Virus

A new article, co-signed by 239 scientists, is calling for health authorities to recognize COVID-19 can be spread by airborne transmission. The scientists appeal for greater mitigation measures to control indoor airborne spread of the virus.

New data has found the cheap steroid dexamethasone significantly reduces deaths when administered to COVID-19 patients in intensive care. The treatment has been described as “the first major breakthrough in the therapeutics of COVID-19 infection”.

A study has found antibody levels in recovered COVID-19 patients dropped significantly two months after hospital discharge. The study does not suggest patients can rapidly be reinfected but does question how long immunity may last after one recovers.

Although N95 face masks are quite effective at blocking transmission of the COVID-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus, they're also intended to be used only a few times at most. A new removable membrane, however, could make them much more reusable.

Several authors behind a paper finding hydroxychloroquine ineffective as a COVID-19 treatment have requested it be retracted. Meanwhile, the first results from a clinical trial testing the drug found it's no better than placebo at preventing COVID-19.

Scientists hope to improve our odds against cancer through the use of viruses that selectively infect and kill tumor cells. A newfound understanding of how tumor cells shield themselves from these attackers could give these efforts a big boost.

A trial testing a drug designed to prevent HIV infection has been cut short due to a combination of positive early data and disruptions caused by COVID-19. The analysis found a single injection every eight weeks offers protection from HIV infection.

A new study has concluded hydroxychloroquine treatment for COVID-19 is not safe or effective. The large-scale observational analysis encompassed nearly 100,000 subjects found the drug treatment increases risk of mortality and cardiovascular events.

Hot on the heels of biotech company Moderna’s recent announcement of successful phase 1 trials for its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, two more promising candidates are delivering encouraging early data as several vaccines race into phase 2 human testing.

A choir rehearsal, a series of family gatherings, and a multi-day church event. Three CDC reports offer detailed insights into super-spreader COVID-19 clusters. Can these reports point us towards safer ways to reopen our communities?

Illustrating the incredibly rapid pace of COVID-19 vaccine development, biotech company Moderna has revealed data from its Phase 1 human trials showing its experimental vaccine is safe, well-tolerated and generates significant antibody levels.

A new article from a quartet of scientific leaders, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, is suggesting it will take not one, but multiple successful vaccines to get through the COVID-19 pandemic and return to normality.