Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Latest Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Fearing the deadly combo of COVID-19 and cancer

Three Tuesdays each month, Katherine O'Brien straps on her face mask and journeys about half an hour by Metra rail to Northwestern University's Lurie Cancer Center.

25 Jun 2020

Study assesses impact of anti-SARS-CoV-2 convalescent plasma in COVID-19 disease

The current COVID-19 pandemic is still very much active in most parts of the world. In the absence of effective antiviral drugs or vaccines, scientists are studying the use of blood plasma from convalescent COVID-19 patients, banking on its neutralizing antibody content.

25 Jun 2020

COVID-19 can have indirect adverse effects on mental and physical health of children

Despite reports that children and young people may be less likely to get coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than older adults, there may be substantial indirect adverse effects of the disease on their physical and mental health, according to an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

25 Jun 2020

Survey: Majority of college students still experience increased stress and anxiety due to COVID-19

According to a new survey by TimelyMD, a telehealth company that specializes in higher education, an overwhelming majority (85%) of college students say they continue to experience increased stress and/or anxiety as a result of COVID-19, with women reporting higher rates of coronavirus-related stress than men (93% vs. 78%).

25 Jun 2020

Political elites exhibit polarization in times of current crisis

An analysis of COVID-19-related tweets issued by members of Congress from January 17 through March 31, 2020 finds that Democrats and Republicans quickly polarized along party lines in their messaging about the virus on Twitter.

25 Jun 2020

Obesity and COVID-19: Cause or effect?

A new University College London study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 dissects the contribution and incidence of obesity in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and describes measures to mitigate the impact of lockdown measures.

25 Jun 2020

Protein profile in serum reflects COVID-19 severity

The wide range of manifestations of COVID-19 has continued to baffle investigators. Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 shows that blood proteins in COVID-19 patients change over time, and these can possibly predict or reflect the severity of disease. More, they may present targets for treatment.

25 Jun 2020

Immune response variations across the COVID-19 spectrum

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 describes differences in the adaptive and innate immune response in mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. This may mean that permanent immune responses occur only in patients who recover from severe COVID-19.

25 Jun 2020

Platelets may be contributing to COVID-19

The current pandemic of COVID-19 is characterized mainly by severe acute respiratory distress of the lungs, but other organ dysfunctions are also being observed, including the heart and blood vessels. Now, a new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 describes the abnormal activation of platelets in this disease and the link between this phenomenon and poor outcomes for COVID-19 patients.

24 Jun 2020

Researchers create a web-based COVID-19 knowledge base powered by AI

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's College of Engineering and Computer Science, in collaboration with FAU's Schmidt College of Medicine, have received a one-year, $90,000 National Science Foundation RAPID project grant to conduct research using social networks and machine learning, facilitated by molecular genetics and viral infection, for COVID-19 modeling and risk evaluation.

24 Jun 2020

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

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

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

'Very low' risk of adverse health effects related to RF exposure from 5G systems

Experts weigh in on recent online reports that warn of frightening health consequences from new fifth generation (5G) wireless networks.

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