The call comes as the world is still struggling to suppress COVID-19 infections as national caseloads continue to rise steadily in most countries. “We must prepare for the next pandemic now,” said WHO in a news release. “We’ve seen this past year that countries with robust health emergency preparedness infrastructure have been able to act…
A new simulation study suggests that a person coughing can disperse droplets well beyond six feet, and that anyone shorter than the person coughing — such as children — might be at a greater risk of encountering the downward trajectory of those cough droplets. During the coronavirus pandemic, the dispersion of cough droplets has become…
We have faced viral threats before, including pandemics, yet the world does not shut down for every new infection or flu season. So what is it about this coronavirus? What are the quirks of its biology that pose a unique threat to our bodies and our lives? Master of deception In the early stages…
Scientists from the Wistar Institute have developed and tested the first synthetic DNA vaccine against the Powassan virus (POWV). The vaccine targets portions of the virus envelope protein. According to News-medical.net, POWV is an RNA virus from the flavivirus family, similar to the Zika virus, but transmitted to humans by ticks rather than mosquitoes. This…
The story of India’s first “savior sibling” has made national headlines. It has also raised questions about the ethics of using technology to create a child only to save or cure a sibling in a country with poor regulatory systems. The BBC’s Geeta Pandey in Delhi reported. Kavya Solanki was born in October 2018 and…
Levels of protective antibodies in people wane “quite rapidly” after coronavirus infection, say researchers. Antibodies are a key part of our immune defenses and stop the virus from getting inside the body’s cells. The Imperial College London team found the number of people testing positive for antibodies has fallen by 26% between June and September.…
A new study has suggested that people who exercise in the morning between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. may be less likely to develop cancers than those who exercise later in the day. New research has suggested that people who exercise in the early morning may have a reduced risk of developing cancer than those…
The fall Covid-19 surge is here, fueled by colder weather, reopened schools and pandemic fatigue. The flu season could make the coronavirus pandemic even worse. For the next several months, new Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths are expected to keep rising as the temperatures keep dropping. But that doesn’t mean your fall and winter have…
When you suffer from allergies during the coronavirus pandemic, many people wonder about the symptoms they’re experiencing. One symptom that’s common to both is a cough. But an immunologist says the key difference is where the cough originates. “Coronavirus is more of a dry cough that’s really coming from deep in the chest that’s usually…
Drugmaker Johnson + Johnson said Monday it has paused the advanced clinical trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine because of an unexplained illness in one of the volunteers. “Following our guidelines, the participant’s illness is being reviewed and evaluated by the ENSEMBLE independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) as well as our internal clinical and…
