Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

A new sign of COVID-19: a rash in the mouth

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has wreaked havoc across the globe, with more than 14.89 million people infected. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, has a string of symptoms that include cough, fever, and difficulty of breathing. As the disease evolved, many patients reported the loss of smell and taste as other accompanying symptoms.

21 Jul 2020

Mouse model of fatal COVID-19 developed for vaccine and drug testing

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in July 2020 presents an engineered transgenic mouse that reproduces the functional and clinical characteristics of severe human SARS-CoV-2 infection.

21 Jul 2020

Breastfeeding support for new mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic grips the world, concerns about transmission of the highly infectious causative agent – severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) - from mother to the baby are valid.

21 Jul 2020

Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine elicits both neutralizing antibodies and T cell response

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv by a research group from the U.S. and Germany indicates that a novel BNT162b1 RNA-based vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) induces functional and proinflammatory T cell responses in almost all participants – marking another landmark achievement for this promising vaccine candidate.

21 Jul 2020

Nitric oxide treatment can be pivotal in the fight against COVID-19

Nitric oxide treatment can be pivotal in the world's fight against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to a review from the George Washington University (GW). The article is published in the journal Nitric Oxide.

21 Jul 2020

Keeping out COVID-19 in Newfoundland

When is it the right time to reopen borders? Is it when there are no more local cases? A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in July 2020 shows that travel restrictions are highly effective in preventing future outbreaks.

21 Jul 2020

Analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 proteome via visual tools

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in July 2020 shows how this can be advanced at a greater speed by combining experimental results with homology models obtained by high-throughput pipelines. This will help produce new hypotheses that will show novel druggable targets for effective drug development.

21 Jul 2020

A multi-omics single cell analysis on COVID-19

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv aims to analyze the immune response over time, using multi-omics in the study of a single cell.

21 Jul 2020

Doctor in Israel reinfected with COVID-19 three months after recovering

There is still a lot to learn about coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is currently ravaging across the globe. Though scientists are slowly gaining a better understanding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is still unclear if being infected once may provide long-lasting immunity against the novel coronavirus.

20 Jul 2020

An abundance of biomolecules linked to COVID-19 status and severity

Tapping into the potential of the multi-omic method to uncover functional connections between various classes of biomolecules, researchers from notable institutions in the United States have discovered sets of co-varying molecules that shed light on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pathophysiology and provide treatment opportunities.

20 Jul 2020

Involvement of nicotine receptors in COVID-19

Researchers from the University of Bristol, Oxford Brookes University and the University of California San Diego neatly demonstrated how the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exhibits high affinity for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), with significant implications for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pathology and infectivity. Their findings are published on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

20 Jul 2020

New assay improves detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz have developed a new assay for the detection of antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that they say provides significant advantages over the techniques currently used.

20 Jul 2020

Australian researches detect SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater from planes and cruise ships

Previous reports have shown that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has been found in untreated wastewater. While the data is limited, there are no reported cases of a person becoming infected with the virus due to exposure to contaminated water.

20 Jul 2020

Oxford University and AstraZeneca to publish eagerly-anticipated COVID-19 trial results today

The coronavirus pandemic is still rapidly spreading across the globe, infecting more than 14.44 million people. With more than 188 countries and territories affected, scientists are racing to develop a vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

19 Jul 2020

Hydroxychloroquine is not indicated for COVID-19 under any circumstances

The drug Hydroxychloroquine has long been studied as a treatment for malaria and autoimmune diseases. When the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe, many countries resorted to using the drug in the hopes that it would improve outcomes of hospitalized patients affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

19 Jul 2020

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody among blood donors in China

Now, a study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in July 2020 reports on the low seroprevalence of antibodies to the virus, now designated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), among blood donors in Wuhan, the Chinese city it all started in, and two other equally large cities in China.

17 Jul 2020

Game-Changer: A SARS-CoV-2 serological test for 50-cents per sample!

A recent study published in the preprint server medRxiv in July 2020 shows that this is indeed possible. The development of this inexpensive but reliable and sensitive test could change the face of preventive measures for COVID-19 in low-resource settings.

17 Jul 2020

Rapid genomic surveillance of healthcare-associated SARS-CoV-2

The researchers from the University of Cambridge, Cambridge United Kingdom have published their findings in a study titled, “Rapid implementation of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing to investigate cases of healthcare-associated COVID-19: a prospective genomic surveillance study,” in the latest issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

16 Jul 2020

New insight into the SARS-CoV-2 infection process

Canadian researchers from the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, have found that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be using a unique method to gain entry into the cells.

16 Jul 2020

Study shows fused lung cells are pervasive in severe COVID-19

In a recent bioRxiv paper, scientists from Institut Pasteur and other research centers in France demonstrated how pathological effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are modulated by cellular proteins that can either inhibit or facilitate cell fusion and subsequent syncytia formation.

16 Jul 2020