Comments closedWhen SARS-CoV-2 enters our cells, it disrupts the process of making proteins, which are essential for our cells to work correctly. A particular SARS-CoV-2 protein called Nsp1 has a crucial role in this process. It stops ribosomes, the machinery that makes proteins, from doing their job effectively. The virus is like a clever saboteur inside our cells, making sure its own needs are met while disrupting our cells’ ability to defend themselves.
When the US Department of Agriculture announced late Sunday that it had publicly posted new data from its investigation into a bird flu outbreak in cattle, scientists eagerly searched a well-known platform used globally to share the genetic sequences of viruses.
The sequences weren’t there. As of Tuesday morning, they still aren’t.
Researchers looking to track the evolution and spread of H5N1 say the information that was posted — raw data on a US server — isn’t very useful and is anything but transparent. They also say the government’s release of information in the outbreak, which was confirmed in cattle almost a month ago, has been painfully slow.
Comments closedA new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there is no evidence to suggest COVID vaccines cause sudden cardiac death or other fatal heart problems in young people.
Comments closedWhen COVID-19 first reared its head back in 2019, it brought with it a slew of strange symptoms beyond just respiratory problems. One of the most puzzling symptoms in those early days was something called “brain fog” — cognitive issues like confusion, forgetfulness, and trouble focusing.
And while other symptoms have changed as the virus mutated, brain fog is still a common complaint of COVID sufferers not only during the initial illness, but extending for months or even years afterwards. Several recent studies have been trying to understand exactly what this virus is doing to our brains — and how to stop it.
Comments closedThree new studies shed new light on long COVID in the United States, with one finding that two thirds of severely ill patients reported persistent impairments for up to 1 year, another showing that US veterans were at three times the risk of preventable hospitalization in the month after infection, and the last revealing that one third of COVID-19 survivors had lingering symptoms at one time.
Comments closedCOVID-19 became the second leading cause of death globally in the year after it was declared a pandemic, according to a study published in the Lancet.
While heart disease remained the top killer, COVID “radically altered” the main five causes of death for the first time in 30 years, displacing stroke, the publication said. In 2021, 94 in every 100,000 people died from COVID, on an age-standardized basis.
Comments closedComments closedIt’s an invisible and new condition. Many people don’t believe that long COVID is real or exists. And unfortunately, that permeates through the healthcare system. Even outside of the medical system, there is a broader societal awareness that is lacking.
A new study, looking at the replication stage of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, discovered important mechanisms in its replication that could be the foundation for new antiviral therapies.
The study, which set out to investigate how the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates once it enters the cells, has made surprising discoveries that could be the foundation for future antiviral therapies. It also has important theoretical implications as the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has, so far, received less attention from researchers.
Comments closedA recent USC study provides new information about why SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, may elicit mild symptoms at first but then, for a subset of patients, turn potentially fatal a week or so after infection. The researchers showed that distinct stages of illness correspond with the coronavirus acting differently in two different populations of cells.
The study, published in Nature Cell Biology, may provide a roadmap for addressing cytokine storms and other excessive immune reactions that drive serious COVID-19.
The team found that when SARS-CoV-2 infects its first-phase targets, cells in the lining of the lung, two viral proteins circulate within those cells—one that works to activate the immune system and a second that, paradoxically, blocks that signal, resulting in little or no inflammation.
Comments closedA study of more than 11,000 Australians who tested positive to COVID-19 in 2022 has revealed almost one-in-five were still experiencing ongoing symptoms three months after their initial diagnosis, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU).
The study was conducted in Western Australia (WA), with participants drawn from the almost 71,000 adults who tested positive to COVID-19 in WA between 16 July 2022 and 3 August 2022.
Lead researcher, Dr Mulu Woldegiorgis, said the results show the risk of developing long COVID from the Omicron variant is higher than previously thought.
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