Evolution of pandemic coronavirus outlines path from animals to humans
Reading Time: 2 minutesA TEAM of scientists studying the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic, found that it was especially well-suited to jump from animals to humans by shape shifting as it gained the ability to infect human cells. Conducting a genetic analysis, researchers from Duke University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University […]
Covid-19 sniffer dogs are here!
Reading Time: 2 minutesWHAT could be more accurate, faster and cheaper than the current diagnostic test kits for Covid-19 detection? It is man’s all-time best friend – yes, dogs! Dogs nature of sniffing everything may be annoying to some humans but looks like researchers around the world are actually benefiting from it. Researchers are now taking advantage of […]
Study: Coronavirus has two versions and one is not more harmful
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA STUDY published in Nature reports two major versions of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and confirms that the genetic difference does not contribute to disease severity. Host factors such as age, white blood cell levels, and overactive immune defenses contribute significantly to how people get the virus. Researchers from Fudan University and several other institutions in China examined the genetic makeup of the […]
Researchers get grant offered to develop rapid non-invasive paper-based serological, diagnostic tests for Covid-19
Reading Time: 4 minutesSINGAPORE: Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, has received a grant from the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) COVID-19 Research fund for the acceleration of research and development of rapid paper-based serological and diagnostic tests for COVID-19. The 1-year grant is part of NMRC’s support for COVID-19 related research, […]
Climate change, COVID-19 and future pandemics
Reading Time: 4 minutesBY TAN SU LIN Like COVID-19, around 75% of new infectious diseases are zoonotic. Some experts believe climate change may be putting humans in closer contact with animals. While COVID-19 and climate change are real but different health emergencies, both are of environmental origin and they point to a common denominator – destructive environmental practices ultimately […]
Coronavirus may never go away: WHO
Reading Time: 2 minutesTHE new coronavirus may never go away and populations around the world will have to learn to live with it, the World Health Organization warned Wednesday. As some countries around the world begin gradually easing lockdown restrictions imposed in a bid to stop the novel coronavirus from spreading, the WHO said it may never be […]
Social media, fake news and COVID-19
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY TAN SU LIN Each day, we are bombarded by misinformation on COVID-19, especially on social media. This situation makes it difficult for users to distinguish between facts and fake news. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called this an “infodemic” where fake news spreads faster and more easily than the coronavirus, and is just […]
Covid-19 lockdowns significantly impacting global air quality
Reading Time: 3 minutesLEVELS of two major air pollutants have been drastically reduced since lockdowns began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a secondary pollutant — ground-level ozone — has increased in China, according to new research. Two new studies in AGU’s journal Geophysical Research Letters find nitrogen dioxide pollution over northern China, Western Europe and the U.S. decreased […]
Children face risk for severe complications and death from COVID-19
Reading Time: 2 minutesCHILDREN, teens and young adults are at greater risk for severe complications from COVID-19 than previously thought and those with underlying health conditions are at even greater risk, according to a study coauthored by a Rutgers researcher. The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, is the first to describe the characteristics of seriously ill pediatric COVID-19 patients in […]
Loss of smell and taste validated as COVID-19 symptoms in patients with high recovery rate
Reading Time: 2 minutesLOSS of smell and taste has been anecdotally linked to COVID-19 infections. In a study published April 12, 2020 in the journal International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, researchers at UC San Diego Health report the first empirical findings that strongly associate sensory loss with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” […]