by Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences In early December, a few people in the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province of China began falling sick after going to a local seafood market. They experienced symptoms like cough, fever, and shortness of breath, and even complications related to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The immediate...
Category: <span>Virology</span>
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Steroids should not be used to combat the coronavirus
COVID-19, better known as Coronavirus, is still spreading fear across the globe. Close to 2 thousand people have died and tens of thousands more have been infected. There are no vaccines and there is no cure, even though more and more people are recovering completely. There is, however, one treatment that probably should be avoided...
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How sequencing virus DNA could open the door to next generation of cancer vaccines
by Daniel Brewer, The Conversation Cervical cancer is one of the only cancers that can be prevented by a vaccine. This is because around 98% of all cervical cancer cases are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which implants DNA in the genome of human cells, causing them to become cancerous. The HPV vaccine can...
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Mass General Hospital researchers identify new ‘universal’ target for antiviral treatment
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL BOSTON – As the coronavirus outbreak shows, viruses are a constant threat to humanity. Vaccines are regularly developed and deployed against specific viruses, but that process takes a lot of time, doesn’t help everyone who needs protection, and still leaves people exposed to new outbreaks and new viruses. Now, researchers at Massachusetts...
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NEW RESEARCH: PEOPLE WITHOUT SYMPTOMS CAN SPREAD CORONAVIRUS
IF TRUE, THE FINDING PRESENTS A DIRE THREAT TO INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO CONTAIN THE OUTBREAK. BY DAN ROBITZSKI / JANUARY 31 2020 In a grim development, scientists believe they’ve identified a case in which a patient transmitted the coronavirus 2019-nCoV to another person — before they started to have any symptoms. Last week, a man...
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How long coronaviruses persist on surfaces and how to inactivate them
by Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum In order to test which surface disinfection works how well against corona viruses, the viruses are dried on steel plates and then treated. Credit: Toni Luise Meister und Stephanie Pfänder A review article summarizes everything that researchers know about the lifetime of corona viruses on surfaces and the effect of disinfectants. How long...
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NEW RESEARCH: PEOPLE WITHOUT SYMPTOMS CAN SPREAD CORONAVIRUS
IF TRUE, THE FINDING PRESENTS A DIRE THREAT TO INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO CONTAIN THE OUTBREAK. BY DAN ROBITZSKI / JANUARY 31 2020 In a grim development, scientists believe they’ve identified a case in which a patient transmitted the coronavirus 2019-nCoV to another person — before they started to have any symptoms. Last week, a man...
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Sugar-derived molecules kill viruses in groundbreaking new treatment
By Michael Irving Viruses are surprisingly difficult to kill – most of the drugs and chemicals that do the job are also harmful to human health. But now, scientists have developed a new virucidal substance derived from sugar, making it deadly to a wide range of viruses but safe for us. The vast majority of...
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