Understanding the genetic make-up of currently circulating avian flu strains may offer one of the best lines of defence against widespread human transmission. This is according to new research which has found a key human gene responsible for blocking most avian flu viruses from spilling over into people. The latest international study into the pandemic […]
Read More… from Key gene that blocks the ‘spillover’ of avian flu to humans discovered
First-line immune defences against COVID-19 are short-lived and may explain reinfection. A new study finds that antibodies produced in the nose decline nine months after COVID-19 infection, while antibodies found in the blood last at least a year. Antibodies in the nasal fluid (known as immunoglobulin A, or IgA) provide first-line defence against COVID-19 by […]
A first-of-its-kind sprayable coating that can prevent the surface spread of infection from bacteria and viruses – including COVID-19 – over a sustained period has been developed by a team of Australian researchers. Described in the journal Advanced Science, the spray works two ways: to repel viruses and bacteria through an air-filled barrier, and killing […]
Read More… from World-first spray coating shields surfaces from viruses and bacteria
In a paper published in The Journal of General Virology , researchers at The Pirbright Institute have confirmed that SARS-CoV-2 variants are able to gain entry to cells of more species than the original virus. The original SARS-CoV-2 wildtype virus, which emerged in China in 2019, is understood to have come from bats, but since […]
Supporting back to school anxiety in a time of COVID: Dr Hayley van Zwanenberg is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, based at the Priory’s Oxford Wellbeing Centre. Here she explains how to support young people who may be feeling anxious at the start of the new school term and struggling to adjust to new […]
Read More… from Supporting back to school anxiety in a time of COVID
Samples from public spaces could show how coronavirus spreads through the air: A new UK study will explore whether tiny airborne droplets and particles can spread coronavirus in settings like supermarkets, schools and busy streets. Led by Imperial College London and the University of Surrey, the research will collect samples from a wide range of […]
Calls on governments to consider the continued use of strict control measures as the only way to reduce the evolution and spread of new COVID-19 variants being made by a group of scientists. The experts in evolution, virology, infectious disease and genomics – at the University of East Anglia (UEA), Earlham Institute and University of […]
Read More… from Continued strict control measures needed to reduce new COVID-19 strains
Dhole-Eddlestone Prize awarded to ‘Probable delirium is a presenting symptom of COVID-19’: The prestigious Dhole-Eddlestone Memorial Prize has been awarded to the Age and Ageing paper ‘Probable delirium is a presenting symptom of COVID-19 in frail, older adults: a cohort study of 322 hospitalised and 535 community-based older adults‘. The prize is given annually to the […]
Read More… from Dhole-Eddlestone Prize – British Geriatrics Society
Researchers are set to explore a human challenge study with the virus that causes COVID-19, the first such study anywhere in the world. The Human Challenge Programme is a partnership between Imperial College London, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), hVIVO, a leading clinical company with expertise in viral human challenge models, […]
Researchers from the University of East Anglia have helped to carry out the first comprehensive survey of viruses found within different types of cancer. An international team systematically investigated the DNA found within more than 2,600 tumour samples from patients with 38 different types of cancer. They discovered traces of viruses in 13 per cent […]
Read More… from First Comprehensive Survey of Virus DNA Found Within Cancer Cells