Tag: Viruses

Astronauts test virus-fighting surface coating

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are conducting experiments with an antimicrobial surface coating designed to fight the spread of bacteria and viruses. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-astronauts-virus-fighting-surface-coating.html…

Prior infection with common cold viruses won’t protect against COVID-19

For months, scientists have wondered whether past exposure to seasonal coronaviruses that cause common colds might prevent people from getting a severe case COVID-19. Source: https://www.livescience.com/antibodies-common-cold-no-coronavirus-infection.html

Researchers Try Using CRISPR To Genetically Engineer Zika-Resistant Mosquitoes

A new research study at the University of Missouri is using CRISPR gene-editing technology to produce mosquitoes that are unable to replicate Zika virus and therefore cannot infect a human through biting. Slashdot reader wooloohoo shared an announcement from Cornell’s Alliance for Science: Alexander Franz, an associate professor in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, collaborated with researchers at Colorado State…

Boston Biotech Conference Led To 245,000 COVID-19 Cases Across US

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: A biotech conference in Boston last February that’s already been flagged as a Covid-19 superspreading event led to at least 245,000 other cases across the US and Europe, a new genetic fingerprinting study shows. One single case seems to have been responsible for many of the other eventual cases, the team at the…

Celebrating the Path-Breaking Research That Lead to Coronavirus Vaccines

The Washington Post tells the remarkable story of how both Moderna’s vaccine and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine relied on a specially designed spike protein partially created by America’s Vaccine Research Center — along with messenger RNA, “a technology never before harnessed in an approved vaccine.” And also decades of path-breaking research: If, as expected in the next few weeks, regulators give those…

The race to find and stop viruses that could cause the next pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic is still raging, but the clock is ticking towards the next big virus threat – can we track it down before it makes the leap from animals to humans? Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24833104-300-the-race-to-find-and-stop-viruses-that-could-cause-the-next-pandemic/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Epidemiologist explains CDC guidance on 15 minutes of exposure

New guidance from the CDC says that 15 minutes of exposure – regardless of whether that occurs at one time – can result in transmission of the coronavirus. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/epidemiologist-explains-cdc-guidance-15-minutes-covid19-exposure…

Deep Frozen Arctic Microbes Are Waking Up

An anonymous reader shares an opinion piece from Scientific American: Permafrost covers 24 percent of the Earth’s land surface, and the soil constituents vary with local geology. Arctic lands offer unexplored microbial biodiversity and microbial feedbacks, including the release of carbon to the atmosphere. In some locations, hundreds of millions of years’ worth of carbon is buried. The layers may still…

New Nasal Spray Prevents Covid Infection in Ferrets, Study Finds

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…