Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Latest Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Study shows women are more concerned about COVID-19 than men

A Dartmouth-Gallup study finds that women are more concerned about COVID-19 than men, a difference that transcends party lines.

8 Oct 2020

Majority of UK residents who tested positive for COVID-19 did not have specific symptoms

86% of UK residents who tested positive for COVID-19 during lockdown did not have the specific virus symptoms (cough, and/or fever, and/or loss of taste/smell), finds a new study by UCL researchers. The authors say a more widespread testing programme is needed to catch 'silent' transmission and reduce future outbreaks.

8 Oct 2020

Pre-existing conditions can increase patient's risk of dying from COVID-19

A large, international study of COVID-19 patients confirmed that cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, stroke and cancer can increase a patient's risk of dying from the virus.

8 Oct 2020

Study estimates lower herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in the U.S.

A new study shows that recognizing the differences in the population composition, connectedness and distribution, as well as inter-individual differences in immunity, susceptibility and infectivity, are crucial to estimating the herd immunity attained as a result of natural severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) more accurately.

8 Oct 2020

Comet supercomputer performs complex calculations on receptor sequence data from human T cells

While researchers around the world race to develop an effective and safe COVID-19 vaccine, a team from the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego contributed to a study led by Vanderbilt Vaccine Center of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) on T cell receptors, which play a vital role in alerting the adaptive immune system to mount an attack on invading foreign pathogens including the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

8 Oct 2020

Vitamin D deficiency may predict COVID-19 seroconversion

A recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in October 2020 reports the potential contribution of vitamin D deficiency to an increased risk of COVID-19 in a subset of health care workers in the UK.

8 Oct 2020

Experimental Chinese SARS-CoV-2 vaccine appears safe in early trials

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020 reports the findings of a phase I trial of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, demonstrating that it can elicit a potent immune response without significant adverse reactions.

7 Oct 2020

Plasma ABO protein is a causal risk factor for severe COVID-19

Researchers used an integrative genomics approach to find the genes responsible for COVID-19 and its severity.

7 Oct 2020

Anosmia and ageusia may be useful as COVID-19 surveillance case definitions

A recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020 reports the utility of alterations in taste and smell to monitor the prevalence of COVID-19 among contacts and in a community that lacks unlimited testing resources.

7 Oct 2020

Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in two Indian states

Indian and American researchers collaborated to study the trends of transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in two Indian states – Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Their study titled, “Epidemiology and transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in two Indian states,” was published in the latest issue of the journal Science last week.

7 Oct 2020

Religion and risk of COVID-19 in UK

Their study titled, “Religious affiliation and the risk of COVID 19 related mortality; a retrospective analysis of variation in pre and post lockdown risk by religious group in England and Wales,” was published in the pre-publication site medRxiv.

7 Oct 2020

No rise in extremely preterm births during COVID-19 lockdown

Since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have implemented restrictions on mobility and social interactions, including lockdowns. This has been associated with a reduction in the number of extremely preterm (EP) babies, according to one Danish study. A recent paper published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020 reveals that this may not be the case.

7 Oct 2020

Proteolytic cleavage of nucleocapsid helps SARS-CoV-2 evade host immune responses

A team of scientists of the University of Oxford reveals that the nucleocapsid protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) undergoes autoproteolysis, and that resulting products can escape the host immune responses and facilitate viral proliferation. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

7 Oct 2020

Study shows effective light-induced inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 with conjugated oligomers and polymers

A new pilot study by US researchers demonstrates an alternative approach to long-lasting disinfection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by using cationic phenylene ethynylene polymers and oligomers (i.e., conjugated electrolytes). The paper is currently available on medRxiv* preprint server.

7 Oct 2020