Sewer slime can hang on to SARS-CoV-2 RNA from wastewater
During the COVID-19 pandemic, monitoring the levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater entering treatment plants has been one way that researchers have gauged the disease's spread. But could the slimy microbial communities that line most sewer pipes aff.....»»
SARS-CoV-2 protease cuts human proteins; Possible link to COVID-19 symptoms
The SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro) plays an essential role in processing viral proteins needed for replication. In addition, the enzyme can cut and inactivate some human proteins important for an immune response. Now, researchers have found.....»»
Common diabetes drug shows promise as treatment for COVID-19 lung inflammation
Researchers identify the molecular mechanism for the anti-inflammatory activity of diabetes drug metformin and, in mouse studies, say it prevents lung inflammation in animals infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19......»»
Global weight of all active SARS-CoV-2 viruses is between 0.1 and 10 kilograms
A combined team of researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and the California Institute of Technology in the U.S. has calculated the weight of all the SARS-CoV-2 viruses infecting people around the world at any given time. In the.....»»
How viruses mutate and create new variants
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus pop up, and some lead to increasing infections. The main new variants—named Alpha, Beta, and Gamma and first identified in Britain, South Africa, and India, respectively—hav.....»»
Scientists develop low-cost sensor that can detect COVID-19 in wastewater
Scientists from the University of Strathclyde and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have demonstrated a low-cost sensor that can detect fragments of the virus responsible for COVID-19 within wastewater......»»
Carbon-based nanomaterials show promising results against SARS-CoV-2 and 12 other viruses
Professor Ángel Serrano, principal investigator at the Biomaterials and Bioengineering Laboratory of the Catholic University of Valencia (UCV), recently published an article in journal ACS Nano, from the American Chemical Society, which shows that c.....»»
Pandemic effects on small companies
Everyone the world over has been left unaffected by the emergence of a novel coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019, which led to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Our lives have been disrupted enormously by the medical, social, and economic implica.....»»
How COVID-19 wreaks havoc on human lungs
Scientists have published the first detailed atomic-level model of the SARS-CoV-2 'envelope' protein bound to a human protein essential for maintaining the lining of the lungs. The findings may speed the search for drugs to block the most severe effe.....»»
Preclinical study suggests new approach to reduce COVID-19 death among the elderly
New research reveals a possible new approach to preventing death and severe disease in elderly people infected with SARS-CoV-2. Researchers demonstrated in a preclinical study that senolytic drugs significantly reduced mortality upon infection from a.....»»
How COVID-19 wreaks havoc on human lungs
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have published the first detailed atomic-level model of the SARS-CoV-2 "envelope" protein bound to a human protein essential for maintaining the lining of the lungs. T.....»»
Protein identified as new therapeutic anti-viral target for COVID-19
New research identified a novel interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the galectin-3-binding protein (LGALS3BP) which could be a new therapeutic anti-viral target......»»
Early warning system for COVID-19 gets faster through wastewater detection and tracing
A new research paper builds on previous research of COVID-19 testing in municipal sewer systems and subsequent tracing the virus back to the source by more accurately modelling a system's treelike network of one-way pipes and manholes, and by speedin.....»»
Metal ions help COVID-19 virus to disguise itself
Scientists from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio have discovered a mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 exploits changes in metal ion concentrations to disguise itself in the body. Varying concentrations of metal ions—positivel.....»»
Using fungal electrical activity for computing
Materials have a variety of properties that can be used to solve computational problems, according to studies in substrate-based computing.BZ computers, slime mold computers, plant computers, and collision-based liquid marbles computers are just a fe.....»»
Research: Journey of PFAS in wastewater facilities highlights regulation challenges
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have conducted two of the first studies in New England to collectively show that toxic man-made chemicals called PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances), found in everything from rugs to product packag.....»»
Open platform SARS-CoV-2 naming system to harness international scientific collaboration
Researchers at the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh have announced the formalization of the Pango Network, an international team of experts to oversee the identification and naming of different lineages of SARS-CoV-2 virus......»»
Analysis of interactions at "heart" of SARS-CoV-2 virus reveals new paths to treatment
A team of international scientists have identified key cellular factors that are crucial for the infection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19......»»
Study reveals potential new treatment target in the fight against COVID-19
The swift development of vaccines has provided a vital tool to combat the spread of the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus, but challenges to reaching herd immunity posed by the rise of new mutations and the inability of immunosuppressed people to develop an ef.....»»
Texas gov knew of natural gas shortages days before blackout, blamed wind anyway
Official's phone logs offer blow-by-blow account of the disaster as it unfolded. Enlarge / Icicles hang off the State Highway 195 sign on February 18, 2021, in Killeen, Texas. A winter storm brought historic cold weather and power outages to Tex.....»»
Researchers show neutralizing antibodies correlate with COVID protection
Antibodies produced by vaccines and infections declined at roughly similar rates. Enlarge / Illustration of antibodies (red and blue) responding to an infection with the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (purple). (credit: Getty Images) From the sta.....»»