Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected sleep patterns for many US citizens?

A team of scientists recently conducted an online survey to examine the changes in sleep duration among adult US citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

9 Apr 2021

Study finds no evidence of SARS-CoV2 transmission by breast milk

Some studies have reported the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in breast milk from women who were recently infected with the virus. A new study explores the relationship between viral RNA and infectious virus to clarify the occurrence of vertical transmission through breast milk.

9 Apr 2021

Does natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 offer more protection than a vaccine against new variants?

A new study demonstrates that vaccines may be less effective at countering the newer SARS-CoV-2 variants compared to natural infection.

9 Apr 2021

Serum and breast milk SARS-CoV-2 antibodies correlated in vaccinated mothers

A new study shows the correlation between serum levels of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and levels in breast milk following the vaccination of lactating women with a vaccine based on mRNA technology.

9 Apr 2021

Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID vaccine induces cell spikes similar to SARS-CoV-2's

Scientists from the University of Oxford and the University of Southampton report in the journal ACS Central Science that cells infected with the ChAdOx1 vaccine produce spike proteins on the cells similar to those produced by natural SARS-CoV-2 infection.

9 Apr 2021

Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 individuals with blood group AB at highest risk

Scientists worldwide are conducting extensive research to understand the nature of the virus, its transmission kinetics, etc. They have found a strong correlation between the ABO blood group and SARS-CoV-2 regarding its morbidity and mortality.

9 Apr 2021

Statins improve 28-day mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Now, researchers at Harvard Medical School showed that statin use reduced 28-day mortality in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Both the new initiation of statins and continuing statin therapy reduced the risk of mortality.

8 Apr 2021

High SARS-CoV-2 attack rates linked to singing events

Now, a team of researchers from the Netherlands and Sweden demonstrates that airborne spread via infectious droplets or aerosols over longer distances of more than 1.5 meters due to singing is possible during singing events.

8 Apr 2021

More new SARS-CoV-2 variants are highly likely

In a recent report posted to the bioRxiv preprint server, researchers from the United Kingdom and Uganda reveal unique protein features of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) relative to other representatives of Sarbecoviruses.

8 Apr 2021

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine ensures long-term protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggests study

A recent report published in the New England Journal of Medicine has revealed that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna, Inc, USA, is capable of inducing robust and durable antibody responses for at least six months post-vaccination.

8 Apr 2021

Prefusion SARS-CoV-2 spike-based vaccine candidate shows high safety and efficacy in phase I trial

A new preprint research paper posted to the medRxiv server reports the results of the first human trial of the prefusion stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike vaccine MVC-COV1901 in Taiwan.

8 Apr 2021

Mouse monoclonal antibodies protect against SARS-CoV-2 wildtype, UK and South African variants

A new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv server reports on the ability of a set of neutralizing mouse antibodies to protect mice against multiple lineages of SARS-CoV-2.

8 Apr 2021

Leaky gut and microbial dysbiosis could contribute to cytokine storm in severely ill COVID-19 cases

The gut is a well-established route of infection and target for viral damage by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent for COVID-19. This is supported by the clinical observation that about half of COVID-19 patients exhibit gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms.

8 Apr 2021

Smartphone mobility tracking strongly predicts COVID-19 outbreaks

Mobility tracking using cell phone data showing greater movement of people is a strong predictor of increased rates of COVID-19, according to new data in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)

8 Apr 2021

The interaction between blood clotting and SARS-CoV-2 infection

Coagulopathy - a condition in which the blood's ability to clot is impaired, is recognized as a significant aspect of morbidity in COVID-19 patients. In a recent study, Prof Lewis Cantley and a team of researchers explored the role of coagulation factors in the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Their recent study is posted on the bioRxiv server.

7 Apr 2021

Real-world proof Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in the real world. The report is based on a CDC study where it routinely tested prospective cohorts of health care professionals, first responders, and essential and frontline workers for SARS-CoV-2 infections.

7 Apr 2021

Bispecific antibodies neutralize SARS-CoV-2 and its variants

A new bioRxiv preprint study led by Joshua Tan from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, involves generating bispecific antibodies using a new method cross-linking the antibodies with adjacent spike proteins using dual N-terminal domain/receptor binding domain specificity.

7 Apr 2021

Evidence of monoclonal antibodies effectively neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 variants

Makdasi et al. The neutralization potency of anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic human monoclonal antibodies is retained against novel viral variants. bioRxiv, 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.01.438035, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.01.438035v2

7 Apr 2021

Researchers identify novel SARS-CoV-2 variant unregistered on genomic sequence databases

A team of scientists from the University of California Santa Cruz, USA, recently identified a novel variant (B.1.x) of SARS-CoV-2 that might be circulating in at least 20 US states and six countries globally.

7 Apr 2021

Novel polyclonal antibody XAV-19 efficiently neutralizes UK and South African SARS-CoV-2 variants

A promising new study reports on the high neutralizing efficacy of a polyclonal swine antibody against SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen responsible for the novel COVID-19. By demonstrating the ability of this antibody to neutralize all currently circulating viral variants, the study suggests that it is ideal for development as a new and very effective therapy for COVID-19.

7 Apr 2021