangolin was the intermediate host for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that enabled transmission of the virus to humans.

26 Oct 2020

Nasal spray formulation of ivermectin for COVID-19 shows promise in pigs

Researchers in Argentina have conducted a pre-clinical study demonstrating the safety and pharmacokinetic performance of a new nasal spray formulation designed to suppress the replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

26 Oct 2020

Joint Pathology Center selects Huron Digital Pathology’s image search engine to unlock vast knowledge contained in world’s largest human tissue repository

Huron Digital Pathology announced today that the Joint Pathology Center (JPC), the premier pathology reference center for the United States federal government and part of the US Defense Health Agency, has selected Huron’s artificial intelligence-enabled LagottoTM image search engine to index and search JPC’s growing digital image archive.

From Huron Digital Pathology 26 Oct 2020

EKF launches PrimeStore® MTM pathogenic sample collection and transportation kit

EKF Diagnostics, the global in-vitro diagnostics company, announces that it has launched a PrimeStore® MTM sample collection kit.

From EKF Diagnostics 26 Oct 2020

Research uncovers SARS-CoV-2 viral traits critical for the virus in human airways

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in October 2020 reports the discovery of important viral genomic features that are crucial to its replication in the human airway cells, and its enhancing mutations which increase the rate of replication and determine its target cells.

26 Oct 2020

Small molecules block SARS-CoV-2 spike-ACE2 attachment

The search includes immunological agents, enzyme inhibitors, and soluble competitive inhibitors. Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in October 2020 provides preliminary evidence that small molecules can inhibit viral entry by inhibiting spike-ACE2 attachment.

26 Oct 2020

COVID-19 now likely leading cause of death among 25-44's in USA

A team of researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School, aimed to determine changes in all-cause mortality or excess deaths among adults between 25 and 44 years old in the United States. Further, they also want to identify the years of lost life (YLL) among this age group.

26 Oct 2020

Population-based COVID-19 prevalence surveys in Europe and Americas show risk of bias

A team of researchers from the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul performed a systematic review to assess these population-based COVID-19 prevalence surveys' reliability and biases qualitatively. Their study is published on the preprint server medRxiv.

26 Oct 2020

Researchers present COVID RdRp structure at 2.5A

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint publication, Christopher J. Russo et al. report the structure of favipiravir ribonucleoside triphosphate (favipiravir-RTP) in complex with the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) bound to a template: primer RNA duplex. They determine the structure by electron cryomicroscopy (cryoEM) to a resolution of 2.5 Å.

26 Oct 2020

NRP-1 receptor potentiates SARS-CoV-2 infectivity

The COVID-19 pandemic is still actively spreading in many parts of the world, causing redoubled efforts to develop antivirals and vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A recent study explores the role of a second type of cell surface receptor, called neuropilin, in the virus's entry into the host cell and its subsequent replication.

26 Oct 2020