Coronavirus News and Research

RSS

Gut Bacteria Shape Our Defense Against Respiratory Viral Infections

The composition of microbiota found in the gut influences how susceptible mice are to respiratory virus infections and the severity of these infections, according to researchers from the Center for Translational Antiviral Research in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

31 Jan 2024

Computational Insights and Magnetic Tweezers: Unraveling Coronavirus Biomechanics

Richard Feynman is renowned for expressing, “Everything that living things do can be understood in terms of the jigglings and wigglings of atoms.”

28 Nov 2023

Structural Insights Into Coronavirus Spike Proteins

Coronaviruses employ protein “spikes” to latch onto and infect cells. Contrary to their name, these spikes do not have a rigid and pointed structure. Instead, they resemble chicken drumsticks, with the meaty portion facing outward.

27 Nov 2023

MIT Chemists Discover Structure of SARS-CoV-2 Ion Channel in Open State

The genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus encodes 29 proteins, one of which is an ion channel called E. This channel, which transports protons and calcium ions, induces infected cells to launch an inflammatory response that damages tissues and contributes to the symptoms of Covid-19.

16 Oct 2023

Pure Capped mRNA Vaccine Opens the Door to More Effective Vaccines with Lower Chances of Inflammation

A research group from Japan has developed a method to produce highly active mRNA vaccines at high purity using a unique cap to easily separate the desired capped mRNA.

11 Oct 2023

New System to Quickly Detect Airborne Viruses Using High-Speed Train Technology

Researchers from University of British Columbia and Michigan State University have invented a system that can quickly and inexpensively detect airborne viruses using the same technology that enables high-speed trains.

24 Aug 2023

New Device Enables Real-Time Environmental Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Aerosols

Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses.

11 Jul 2023

New Method Reveals How Hepatitis C Virus Evades Immune System

With a new method for examining virus samples researchers from the University of Copenhagen have solved an old riddle about how Hepatitis C virus avoids the human body's immune defenses.

6 Jul 2023

'Purecap' Technique Produces Highly Active mRNA Vaccines with Lower Immunostimulatory Activity

A research group from Japan has developed a method to produce highly active mRNA vaccines at high purity using a unique cap to easily separate the desired capped mRNA.

6 Jul 2023

Leave Bats Alone to Prevent the Next Pandemic of Zoonotic Origin

A new paper in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health makes the case that pandemic prevention requires a global taboo whereby humanity agrees to leave bats alone-;to let them have the habitats they need, undisturbed.

7 Jun 2023

Compound Found in Magnolia Tree Bark Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Replication in Several Cell Types

A compound called honokiol, which is found in the bark of multiple species of magnolia tree, inhibits replication of SARS-CoV-2 virus in several types of cells, according to a team of researchers in the Netherlands.

23 May 2023

Targeting Respiratory Viral Infections with a New Immunotherapy Treatment

A researcher at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine has created a novel, more effective therapy for acute respiratory viral infections, a significant global cause of illness each year.

16 May 2023

Argonne's Advanced Photon Source Helps Identify New Antibodies Against Coronaviruses

Results could speed development of new antivirals or vaccines that could counter many different coronavirus variants.

2 May 2023

Occludin Protein Plays a Critical Role in Cell-to-Cell Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Virus

While the coronavirus continues to infect people around the world, researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a specific protein inside the human body that plays a critical role in how the virus spreads from cell to cell after infection -; a discovery that will help better understand the COVID-19 disease and could lead to the development of new antiviral drugs in the future.

2 May 2023

Some Promising Human Antibodies can Fight New Variants of SARS-CoV-2

An anonymous San Diego resident has become a fascinating example of how the human immune system fights SARS-CoV-2.

27 Apr 2023

Exceptional Number of Unknown Viruses Found in the Infants' Feces

Viruses are usually associated with illness. But our bodies are full of both bacteria and viruses that constantly proliferate and interact with each other in our gastrointestinal tract.

12 Apr 2023

Researchers Identify Antibody that may Block Infection by All Dominant SARS-CoV-2 Variants

A team led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Scripps Research and the University of Chicago has identified an antibody that appears to block infection by all dominant variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, including Omicron, the most recent.

10 Apr 2023

Study brings into sharper focus the structural details of SARS-COV-2 virus

A new study led by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) brings into sharper focus the structural details of the COVID-19 virus, revealing an elliptical shape that "breathes," or changes shape, as it moves in the body.

31 Mar 2023

SARS-CoV-2 infection hijacks and damages parts of infected cells' vital RNA machinery

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) hijacks parts of infected cells' vital RNA machinery, thereby blocking important functions in the cells. These damaging changes in the RNA can likely be reversed, potentially leading to new drugs against COVID-19, University of Gothenburg researchers show.

30 Mar 2023

New inhibitor molecule disrupts the infection mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

A team of scientists led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and other viral diseases.

29 Mar 2023