Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

Digital tool predicts protein stability in a cheaper, safer, and faster way

A cutting-edge digital tool that will make it cheaper, safer and faster for pharmaceutical companies to predict protein stability - a vital step in the development of new medicines - is being rolled out by scientists from the UK's University of Bath through their spin-out company, BLOC Labs.

From University of Bath 31 May 2021

New wiki promotes development of innovative saliva-based diagnostic tests and customized treatment

The NIDCR has funded the creation of the Human Salivary Proteome Wiki, the first public platform that organizes information on each of the proteins found in human saliva.

27 May 2021

New plasmofluidic chip could accelerate diagnosis during current and future pandemics

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been the gold standard for diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

27 May 2021

New method helps tests large groups for SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers at the Vienna BioCenter designed a testing protocol for SARS-CoV-2 that can process tens of thousands of samples in less than 48 hours. The method, called SARSeq, is published in the journal Nature Communications and could be adapted to many more pathogens.

25 May 2021

Convergence science are needed to prevent plant disease outbreaks

Plant diseases don't stop at national borders and miles of oceans don't prevent their spread, either. That's why plant disease surveillance, improved detection systems, and global predictive disease modeling are necessary to mitigate future disease outbreaks and protect the global food supply, according to a team of researchers in a new commentary published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

24 May 2021

New projections can help support COVID-19 patients experiencing homelessness

A new study provides public health planning authorities with a method of calculating the number of COVID-19 isolation beds they would need for people experiencing homelessness based on level of infection in the city.

21 May 2021

Researchers discover canine coronavirus in East Malaysia

Researchers have discovered a new coronavirus, found in a child with pneumonia in Malaysia in 2018, that appears to have jumped from dog to human.

21 May 2021

Global chronic and hidden hunger estimated to increase disability and mortality by 2050

A new study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and RTI International (RTI) projects that global chronic and hidden hunger will increase the overall years of life lost due to premature mortality and years lived with disability, also known as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), globally by over 30 million by 2050 relative to 2010.

20 May 2021

Study shows that Bubonic Plague had a long-term impact on immune gene expression

A new study shows that the Bubonic Plague has had a long-term impact on immune gene expression.

20 May 2021

Exposure to even low levels of lead can trigger epigenetic changes

A research team from Brazil and Portugal has identified a link between a microRNA (miRNA) and the presence of lead in an organism.

18 May 2021

Many do not recognise animal agriculture's link to infectious diseases

New research led by the University of Kent has found that people fail to recognize the role of factory farming in causing infectious diseases.

14 May 2021

A unique vertical farm can produce 10 times more seed potatoes a year

The pandemic has interfered with production chains in many areas of agriculture, making the restoration of the Russian seed bank a priority of food safety.

14 May 2021

Study shows metabolic pathways by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis consumes its favorite nutrients

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is remarkable because it can live in the human host for decades.

From University of Surrey 13 May 2021

Typical household with backyard chickens, rabbits, soybeans can meet protein demands

In 2020, stores sold out of garden seed, coops and rabbit cages. Now, we have an idea how much protein people can grow in their backyards.

13 May 2021

Genomic Analysis for the Conservation of Koalas

In this interview, AZoLifeSciences speaks to Professor Parwinder Kaur about her latest research that uses genomic analysis for the conservation of koalas.

From The University of Western Australia 10 May 2021

Study suggests that bubonic plague had long-term impact on human immune genes

Scientists examining the remains of 36 bubonic plague victims from a 16th century mass grave in Germany have found the first evidence that evolutionary adaptive processes, driven by the disease, may have conferred immunity on later generations of people from the region.

7 May 2021

Low-dose administration of MERS DNA vaccine protects against COVID-19

The Wistar Institute has developed a synthetic DNA vaccine candidate for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

26 Apr 2021

Cell membranes can boost the production of protein-based vaccines

Synthetic biologists have cracked open a cellular membrane, identifying a new method to boost the production yields of protein-based vaccines by five times.

26 Apr 2021

Natural molecule can effectively block the binding of human antibodies to SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have found that a natural molecule can effectively block the binding of a subset of human antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. The discovery may help explain why some COVID-19 patients can become severely ill despite having high levels of antibodies against the virus.

23 Apr 2021

National DNA Day 2021: An Interview with Professor George Church

In celebration of National DNA Day, AZoLifeSciences interviews renowned DNA expert Professor George Church about his life-long career in DNA research.

From Harvard Medical School 23 Apr 2021