Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Drug-like molecules offer a promising treatment for COVID-19

A team of researchers at the University of Georgia has successfully demonstrated that a set of drug-like small molecules can block the activity of a key SARS-CoV-2 protein - providing a promising path for new COVID-19 therapeutics.

12 Jun 2020

Facemasks will prevent COVID-19 in the "new normal"

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has left many countries grappling with high infection rates. The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has negatively impacted societies and economies. Now though, many countries are starting to lift restrictions to prepare for a "new normal."

12 Jun 2020

Interferons being tested for COVID-19 may increase susceptibility to bacterial infections

Two separate studies in mice suggest that a class of interferons being evaluated in clinical trials as a therapy for COVID-19 may increase susceptibility to bacterial infections, depending on how long patients are exposed to it, and when they receive it.

12 Jun 2020

Study initiates hydroxychloroquine clinical trial to prevent COVID-19 in healthy people

Rush University Medical Center has opened enrollment for a new clinical trial investigating whether the drug hydroxychloroquine is better than a placebo in preventing COVID-19 infection in healthy people working in health care settings.

12 Jun 2020

Researchers are developing statistical tools to analyze the spread and evolution of coronavirus

For as much as the scientific community has learned about the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, since it emerged in China last year, many key aspects of the pandemic remain a mystery.

12 Jun 2020

Contributions on IASS website address Covid-19 pandemic

The covid-19 pandemic remains an important topic throughout the world. A number of contributions on the IASS website address the pandemic and its consequences from the perspective of sustainability. We would be happy to put you in contact with the respective authors.

12 Jun 2020

PCR Biosystems launches new kit for ultra-sensitive, high-throughput detection of SARS-CoV-2

PCR Biosystems, the UK-based PCR experts, today announced the launch of qPCRBIO Probe 1-Step Virus Detect, a high-concentration 4x RT-qPCR kit designed specifically for ultra-sensitive, high-throughput detection of viral RNA sequences, including SARS-CoV-2.

12 Jun 2020

Type III interferons can increase risk of bacterial "superinfections" in the lung, research shows

Interferons and other cytokines produced by the immune system are important defenses against viral infections, but as we have seen in COVID-19, they can also contribute to damaging, potentially life-threatening lung inflammation.

12 Jun 2020

New, reliable tests identified for detecting antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2

A new analysis of blood sera taken from 63 COVID-19 patients, 71 controls, and various coronavirus-exposed animals provides strong support for the use of the SARS-CoV-2 virus' receptor-binding domain (RBD) as an antigen for reliable tests to detect antibodies to the virus.

12 Jun 2020

A protein that helps treat viruses can later interfere with lung tissue repair

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found that a protein which is initially helpful in the body’s immune response to a virus, can later interfere with the repair of lung tissue.

12 Jun 2020

Neural circuits that control hibernation-like behaviors discovered in mice

The dream of suspended animation has long captivated the human imagination, reflected in countless works of mythology and fiction, from King Arthur and Sleeping Beauty to Captain America and Han Solo.

11 Jun 2020

UNC scientists develop new kind of antibody test for COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues with many thousands of new infections reported each day, there is a need for widely applicable surveillance testing to gain a better understanding of infection rates, especially the number of infections in people with mild or no symptoms, who can still be carriers.

11 Jun 2020

WVU researchers develop new diagnostic and antibody tests for COVID-19

COVID-19 tests are in short supply. The companies that make the necessary chemicals--called reagents--can't keep up with demand. But researchers at West Virginia University are developing new tests on their own to identify who has COVID-19 now and who had it in the past but recovered.

11 Jun 2020

Progression and severity of COVID-19 highly dependant on cytokine changes

A new review paper by the researchers from Spain, published in the journal Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews, demonstrates how changes in the levels of cytokines and other biomolecules are associated with the presence and more serious prognosis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

11 Jun 2020

COVID-19 poses a global threat to the entire nervous system

A new review of neurological symptoms of COVID-19 patients in current scientific literature reveals the disease poses a global threat to the entire nervous system, reports a Northwestern Medicine study published this week in Annals of Neurology.

11 Jun 2020

Race-related differences in genetic determinants of COVID-19 severity

Researchers at the University of Iowa have identified differences in gene expression levels between African Americans and European Americans that may explain the disproportionately higher rates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and related deaths among African Americans.

11 Jun 2020

Study reveals novel mechanism that triggers a cell-mediated immune response

Viruses and other disease-causing microbes influence the type of immune response their hosts will develop against them. In some cases, the predominant response involves antibodies, proteins made by the immune system that specifically recognize parts of the invading microbe and mediate its destruction.

11 Jun 2020