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Popular Heartburn Drug Famotidine May Help Fight Mild to Moderately Severe COVID-19 Cases

Jun 8, 2020 by News Staff

Famotidine is widely available over the counter at low cost, does not interact with other medications and has been safely used for suppression of gastric...

Kolarik et al find link between level of vision impairment and audio accuracy. Image credit: Melmak.

People with Severe Vision Loss Less Accurately Judge Distance of Nearby Sounds, Study Shows

Jun 5, 2020 by News Staff

A new study shows that greater severity of vision loss is associated with increased auditory judgments of distance and room size; on average, participants...

A hair-bearing skin organoid. Image credit: Indiana University School of Medicine.

Scientists Create Hair-Bearing Human Skin from Pluripotent Stem Cells

Jun 5, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers from several U.S. institutions has created an organoid culture system that generates complex skin from human pluripotent stem cells. A...

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (yellow) isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (blue/pink) cultured in the lab. Image credit: NIAID.

Up to 81% of COVID-19-Positive Patients are Asymptomatic: Study

Jun 1, 2020 by News Staff

In a paper published in the journal Thorax, a team of Australia researchers described the first instance of complete COVID-19 testing of all passengers...

Handwashing is minimally disruptive and socially acceptable in a variety of community settings and has an important role in raising awareness and slowing transmission alongside measures such as physical and social distancing. Image credit: Zukunftssicherer.

Study: Regular Handwashing Reduces Personal Risk of Acquiring Seasonal Coronavirus Infection

May 25, 2020 by News Staff

In a new study looking at 1,633 participants of the England-wide Flu Watch project, a team of researchers found that moderate-frequency handwashing (6-10...

Positive effects of aerobic exercise in Alzheimer’s disease may be mediated by redistribution of blood flow and neural activity in Alzheimer’s disease-sensitive regions of brain. Image credit: Mabel Amber.

Aerobic Exercise Improves Memory in Older Adults, New Study Finds

May 21, 2020 by News Staff

Aerobic exercise boosts blood flow into two key regions of brain associated with memory: the anterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampus, according to...

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a VERO E6 cell (purple) exhibiting elongated cell projections and signs of apoptosis, after infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (pink), which were isolated from a patient sample. Image credit: NIAID.

New Antibody Completely Neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus

May 18, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers from Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. has isolated a new antibody that completely inhibits the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus virus in cell culture. Colorized...

A Malayan pangolin (Manis javanica) climbing a lychee tree. Image credit: Jinping Chen.

SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Didn’t Come from Pangolins, Scientists Say

May 15, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of researchers from China and the United States has sequenced the genome of pangolin-CoV-2020, a coronavirus isolated from sick Malayan pangolins...

ACE2 -- RAAS (rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system) -- COVID-19 axis. Image credit: Sama et al, doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa373.

Men Have Higher Blood Concentrations of Enzyme that Helps SARS-CoV-2 Virus Infect Cells

May 13, 2020 by News Staff

SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease, uses a receptor called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to gain entry into human...

Higher long-term dietary intakes of flavonoids are associated with lower risks of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in U.S. adults. Image credit: HeVoLi.

Flavonoid-Rich Foods Reduce Risks of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias

May 12, 2020 by News Staff

Higher long-term dietary intakes of flavonoid-rich foods, such as berries, apples and tea, are associated with lower risks of Alzheimer’s disease and...

Lin et al suggest that the use of green tea can be combined with a balanced and healthy diet and regular physical exercise in the management of obese patients. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Green Tea May Help Fight Obesity, Says New Study

May 8, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

Green tea supplementation is associated with a decrease in body weight and body mass index in obese patients, according to a new systematic review and...

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), isolated from a patient sample. Image credit: NIAID.

SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein’s Structure Hints at Key to High Infection Rate

May 6, 2020 by News Staff

An analysis and structural modeling of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, the area of the virus that facilitates entry into a cell, reveals a unique feature...

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a VERO E6 cell (blue) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (orange), isolated from a patient sample. Image credit: NIAID.

Scientists Identify SARS-CoV-2-Neutralizing Antibody

May 5, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers from Utrecht University, the Erasmus Medical Center and Harbour BioMed has identified a human monoclonal antibody that neutralizes...

Transmission electron microscopy analysis of SARS-CoV-2 infected intestinal organoids: (a to h) overview of an intact organoid (a) showing the onset of virus infection (b to d) at different stages of the viral lifecycle, i.e., early double membrane vesicles (DMVs); (e), asterisk, initial viral production in the Golgi apparatus (f and g) and complete occupation of virus particles inside the endomembrane system (h); (i to k) extracellular viruses are observed in the lumen of the organoid (i), and are found at the basal (j) and apical side (k) alongside the microvilli (arrows). Scale bars - 10 μm (a), 2.5 μm (b to d), 250 nm (e), (f), and (h to k) and 100 nm (g). (l to q) Overview of an organoid (l) showing severely infected cells (m and o), disintegrated cells (o) and stressed cells as evident from the atypical nucleoli (p); intact cells reveal DMV areas of viral replication (p), asterisks, and infected Golgi apparatus (q); (r) extracellular clusters of viruses. Scale bars - 10 μm (l), 2.5 μm (m to p) and 250 nm (p to r). Image credit: Lamers et al, doi: 10.1126/science.abc1669.

SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Can Infect Gut Enterocytes

May 5, 2020 by News Staff

SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease, can infect enterocytes in the intestine and multiply there, according to a study by researchers...

Cryo-EM structure of the remdesivir and RNA bound RdRp complex: (A and B) two views of cryo-EM map (A) and structure (B) of the nsp12-nsp7-nsp8 in complex with template-primer RNA and remdesivir; (C) surface view of the RdRp active site with the electrostatic potential from red (negative) to blue (positive); for clarity, residues 410-442, 834-919 of nsp12 and nsp8 are excluded from the figure; the covalently bound remdesivir in the monophosphate form and the product, pyrophosphate, are shown; the active site is emphasized with a yellow dashed circle; the template groove, the entrance for NTP and the elongation direction are annotated with different colored arrows; (D) a close view of the RdRp active site, showing the covalently bound RMP, pyrophosphate, and magnesium ions; key residues and bases that interact with remdesivir are shown; (E and F) superposition of the conserved RdRp motifs (A to G) of the RNA bound complex with the apo structure colored in gray, with a close view at the active site (E) and at the exit of the template and primer strand (F). Image credit: Yi et al, doi: 10.1126/science.abc1560.

Study Sheds New Light on Remdesivir’s Mechanism of Action against SARS-CoV-2

May 4, 2020 by News Staff

In a paper published in the journal Science, a team of researchers from China reports the structure of the antiviral drug remdesivir bound to both a molecule...

A new lateral flow immunoassay can detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, which appear as a bright orange line when placed on a fluorescence reader (right). Image credit: Guanfeng Lin.

Chinese Scientists Develop New Test to Detect SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies

Apr 30, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers in China has developed a quick and sensitive test to detect IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus behind the COVID-19...

Zhang et al show an association between the reported cure rates for COVID-19 and selenium status. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

New Study Identifies Link between Dietary Selenium and COVID-19 Cure Rate

Apr 30, 2020 by News Staff

In a new study, a team of researchers from the UK, the United States and China investigated possible links between selenium levels in the body and cure...

The Surviving Sepsis Campaign COVID-19 panel issued recommendations to help support healthcare workers caring for critically ill ICU patients with COVID-19. Image credit: Rosario ‘Charo’ Gutierrez, U.S. Air Force.

Social Distancing Worked in Wuhan and Shanghai, Says New Study

Apr 29, 2020 by News Staff

An analysis of contact survey data from 636 participants in Wuhan and 557 participants in Shanghai, China, finds that social distancing alone, as implemented...

Scientists Review Strategies for Combating SARS-CoV-2 and Other Coronaviruses

Apr 24, 2020 by News Staff

In a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, a team of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill review possible...