Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

A highly sensitive and specific antibody test for COVID-19

A new proof-of-concept study by UK researchers, currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server, describes the development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that can be used when lower levels of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) specific-antibodies are present in serum and saliva samples.

21 Jun 2020

Research explores the biophysical behavior of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein

In a groundbreaking paper currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, the researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine and Stony Brook University showed how nucleocapsid protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is dynamic, disordered and phase separates with RNA – informing, in turn, the discovery of drugs that disrupt viral packaging.

21 Jun 2020

Interesting study on which species may be infected by SARS-CoV-2

The team from the University of Cambridge and the Pirbright Institute found that the Spike protein on SARS-CoV-2 engages with the host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) across a wide range of animals, even though the Spike binding site shows a between-species variation in its amino acid composition.

21 Jun 2020

Promising candidate monoclonal antibodies show "exquisite potency" against SAR-CoV-2

Researchers at Columbia University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the National Institutes of Health have identified and characterized a range of monoclonal antibodies that potently neutralize severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

21 Jun 2020

Environmental conditions affect the stability of SARS-CoV-2, study finds

A new study led by Marshall University researcher M. Jeremiah Matson found that environmental conditions affect the stability of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in human nasal mucus and sputum.

21 Jun 2020

New book shows meditation can reduce conflict and divisions in society

The COVID-19 pandemic has put societies everywhere under extreme stress, and collective stress is often a precursor to outbreaks of violence. Striking features of this global health crisis have been the collective anxiety of the population, the wide variations in the way governments have responded, and the varying degree of their success.

21 Jun 2020

Direct structural link between SARS-CoV-2 and essential fatty acid

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports the discovery of a novel free fatty acid (FFA) binding pocket on the SARS-CoV-2 virus that could explain in part the viral effects of hyperinflammation, immune modulation, and membrane structure.

21 Jun 2020

Balanced B and T cell response required to control SARS-CoV-2

A new study by researchers in the Netherlands and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 describes the differences in T and B cell responses seen in patients with severe COVID-19.

21 Jun 2020

Italy’s sewage water shows SARS-CoV-2 present prior to reported outbreak in Wuhan

Italian researchers have found traces of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in sewage wastewater that indicates that the virus may have been in circulation since December 2019. This controversial discovery shows that even before the first case was reported in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, the virus had already arrived in northern Italy.

20 Jun 2020

Researchers develop method to estimate time-dependent reproduction number

In times of Corona, everybody looks at the reproduction number. However, this important number is subject to uncertainties.

19 Jun 2020

Viruses can steal genetic signals from hosts to expand their own genomes

Like a scene out of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," a virus infects a host and converts it into a factory for making more copies of itself.

19 Jun 2020

How an ignored white blood cell may cause COVID-19 deaths

News-Medical speaks to Professor Lola Eniola-Adefeso about her research investigating how an ignored white blood cell may cause COVID-19 deaths.

19 Jun 2020

Characterizing "re-positives" in recovered COVID-19 patients

The novel coronavirus pandemic has been spreading silently or explosively in almost every country of the world, causing almost half a million deaths and nearly 8.5 million reported cases in just six months. While much is known about the virus and the illness by now, far more remains unclear. One such is the prevalence and persistence of antiviral immunity following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

19 Jun 2020

Community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in San Francisco during lockdown

Early this year, the COVID-19 outbreak began in the United States in a muted manner, simmering over a few weeks to emerge as a full-fledged epidemic in New York and other states. Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 reveals the pattern of community spread throughout the sheltering-in-place period in San Francisco.

19 Jun 2020

Discovery of biomarkers that can influence COVID-19 severity

The novel coronavirus, now called the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is the causative agent of the dreaded coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It was first discovered in Wuhan City, China, back in late December 2019 and has since then spread throughout the globe.

19 Jun 2020

Researchers find prothrombotic antibodies in patients with COVID-19

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, researchers are still trying to understand the many ways in which it can manifest and its pathogenesis. A new report published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 shows that one possible mechanism of disease in COVID-19 is the production of antiphospholipid antibodies.

19 Jun 2020

Human trials to commence using SARS-CoV-2 antibodies from cow's blood

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a sense of urgency as it actively spreads across the globe. The number of reported cases has now surpassed 8.46 million people, with a death toll of more than 453,000. Scientists and pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop an effective treatment and vaccine against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

19 Jun 2020

Nanosponges attract coronavirus away from lung cells, study shows

Imagine if scientists could stop the coronavirus infection in its tracks simply by diverting its attention away from living lung cells? A new therapeutic countermeasure, announced in a Nano Letters study by researchers from Boston University's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories and the University of California San Diego, appears to do just that in experiments that were carried out at the NEIDL in Boston.

18 Jun 2020

Conjunctivitis and keratoconjunctivitis can be possible primary symptoms of COVID-19

A case of pink eye is now reason to be tested for COVID-19, according to University of Alberta researchers.

18 Jun 2020

Widespread testing could help stop the spread of COVID-19

The world is now in the grips of a historic pandemic. The death toll from the novel coronavirus has climbed to more than 117,000 in the United States and 448,000 around the world.

18 Jun 2020