Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Using 'own' immune cells to fight infectious diseases including COVID-19

A provocative paper from Duke-NUS Medical School, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine in March 2020, discusses the possibilities of creating new receptors on a sick person's own immune cells as a means of controlling the infection. This therapy is already being used to treat certain cancers with marked success.

22 Apr 2020

Coronavirus has mutated into at least 30 variants

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to threaten millions of people across the globe, and lockdowns appear set to remain in place in many countries amid rising death tolls, as governments decide whether to extend restrictions aimed at reducing the spread of the virus. Now, a new study reveals that the novel coronavirus has mutated into at least 30 different genetic variants, affecting different parts of the world.

22 Apr 2020

Lifting the lid on coronavirus flatulence

The highly infectious virus is spread via aerosols (droplets of saliva or nasal discharge spread by coughing or sneezing by the infected person with the mouth uncovered). New speculation reveals that it could spread via fecal matter and even via farts or flatulence. Researchers believe that there is some truth to this speculation.

22 Apr 2020

Hyperferritinemia associated with increased illness severity in COVID-19

Yehuda Shoenfeld is the world's leading expert in the research, treatment and prevention of autoimmune diseases.

22 Apr 2020

Antibodies to COVID-19 present in only 2 to 3 percent of population

This week on Monday (20th April 2020), in a press meet, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General said that only around 2 to 3 percent of the global population have antibodies that show they had been infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 disease.

22 Apr 2020

New heart attack testing protocol can reduce wait times and overcrowding in ERs

A new protocol using highly sensitive blood tests to determine whether someone is having a heart attack can reduce wait times and overcrowding in emergency departments, according to a new study from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

22 Apr 2020

Scientists identify cells likely targeted by novel coronavirus

Researchers at MIT; the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard; and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; along with colleagues from around the world have identified specific types of cells that appear to be targets of the coronavirus that is causing the Covid-19 pandemic.

22 Apr 2020

Computers join the battle against novel coronavirus

Scientists everywhere are banding together to fight the novel coronavirus, and they're already making progress.

22 Apr 2020

Individualized vent-splitter may allow multiple COVID-19 patients to share single ventilator

As the pandemic swept across the nation in March, so did urgent questions about the virus' potential strain on the healthcare system.

22 Apr 2020

COVID-19 unlikely to be transmitted through semen, study shows

COVID-19 is unlikely to be spread through semen, according to University of Utah Health scientists who participated in an international study of Chinese men who recently had the disease.

22 Apr 2020

The other COVID risks: How race, income, zip code influence who lives or dies

It started with a headache in late March. Then came the body aches.

22 Apr 2020

OSHA probing health worker deaths but urges inspectors to spare the penalties

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has in recent weeks launched investigations into deaths of workers at 34 health care employers across the U.S., federal records show, but former agency officials warn that the agency has already signaled it will only cite and fine the most flagrant violators.

22 Apr 2020

A first-in-human trial with promising MERS coronavirus vaccine

Over the past 20 years, coronaviruses have been responsible for large outbreaks, resulting in severe respiratory illness and a number of deaths.

22 Apr 2020

New high-precision camera allows early detection of fever

A spin-off from the LIR-Infrared Lab (Laboratorio de Sensores, Teledetección e Imagen en el Infrarrojo) at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, SENSIA Solutions, has adapted its thermographic camera technology, called HIGIA, in order to manufacture a new high precision system for measuring body temperature that can be used to detect fever in individuals accessing facilities, in the wake of the healthcare emergency brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak.

22 Apr 2020

Avacta successfully generates several highly specific Affimer reagents for COVID-19 antigen rapid test ahead of schedule as part of Cytiva partnership

Avacta Group plc is pleased to announce that it has successfully generated multiple Affimer reagents that bind the SARS-COV-2 viral antigen.

From Avacta Life Sciences Ltd. 22 Apr 2020

Accelerating Antibody Discovery with Next-Generation Single-Cell Analysis

Accelerating antibody discovery using picodroplet technology for single cell analysis to condense discovery times down to 1-2 days.

From Sphere Fluidics 22 Apr 2020

Scripps Research established international network to find antiviral compounds against COVID-19

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to spread around the globe, Scripps Research has quickly established an international network of collaborating scientific laboratories to leverage ReFRAME, the world's leading drug repurposing collection, to find antiviral compounds against the novel coronavirus.

22 Apr 2020

Nanoengineers are using plant virus to develop COVID-19 vaccine

Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego are working on a COVID-19 vaccine using an unconventional candidate: a plant virus.

22 Apr 2020

Facebook helps coronavirus fight by mapping symptoms

Facebook just rolled out an interactive map showing how many people have reported symptoms of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in counties across the United States. The map helps to determine the extent of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, providing insight into the areas needing more resources and which parts can be reopened.

22 Apr 2020

Scientists identify new mechanisms that offer protection against Marburg infection

A detailed study of the monoclonal antibodies from a person who survived a Marburg infection led researchers to identify novel mechanisms that contribute protection against the disease, according to the latest findings of a collaborative team led by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

22 Apr 2020