Researchers in the United States and Canada have conducted a study showing that just a single dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is likely to protect against emerging variants. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is the agent responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues […]
Researchers in the United States have shown that extracts of an aromatic herb called Artemisia annua inhibit the replication of severe acute respiratory coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Also known as “Sweet wormwood,” Artemisia annua (A. annua) is an herb from Asia that produces the antimalarial […]
Researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) have developed a new system at laboratory scale that allows the rapid, cheap and effective detection of COVID-19. The system consists of a biosensor based on DVD technologies that detects specific antibodies (G, M and A) and SARS-CoV-2 antigens in saliva or blood serum in less than […]
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have developed a novel serological assay for the detection of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Rebecca DuBois, associate professor of biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz, said the new method her team developed is as accurate as the most reliable antibody tests currently available, but is less […]
People who’ve had Covid-19 are highly unlikely to contract it again for at least six months after their first infection, according to a British study of healthcare workers on the frontline of fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The findings should offer some reassurance for the more than 51 million people worldwide who have been infected […]
Scientists from Northwell Health Laboratories have developed a new diagnostic multiplex assay that can be used for epidemiological surveillance and clinical management of COVID-19. The Northwell Health Laboratories laboratory-developed test (NWHL LDT) uses a different set of reagents than current assays and can test 91 patients at a time for SARS-CoV-2, versus a maximum of […]
A study of nearly 2,000 Marine recruits who went through supervised quarantine before starting basic training revealed several instances of asymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, despite the quarantine measures. The findings have important implications for the effectiveness of public health measures to suppress transmission of COVID-19 among young adults, whether in […]
Antibodies against the novel coronavirus declined rapidly in the British population during the summer, a study found on Tuesday, suggesting protection after infection may not be long lasting and raising the prospect of waning immunity in the community. Scientists at Imperial College London have tracked antibody levels in the British population following the first wave […]
Virologists at the KU Leuven Rega Institute have been working on two lines of SARS-CoV-2 research: searching for a vaccine to prevent infection, and testing existing drugs to see which one can reduce the amount of virus in infected people. To test the efficacy of the vaccine and antivirals preclinically, the researchers use hamsters. The […]
The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global, molecular diagnostic professional society, today released the preliminary results of its August 2020 SARS-CoV-2 Testing Survey for clinical laboratories. The anonymous survey was created and administered to monitor, understand, and collect real-time data on laboratories’ efforts and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Compared to the […]
