Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Children play a larger role in the community spread of COVID-19 than previously thought

In the most comprehensive study of COVID-19 pediatric patients to date, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Mass General Hospital for Children (MGHfC) researchers provide critical data showing that children play a larger role in the community spread of COVID-19 than previously thought

20 Aug 2020

COVID-19 linked to type 1 diabetes and diabetic ketoacidosis in children

A team of researchers at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London has found a link between COVID-19 and new-onset type 1 diabetes in children. The research is published in the journal Diabetes Care.

20 Aug 2020

Canadian Coalition for COVID-19 releases 51 promising nanobodies

A group of Canadian companies has published 51 antibodies that show promising ability to bind the COVID-19 virus which could result in neutralizing the virus.

From SignalChem Biotech Inc. 20 Aug 2020

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks antiviral factors to promote infection in human lung cells

Now, a new study published in the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 shows that under conditions resembling those in vivo, IFNs may promote efficient viral invasion instead.

20 Aug 2020

Researchers develop vaccine for human herpesvirus 6B

A research group led by Professor MORI Yasuko (of the Division of Clinical Virology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine) has revealed that the HHV-6B glycoprotein complex gH/gL/gQ1/gQ2 is an effective vaccine candidate for human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B).

20 Aug 2020

Lab-on-a-chip technology detects COVID-19 antibody

A robust, low-cost imaging platform utilizing lab-on-a-chip technology created by University of California, Irvine scientists may be available for rapid coronavirus diagnostic and antibody testing throughout the nation by the end of the year.

20 Aug 2020

Breast milk is not a potential source of infection, indicates study

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread around the world, so do the concerns of breastfeeding mothers.Although there have been no documented cases to date of an infant contracting COVID-19 as a result of consuming infected breast milk, the critical question of whether there is potential for this form of transmission remains.

20 Aug 2020

Drug used in rheumatoid arthritis and cancer treatment improves survival in critically ill COVID-19 patients

Researchers at Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey's largest and most comprehensive health network, have utilized its statewide observational database of more than 5,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients to show that a drug normally used in rheumatoid arthritis and cancer treatments, tocilizumab, improves hospital survival in critically-ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

20 Aug 2020

Could the high rate of mutations bring about SARS-CoV-2's extinction in India?

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 shows the importance of uncovering the dynamics of the virus with particular attention to geographic variation.

19 Aug 2020

Fresh and frozen food can harbor SARS-CoV-2 for at least 21 days

A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 suggests that foodborne contamination may underlie these outbreaks and that this route of transmission should not be overlooked to contain the pandemic.

19 Aug 2020

Cytokine storms may prevent the development of long-term immunity to SARS-CoV-2

Shiv Pillai, MD, PhD, investigator in the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard and professor at Harvard Medical School (HMS), recently published a paper in Cell showing that that high levels of some cytokines seen in COVID-19 patients, as part of a cytokine storm, may prevent the development of long-term immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

19 Aug 2020

Adaptions to aging may be impacted by genetic background

How we adapt to aging late in life may be genetically influenced, according to a study led by a psychologist at the University of California, Riverside.

19 Aug 2020

Genomics study shows multiple and diverse SARS-CoV-2 introductions in the US capital region

A recent study led by the researchers from Johns Hopkins University reveals multiple and diverse introductions of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the United States National Capital Region during the initial phase of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

19 Aug 2020

Older adults with pre-existing depression exhibit resilience to stress during COVID-19

A study involving older adults with pre-existing major depressive disorder living in Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, and St Louis found no increase in depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 Aug 2020

Researchers use heparin to block co-receptor for SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers at the University of Amsterdam have conducted a study showing that heparan sulfate proteoglycans are important co-receptors that severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) requires to infect host cells.

19 Aug 2020

CUNY School of Medicine and TechnoVax announce COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough

The CUNY School of Medicine at The City College of New York and TechnoVax, Inc., a biotechnology developer of novel vaccines, announce a breakthrough in their collaborative effort to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.

19 Aug 2020

Human microbiome trims mucosal glycans, influencing SARS-CoV-2 infection

An international team of researchers has conducted a study showing that differences in the human microbiome may influence the ability of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to infect host cells.

19 Aug 2020

Researchers identify drug that improves survival in critically ill COVID-19 patients

19 Aug 2020

Mathematical modeling helps researchers track and tackle COVID-19 pandemic

The Editor-in-Chief Vitaly Volpert of the Institut Camille Jordan, University ofLyon, France, reviews how the public's new favourite scientific discipline, mathematical modelling, is being used to track and tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 Aug 2020

Single-dose adenovirus-vectored vaccine protects mice against SARS-CoV-2

The researchers selected the human adenovirus type 5 on which to base their vaccine because this replication-defective vector had already been used in their Ebola vaccine, with an excellent safety and immunogenicity profile in a phase 1 trial. The current study aimed to produce a vaccine that could offer mucosal vaccination and enhanced protection against this respiratory virus.

19 Aug 2020