The New York Times reports: A nasal spray that blocks the absorption of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has completely protected ferrets it was tested on, according to a small study released on Thursday by an international team of scientists. The study, which was limited to animals and has not yet been peer-reviewed, was assessed by several health experts at the request of…
Tag: antiviral
No, Mouthwash Will Not Save You From the Coronavirus
You may have noticed a rash of provocative headlines this week suggesting that mouthwash can “inactivate” coronaviruses and help curb their spread. While the news is based on a new study from researchers at the Penn State College of Medicine, it’s important to note that the study focused on a coronavirus that causes common colds — not the one that causes…
Home-Made Covid Vaccine Appeared to Work, but Questions Remained
“Josiah Zayner’s plan was simple: replicate a Covid-19 vaccine that had worked in monkeys, test it on himself and then livestream the experiment online over a period of months,” reports Bloomberg. “Zayner discovered, testing a vaccine is far more complicated than he had imagined.”
Even though his experiment yielded a promising result, Zayner found too many unanswered questions to say that it…
Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to discoverers of hepatitis C
Now, there are diagnostic blood tests and antiviral treatments for the virus. Source: https://www.livescience.com/2020-nobel-prize-medicine-hepatitis.html
Hydroxychloroquine Advocate Angry Donald Trump Took ‘Experimental Antibody Stupidness’
“A doctor notorious for claiming hydroxychloroquine is a ‘cure’ for COVID-19 has denounced White House doctors for not giving President Donald Trump the drug to treat his infection…” reports Newsweek. “Other unsubstantiated claims from Immanuel include declarations that fasting can cure those affected by ‘witchcraft,’ that having sex with demons while dreaming can cause gynecological problems and that certain medications contain…
Study hints at how ‘elite controllers’ stifle HIV
Some people can suppress HIV without antiviral drugs — how? Source: https://www.livescience.com/hiv-elite-controllers-functional-cure.html
AI Invents New ‘Recipes’ For Potential COVID-19 Drugs
sciencehabit writes: As scientists uncover drugs that can treat coronavirus infections, demand will almost certainly outstrip supplies — as is already happening with the antiviral remdesivir. To prevent shortages, researchers have come up with a new way to design synthetic routes to drugs now being tested in some COVID-19 clinical trials, using artificial intelligence (AI) software. The AI-planned new recipes –…
Happy World Oceans Day 2020
Why a World Oceans Day? Consider that Remdesivir, an antiviral medication now undergoing clinical trials as a possible Covid-19 treatment, contains compounds found in sea sponges. Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean is the theme for World Oceans Day 2020. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/happy-world-oceans-day…
Coronavirus drugs: how well is the hunt for covid-19 treatments going?
Hundreds of trials are testing known antiviral drugs as well as those that block immune responses to coronavirus, but we may need to build a covid-19 treatment from scratch Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2244349-coronavirus-drugs-how-well-is-the-hunt-for-covid-19-treatments-going/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Common herpes virus causes signs of Alzheimer’s disease in brain cells
A study of brains cells in a dish adds to growing evidence that Alzheimer’s disease can be caused by herpes viruses, but antiviral treatment may help stop it Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2242749-common-herpes-virus-causes-signs-of-alzheimers-disease-in-brain-cells/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…