News • Electron microscopy
Replication cycle of SARS-CoV-2 in 3D
In a new study, researchers performed a detailed imaging analysis to determine how the virus reprograms infected cells.
Virus
News • Masks & social distancing
Do Covid countermeasures also curb other diseases? It's not quite that simple
Measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 through non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as mask wearing and social distancing are a key tool in combatting the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These actions also have greatly reduced incidence of many other diseases, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
News • Corona and co
How the sun impacts the spread of viral respiratory diseases
Why do most viral epidemics spread cyclically in autumn and winter in the globe's temperate regions? The answer is intimately related to our sun.
News • Among trillion possibilities
Rapid method finds potent COVID-19 antibody
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists have discovered the fastest way to identify potent, neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Video • New insights on the virus' ‘survivability’
How long does SARS-CoV-2 last on surfaces?
Researchers at CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, have found that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, can survive for up to 28 days on common surfaces including banknotes, glass – such as that found on mobile phone screens - and stainless steel.
Video • For breakthroughs against Hepatitis C
Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded to three scientists who have made a decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer in people around the world. Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice made seminal discoveries that led to the identification of a novel virus, Hepatitis C virus.
News • Artificial neurons
Nanodevices identify mutations in viruses
Scientists from Texas A&M University, Hewlett Packard Labs and Stanford University have developed a new nanodevice that acts almost identically to a brain cell.
News • Zika and chikungunya
Mosquito-borne viruses could cause stroke
A deadly combination of two mosquito-borne viruses may be a trigger for stroke, new research published in the The Lancet Neurology has found. University of Liverpool researchers and Brazilian collaborators have been investigating the link between neurological disease and infection with the viruses Zika and chikungunya. These viruses, which mostly circulate in the tropics, cause large outbreaks of…
News • Protection
New face shield for frontline workers
Carestream Health has entered the personal protection equipment (PPE) market with the launch of the CARESTREAM Shield, solving problems of discomfort and difficulty of use commonly associated with personal face shields.
News • Rhinovirus
Common cold combats influenza
Rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of common colds, can prevent the flu virus from infecting airways by jumpstarting the body's antiviral defenses.
News • Coronavirus
“Hotspots” of a corona infection in the human body
An infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can affect multiple organs. With this in mind, researchers of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and Cornell University in the US have investigated cellular factors that could be significant for an infection. To this end, they analysed the activity of 28 specific genes in a wide range of human tissues.
News • Electrostatic interactions
New research exposes weak spot in SARS-CoV-2
Northwestern University researchers have uncovered a new vulnerability in the novel coronavirus’ infamous spike protein — illuminating a relatively simple, potential treatment pathway. The spike protein contains the virus’ binding site, which adheres to host cells and enables the virus to enter and infect the body. Using nanometer-level simulations, the researchers discovered a positively…
News • Researchers use supercomputer
New insights into hepatitis B
Researchers at the University of Delaware, using supercomputing resources and collaborating with scientists at Indiana University, have gained new understanding of the virus that causes hepatitis B and the "spiky ball" that encloses the virus's genetic blueprint.
News • Droplet spread simulation
Mathematical model to predict the spread of airborne diseases
A new mathematical model is helping develop the current understanding of how airborne diseases such as COVID-19 can spread during breathing and aerosol generating procedures. Researchers from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh have developed a mathematical model of droplet migration. Dr Cathal Cummins of Heriot-Watt’s School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences and…
Article • Re-evaluation of the coronavirus disease
COVID-19: A tale of two conditions
The SARS CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19 may have been named prematurely. As more has become known about the infection, the severe disease does not appear to be a respiratory syndrome at all. Patients who only have a respiratory illness tend not to have a severe condition, while patients who develop a severe condition tend to have non-respiratory conditions, primarily thrombotic or hyper-immune…
News • Coronavirus
Lab-made virus mimics COVID-19 virus
Airborne and potentially deadly, the virus that causes COVID-19 can only be studied safely under high-level biosafety conditions. Scientists handling the infectious virus must wear full-body biohazard suits with pressurized respirators, and work inside laboratories with multiple containment levels and specialized ventilation systems. While necessary to protect laboratory workers, these safety…
News • Soaking up SARS-CoV-2
Nanosponges could intercept coronavirus infection
Nanoparticles cloaked in human lung cell membranes and human immune cell membranes can attract and neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus in cell culture, causing the virus to lose its ability to hijack host cells and reproduce.
Article • Disinfection
Robots help fight hospital infections
In the hustle and bustle of a hospital, properly disinfecting all surfaces in a patient room can be a challenging and time-consuming task. Now, in times of the coronavirus pandemic, it can also be life-threatening. To minimize the risk for their staff, hospitals are utilizing disinfection robots to sanitize surfaces and rooms.
News • Viral oncology
Kaposi Sarcoma: Answers to a longstanding enigma
The oncogenic herpesvirus (HHV8 or KSHV) causes a cancer known as Kaposi’s Sarcoma. An international team of scientists led by the University of Helsinki has discovered key factors that control the genome maintenance and replication of a virus responsible for lymphatic vascular cancer. Kaposi Sarcoma (KS) is the most common cancer among Aids patients and it is often seen in sub Saharan and…
News • COVID-19 detection
New analyzer detects virus antibodies in 20 minutes
Researchers at Hokkaido University have succeeded in detecting anti-avian influenza virus antibody in blood serum within 20 minutes, using a portable analyzer they have developed to conduct rapid on-site bio tests. If a suitable reagent is developed, this technology could be used to detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus of COVID-19.
Article • Infection control in hospitals
Nosocomial influenza: The enormous effect of mask wearing
The Coronavirus dominates everyday conversation as well as medical and scientific discussions, but in a Leipzig hygiene congress, other topics – such as nosocomial influenza – took a strong position. Dr Andreas Ambrosch, head of the Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene at the Brothers of Mercy Hospital in Regensburg, Germany, presented a new study on the spread…
News • COVID-19 infections
Genetic network analysis provides 'snapshot' of pandemic origins
Researchers from Cambridge, UK, and Germany have reconstructed the early “evolutionary paths” of COVID-19 in humans – as infection spread from Wuhan out to Europe and North America – using genetic network techniques.
News • COVID-19 research
Clues to coronavirus’s vulnerability emerge from SARS antibody
An antibody recovered from a survivor of the SARS epidemic in the early 2000s has revealed a potential vulnerability of the new coronavirus at the root of COVID-19, according to a study from scientists at Scripps Research. The study, published in Science, is the first to map a human antibody’s interaction with the new coronavirus at near-atomic-scale resolution. Although the antibody was…
News • Flu forecast
Portable AI device predicts outbreaks based on coughing
University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have invented a portable surveillance device powered by machine learning – called FluSense – which can detect coughing and crowd size in real time, then analyze the data to directly monitor flu-like illnesses and influenza trends. The FluSense creators say the new edge-computing platform, envisioned for use in hospitals, healthcare waiting rooms…
News • COVID-19 longevity
How long can the coronavirus persist on surfaces?
How long can coronavirus persist on surfaces such as door handles or hospital nightstands? How can the virus be destroyed effectively? A research team from Greifswald and Bochum, Germany, collected the answers scientists can currently offer to these and other pertinent questions and published them in the Journal of Hospital Infection.
