Category: Science and Tech
SARS-CoV-2 fragments may cause problems after infection
NIH Most COVID-19 cases are mild, but many still lead to life-threatening complications. Severe cases feature an overactive immune response that causes dangerous inflammation. This inflammation affects many different tissues and cell types, including uninfected ones, and resembles that seen in some autoimmune diseases. It’s not clear why SARS-CoV-2 can cause such inflammation while other […]
Feb 27, 2024
Deer Are Beta-Testing a Nightmare Disease
The Atlantic Prion diseases are poorly understood, and this one is devastating. Scott Napper, a biochemist and vaccinologist at the University of Saskatchewan, can easily envision humanity’s ultimate doomsday disease. The scourge would spread fast, but the progression of illness would be slow and subtle. With no immunity, treatments, or vaccines to halt its progress, […]
Feb 21, 2024
How bubonic plague rewired the human immune system
BBC Bubonic plague is still found in scattered locations around the world, but thanks to modern antibiotics it is far easier to treat than in the past. Yet, the disease may still have left its mark on humankind. Under the microscope, Yersinia pestis doesn’t look particularly special. It’s a fairly standard shape for a bacterium – a […]
Feb 20, 2024
The uncharted world of emerging pathogens
In their quest to detect early outbreaks, virus hunters are sampling environmental DNA in water, dirt, and air. It all started when Christopher Mason’s 3-year-old daughter licked a subway pole.Like any parent, he was horrified, but also keenly curious: What types of microbes might be clinging to a metal pipe gripped by countless commuters every […]
Feb 20, 2024
COVID-19- and Flu-Ravaged Lungs Could Be Repaired with mRNA Therapy
Genetic Engineering and Biotech News Respiratory infections, such as those caused by SARS-CoV-2 or influenza, can damage the lungs’ delicate network of capillary blood vessels, compromising oxygen delivery and carbon dioxide removal. To overcome this damage, the lungs depend on the regenerative capacities of vascular endothelial cells. As valuable as these cells are, they can, […]
Feb 7, 2024
More Americans Could Benefit from Paxlovid for COVID Infection
Johns Hopkins One of the best tools for preventing severe complications from COVID infection is the prescription antiviral drug Paxlovid. But not nearly as many people who could benefit from it are being prescribed it, says Amesh Adalja, MD, FIDSA, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security who specializes in infectious diseases and pandemic […]
Feb 6, 2024
Why Aren’t More Doctors Prescribing Paxlovid to High-Risk Patients?
MedPage Today It’s not all about drug-drug interactions, experts say. Recent evidence is piling up that many people at high risk for severe COVID-19 don’t receive nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) — or any outpatient antiviral treatment — when diagnosed with a SARS-CoV-2 infection. MedPage Today looked at new studies and talked to experts to find out why. In a […]
Jan 30, 2024
Why does COVID-19 make you sneeze?
Science Viral protein stimulates nerves in respiratory passages, could be target for treatment SARS-CoV-2 has many ways of making people miserable, including by causing them to sneeze. Now, researchers have discovered the basis for this nose-tickling effect. One of the virus’ proteins stimulates neurons in respiratory passages, triggering the sneeze reflex. The results could spawn […]
Jan 23, 2024
Paxlovid helps prevent severe illness from COVID. Why don’t more people take it?
Yahoo News With the current COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. at more than 1.1 million and new evidence that COVID infections can damage the brain, heart and lungs, it’s clear that the disease is more than “just a bad cold.” Paxlovid, which is a combination of two drugs (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), can lower the risk of severe symptoms […]
Jan 23, 2024
Why Don’t Covid Tests Seem to Work as Well as They Used To?
Bloomberg With Covid outbreaks being whipped up for a fifth year, testing has emerged as a source of frustration once again. Whereas obtaining a test was often difficult in early 2020, now the abundance of cheaper rapid kits in grocery stores and home medicine cabinets has led to a new concern — they don’t seem […]
Jan 16, 2024