Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Optimizing allocation of future COVID-19 vaccine can double effectiveness

In anticipation of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine deployment, the Australian and US researchers utilized an age-structured mathematical model to appraise the potential benefits of optimizing age-specific dose allocation for suppressing SARS-CoV-2 transmission – and reaffirmed the notion that vaccination alone may be inadequate to achieve herd immunity in some settings. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

12 Oct 2020

Nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine shows promising results in mice

With promising vaccines comes a new candidate that has shown potent pre-clinical immune responses. The vaccine, developed by scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), induced a potent T-cell response at the mucus layer of the lungs, including killer CD8+ T-cells, which can recognize and kill virally infected cells.

12 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 can survive for 4 weeks on glass, money and metal

Published in the Virology Journal, the study shows that the virus can stay infectious for more extended periods on surfaces such as phone screens, stainless steel, and banknotes than previously thought.

12 Oct 2020

With Senate control at stake, Trump and COVID haunt Ernst’s fight to keep her seat

The week that Iowa reported its 90,000th confirmed case of COVID-19, Sen. Joni Ernst sat behind a plexiglass partition and told a debate audience watching from home what she thinks about masks.

12 Oct 2020

COVID takes challenge of tracking infectious college students to new level

As the return of college students to campuses has fueled as many as 3,000 COVID-19 cases a day, keeping track of them is a logistical nightmare for local health departments and colleges.

12 Oct 2020

COVID stalks Montana town already saddled with asbestos disease

Like thousands of people from Libby and Lincoln County in the far northwestern corner of Montana, the 61-year-old Fahland has scarred lungs after years of breathing in asbestos fibers from dust and soil contaminated by the town's now-defunct plant that produced vermiculite, a mineral used in insulation and gardening.

12 Oct 2020

Researchers develop online game to tackle the deluge of coronavirus misinformation

A new online game that puts players in the shoes of a purveyor of fake pandemic news is the latest tactic in efforts to tackle the deluge of coronavirus misinformation costing lives across the world.

12 Oct 2020

HIV self-tests improve "door-to-door" testing campaigns

Despite significant progress in prevention and therapy, millions of people still get infected with HIV every year.

12 Oct 2020

A new therapeutic approach for Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumors

A research team at LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) discovered that exosomes derived from Vδ2-T cells (Vδ2-T-Exos) can effectively control Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumours and induce T-cell anti-tumour immunity.

12 Oct 2020

Study highlights need for culturally relevant programs to educate Black communities on hepatitis B

Hepatitis B disproportionately impacts U.S. Blacks, including African American and Haitian Blacks. Both communities suffer from widespread misinformation and access to care issues that might avert disease detection and prevention, according to a study published in Cancer Causes & Control by researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

12 Oct 2020

Researchers identify molecular mechanisms of IFN responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection

As of October 2020, SARS-CoV-2 causes an ongoing pandemic, with more than 35 million reported cases and more than 1 million deaths worldwide. One prominent feature that distinguishes COVID-19 from SARS in terms of immune responses is the poor induction of a type I interferon (IFN) response by SARS-CoV-2 compared to SARS-CoV and influenza A virus.

12 Oct 2020

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 can remain infectious on surfaces for long periods of time

Researchers at CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, have found that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, can survive for up to 28 days on common surfaces including banknotes, glass - such as that found on mobile phone screens - and stainless steel.

12 Oct 2020

COVID-19 survivors may have protective antibodies for 4 months

The study, published in the journal Science Immunology, highlights the body's immune response against COVID-19. Also, it offers hope that people who are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus will develop lasting protection against reinfection.

11 Oct 2020

Cloth masks should be machine washed daily during COVID-19, study says

A team of researchers reports that cloth masks effectively protect against infection if they are washed every day. The researchers recommend daily washing of cloth masks at high temperatures to reduce the likelihood of contamination and transmission of viruses such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

11 Oct 2020

Elevated plasma ACE2 activity persists months after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Recently, researchers from the University of Melbourne and Immune Therapies Group, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, reported that downregulation of cardiac ACE2 is linked to increased plasma ACE2 activity. This study is summarized in a preprint paper published in medRxiv.

11 Oct 2020

Temporal predictors of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Researchers in a recent paper published as a preprint on the preprint medRxiv, study the clinical factors, the laboratory assays to streamline plasma donor selection, and the durability of nAb responses in adults.

11 Oct 2020

New study reports on extremely potent human monoclonal antibodies for SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have recovered and identified the various types of neutralizing antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 from convalescent COVID-19 patients. Of these, they identified three that are extremely potent and could be used to develop treatment therapies.

11 Oct 2020

Vaccines likely to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 D614G mutation

The emergence of the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mutation D614G has raised many questions, including whether it will cause the virus to become resistant to the vaccines produced against earlier versions of the virus. A new study published in the journal npj Vaccines in October 2020 shows that this may be an unfounded fear.

11 Oct 2020

Rapid and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 with functionalized magnetic nanoparticles

A recent study published on the preprint server arXiv in October 2020 shows the potential for using functionalized magnetic nanoparticles to detect the presence of the virus in a sample.

11 Oct 2020

Analysis of existing comorbidities and COVID-19 mortality

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, and research related to potential risk factors for COVID-19 mortality continues, it is becoming clear that individuals with underlying comorbidities have a greater risk of death from COVID-19. The exact contribution of different comorbidities is unclear, however. Now, a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE dissects this topic and may help to quantify the risk posed by specific conditions and offer help with the prognosis.

11 Oct 2020

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Optimizing allocation of future COVID-19 vaccine can double effectiveness

Nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine shows promising results in mice

SARS-CoV-2 can survive for 4 weeks on glass, money and metal

With Senate control at stake, Trump and COVID haunt Ernst’s fight to keep her seat

COVID takes challenge of tracking infectious college students to new level

COVID stalks Montana town already saddled with asbestos disease

Researchers develop online game to tackle the deluge of coronavirus misinformation

HIV self-tests improve "door-to-door" testing campaigns

A new therapeutic approach for Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumors

Study highlights need for culturally relevant programs to educate Black communities on hepatitis B

Researchers identify molecular mechanisms of IFN responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 can remain infectious on surfaces for long periods of time

COVID-19 survivors may have protective antibodies for 4 months

Cloth masks should be machine washed daily during COVID-19, study says

Elevated plasma ACE2 activity persists months after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Temporal predictors of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

New study reports on extremely potent human monoclonal antibodies for SARS-CoV-2

Vaccines likely to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 D614G mutation

Rapid and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 with functionalized magnetic nanoparticles

Analysis of existing comorbidities and COVID-19 mortality

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

CoppaFeel!: Breast Cancer Doesn’t Discriminate, So Why Should Awareness?

The CAR T Veteran: A Journey of Resilience, Remission, and Advocacy

Innovating for impact: Jordi Labs on aligning methodologies with FDA expectation

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

CoppaFeel!: Breast Cancer Doesn’t Discriminate, So Why Should Awareness?

The CAR T Veteran: A Journey of Resilience, Remission, and Advocacy

Innovating for impact: Jordi Labs on aligning methodologies with FDA expectation

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