Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

New coronavirus possibly circulated within humans before COVID-19 pandemic

Genetic variation analysis and the evidence of recombination events point towards the conclusion that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) might have circulated cryptically among humans for years, as reported by a recent paper on a preprint server bioRxiv.

15 Apr 2020

ACE2 genetic variants may influence coronavirus disease progression

Researchers in British Columbia have identified a set of gene variants that are likely to influence disease progression from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection to COVID-19 disease.

15 Apr 2020

Researchers develop a faster, more accurate COVID-19 test

Millions of people have been tested for the novel coronavirus, most using a kit that relies on the polymerase chain reaction.

15 Apr 2020

Breastmilk influences accumulation of viruses in the infant gut

Even small amounts of breastmilk strongly influences the accumulation of viral populations in the infant gut and provides a protective effect against potentially pathogenic viruses, according to researchers who examined hundreds of babies in a study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

15 Apr 2020

China with the world: COVID-19 experts dialogues - the 4th talk transcript

Q (Prof. Singer): What do you think about the comorbidities and the age of the patients in the treatment of COVID-19? Is the mortality higher in elderly patients as it is reported from recent papers?

From Mindray 15 Apr 2020

China with the world: COVID-19 experts dialogues - the 2nd talk transcript

Q: Starting from the patient admission to the hospital, what is your rule for ventilation? Do you start from HFNC, CPAP, NIV or go directly to intubation and invasive ventilation when the conventional oxygen therapy fails?

From Mindray 15 Apr 2020

Contactless measurement method helps detect people infected with coronavirus

An innovative measurement method is helping to detect people infected with coronavirus from a safe distance.

15 Apr 2020

A desperate scramble as COVID-19 families vie for access to plasma therapy

Stephen Garcia's family is frantic. The auto body worker, just 32 years old, has been on a ventilator in a Los Angeles-area hospital for nearly two weeks, gravely ill with COVID-19, unresponsive — and unaware of the battle they're waging on his behalf.

15 Apr 2020

Study shows possible way to effectively deliver RNA drugs to tumors

In recent years, RNA molecules, with the ability to affect or turn off pathogenic genes, have become promising drug candidates in several areas.

15 Apr 2020

True toll of COVID-19 on U.S. health care workers unknown

The number of health care workers who have tested positive for the coronavirus is likely far higher than the reported tally of 9,200, and U.S. officials say they have no comprehensive way to count those who lose their lives trying to save others.

15 Apr 2020

Discovery of T cells response spectrum could new shed light on immune diseases

The discovery that immune T cells have a spectrum of responsiveness could shed light on how our immune system responds to infections and cancer, and what goes wrong in immune diseases.

15 Apr 2020

Health agencies urge continuation of life-saving measles vaccinations

The novel coronavirus disease, now officially called COVID-19, threatens the vaccination of millions of children across the globe. With most countries in lockdown and health care workers overwhelmed, many vaccination schedules have been delayed, threatening the welfare of infants and children.

15 Apr 2020

UMass Amherst scientists prepare chemical solution for COVID-19 diagnostic tests

Answering an urgent call for assistance from regional health care systems, a volunteer team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is preparing, testing and delivering thousands of vials of viral transport media, a chemical solution needed for COVID-19 diagnostic testing.

15 Apr 2020

Novel coronavirus can be airborne for 13 feet

The novel coronavirus can travel up to 13 feet or 4 meters from patients in hospital wards, a new study has found. This is twice the distance current guidelines recommend for social distancing.

14 Apr 2020

The race is on for a coronavirus vaccine, 70 candidates, 3 at human trial stage

Amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic that is infecting millions of people across the globe, hope sparks as the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that seventy vaccination trials for the novel coronavirus are underway, with three already at the human trial stage.

14 Apr 2020

UK collaborates with Google, Apple on contact tracing App

The UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock recently announced that the UK government’s National Health Service (NHS) is planning to release an app that will alert people who have been in the proximity of a self-reported symptomatic individual – via anonymous phone-to-phone alerts.

14 Apr 2020

Coronavirus misinformation and disinformation rife among Americans

A new poll carried out by the Pew Research Center from March 10 to March 16, 2020, shows that almost 1 in 3 Americans think the novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), that causes the current COVID-19 pandemic is the product of biological research. Despite the utter lack of evidence, the claim has found fertile breeding grounds on the Internet. It serves as an apt example of the spread of dubious or patently false information about the pandemic.

14 Apr 2020

New blood test for antibodies in COVID-19 infected

The COVID-19 disease pandemic is raging across the world, costing tens of thousands of lives. Many countries have enforced widespread, if not universal lockdowns, to prevent the spread of the virus to new areas, carried by infected travelers.

14 Apr 2020

Continual surveillance of natural bats for emerging viruses is needed

Findings from a study conducted by Chinese researchers suggest that similar species of bats carry similar viruses and that when these bats reside in overlapping areas, transmission between species occurs more easily.

14 Apr 2020

Stray dogs possible origin of COVID-19 pandemic

After tracing coronavirus signatures in different species, a new research article published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution shows that stray dogs (more specifically dog intestines) may have acted as the origin of current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic.

14 Apr 2020