by Lancet Credit: The Lancet Diagnostics have proven to be crucial to the COVID-19 pandemic response. A review in The Lancet evaluates the three major methods for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection and their role in managing the pandemic. This infographic provides a visual overview of the strengths and weaknesses of molecular (PCR), antigen (lateral flow), and serology...
by Ernie Mundell Healthday Reporter It’s a phenomenon first identified in India earlier this year: Patients who have or are recovering from COVID-19 who then contract a sometimes deadly fungal infection known as mucormycosis—also known as “black fungus.” Now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said isolated cases of the disease are hitting...
by Erik Robinson, Oregon Health & Science University Daniel Streblow, Ph.D., holds a plate of plasma samples that contain COVID-19 antibodies, to be evaluated in OHSUs in-house COVID-19 testing lab. Researchers have been studying antibody testing approaches. Credit: OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff Breakthrough infections greatly enhance immune response to variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, according...
by Elsevier Bubbler kits were processed in a negative pressure bench top box to prevent contamination of amplicon particles in the laboratory. Credit: William G. Fairbrother In a new study in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, investigators report on the design and testing of a breathalyzer, known as the Bubbler, that relies on viral RNA detection to...
by Aarhus University Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers from Aarhus University have shown that the medicine Atovaquone has a protective effect both before and after infection with the coronavirus in human cells in the laboratory. This means that it can in all probability be used both for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Atovaquone has already...
by Nancy Difiore, Rush University Medical Center Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Eugenol, an oily liquid extracted from cloves and a Southeast Asian plant known as holy basil, has been effective in treating mice infected with COVID-19 in a laboratory study, according to newly published research results in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology. “Eugenol binds to the spike protein of...
by University at Buffalo The freeze-dried ingredients of a liposome-based vaccine that could be developed for COVID-19. Credit: Douglas Levere / University at Buffalo Things that are freeze-dried: Astronaut food. Emergency rations. And, just maybe, some future COVID-19 vaccines. Freeze-drying is a method for removing water from a product. First, you freeze the item you’re trying...
by Arizona State University A cloud of platelet factor 4 proteins interacting with the electrostatic surface of the Oxford vaccine, as seen through the computational microscope. Credit: Chun Kit Chan, Arizona State University An international team of scientists believe they may have found a molecular mechanism behind the extremely rare blood clots linked to adenovirus COVID-19...
Individuals with kidney failure who were on dialysis had an incomplete and delayed antibody response and a blunted cellular immune response following COVID-19 vaccination, compared with people with normal kidney function. Immune responses were substantially stronger with the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine than with the PfizerBioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine. A variety of other characteristics also predicted the...
by Nancy Fliesler, Children’s Hospital Boston The Delta variant’s spike proteins fused to cell membranes far more rapidly than those of the five other variants. Credit: DOI: 10.1126/science.abl9463 The delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has swept the planet, becoming the dominant variant within just a few months. A new study from Boston Children’s Hospital, published in Science, explains...
