Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

HORIBA Medical white paper provides a review of hematology biomarkers for COVID-19 assessment

As experts in hematology HORIBA UK Ltd, Medical announces that the Company has published a white paper entitled, ‘COVID-19 screening, prognosis and severity assessment with biomarkers for management of patients’.

From HORIBA Medical 26 Jun 2020

GlobalData: Uncertainty during COVID-19 increases demand for immunity-boosting products

Ongoing research around protective immunity against COVID-19 has not yet helped to define ways of how the public can protect themselves from the illness, minimize the symptoms, and avoid re-infection.

26 Jun 2020

Seniors in low-income housing live in fear of COVID infection

Davetta Brooks, 75, who has heart failure, a fractured hip and macular degeneration, is afraid. Conditions in her low-income senior building on Chicago's Near West Side — the Congressman George W. Collins Apartments — are "deplorable," she said.

26 Jun 2020

Ecolab increases production capacity to meet exponential demand for hand sanitizers

In response to the pandemic, Ecolab, the global leader in water, food safety and infection prevention solutions and services, has increased its production capacity seven fold in Europe to provide customers with critical hand sanitizer and surface disinfectant solutions to help prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

26 Jun 2020

Study shows how two proteins provide a tunnel for bad cholesterol to enter the cells

A study has outlined how two proteins are instrumental to bringing cholesterol into cells – a finding that has implications for a range of diseases.

26 Jun 2020

Fatalities are very rare in children with COVID-19

Children with COVID-19 generally experience a mild disease and fatalities are very rare, according to a study of 582 patients from across Europe published today in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal.

26 Jun 2020

Researchers perform first X-ray measurements on SARS-CoV-2 main protease

A team of researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories has performed the first room-temperature X-ray measurements on the SARS-CoV-2 main protease -- the enzyme that enables the virus to reproduce.

26 Jun 2020

IQWiG supports initial assessment of coronavirus diagnostics

As a founding member, the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has been involved in EUnetHTA, a European network for Health Technology Assessment (HTA), since 2006.

26 Jun 2020

Antibody tests may give false hope of immunity, health experts warn

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, health experts warn against the use of antibody tests to determine if a person has immunity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). An antibody test determines if a person developed antibodies against the infection due to past exposure.

26 Jun 2020

China to initiate phase 3 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trial in UAE

Now, China is ready to run its large-scale phase III clinical trial of its novel coronavirus candidate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Over a dozen experimental vaccines are being trialed across the globe, but China’s vaccine is the first one to proceed to phase III human trials.

26 Jun 2020

Chilblains and COVID-19

The current COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is primarily a respiratory infection, though the majority of cases are asymptomatic or mild disease. However, other manifestations are also being reported, such as gastrointestinal features, neurological signs, and skin symptoms. A new study published online in the journal JAMA Dermatology in June 2020 examines the possibility that chilblains could be a manifestation of COVID-19.

26 Jun 2020

Genes associated with SARS-CoV-2 human lung cell infection

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 attempts to make sense of this data to identify viral genes that are explicitly expressed in the cells infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This could help reveal new therapeutic targets.

26 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 has been evolving for at least 7 years

The burning question is how novel viruses acquire the ability to recognize, bind to and enter human cells for the first time – whether this is dependent only on viral proteins recognizing host cell proteins, or adaptations in other viral processes that allow replication in a human host.

25 Jun 2020

Study: People with IDD living in residential group homes more likely to die from COVID-19

A new study published recently in ScienceDirect by researchers from Syracuse University and SUNY Upstate Medical University shows that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in residential group homes are more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 and die from the virus than those without IDD.

25 Jun 2020

Dysregulated inflammation in severe COVID-19

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic has so far caused 9.58 million cases and more than 488,000 deaths within just six months. The spectrum of disease is broad, from completely asymptomatic cases to critical illness ending in death. Now, a new paper by researchers from Yale University and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 identifies an imbalance in immunological response that is linked to poor outcomes and early biomarkers that may help predict the course of the disease.

25 Jun 2020

Pixatimod is active in lab studies against SARS-CoV-2

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) circulating the world has caused over 9.6 million cases and over 490,000 deaths as of June 26, 2020. With neither an effective vaccine nor therapeutic drug yet available, intensive and widespread research is ongoing to develop a pharmacological intervention that will halt the global pandemic.

25 Jun 2020

Researchers develop unique saliva-based test for COVID-19 detection

University of Saskatchewan researchers are part of two COVID-19-related projects awarded major federal funding today--one to develop a unique saliva-based test for COVID-19 detection and the other to track COVID-19 incidence rates among Canadian dentists.

25 Jun 2020

Biological therapy may decrease the risk of severe COVID-19

A recent observational study by Spanish researchers, currently available on the medRxiv preprint server, suggests that patients with immune-mediated diseases who receive biological therapy may have a lower risk for severe manifestations of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

25 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 can replicate in human pediatric gastric organoids

A diverse research group from the United Kingdom, Italy, China, and Australia established a first expandable human gastric organoid culture across fetal developmental stages, supporting the hypothesis that fetal tissue seems to be much less susceptible to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection – especially in the early stages of development.

25 Jun 2020

Global research community revises WHO COVID-19 research priorities

Researchers have described the results of a survey aiming to determine the current applicability of the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Research Roadmap and whether there are new priorities that should be focused on at this point in time during the pandemic.

25 Jun 2020