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Nanosponges could intercept coronavirus infection

Nanoparticles cloaked in human lung cell membranes and human immune cell membranes can attract and neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus in cell culture, causing the virus to lose its ability to hijack host cells and reproduce.

The first data describing this new direction for fighting COVID-19 were published on June 17 in the journal Nano Letters. The "nanosponges" were developed by engineers at the University of California San Diego and tested by researchers at Boston University.

Low-cost dexamethasone reduces death by up to one third in hospitalised patients with severe respiratory complications of COVID-19

In March 2020, the RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 thERapY) trial was established as a randomised clinical trial to test a range of potential treatments for COVID-19, including low-dose dexamethasone (a steroid treatment). Over 11,500 patients have been enrolled from over 175 NHS hospitals in the UK.

Super-potent human antibodies protect against COVID-19 in animal tests

A team led by Scripps Research has discovered antibodies in the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients that provide powerful protection against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease, when tested in animals and human cell cultures.

The research, published today in Science, offers a paradigm of swift reaction to an emergent and deadly viral pandemic, and sets the stage for clinical trials and additional tests of the antibodies, which are now being produced as potential treatments and preventives for COVID-19.

Up to 45 percent of SARS-CoV-2 infections may be asymptomatic

An extraordinary percentage of people infected by the virus behind the ongoing deadly COVID-19 pandemic never show symptoms of the disease, according to the results of a Scripps Research analysis of public datasets on asymptomatic infections.

The findings, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest that asymptomatic infections may account for as much as 45 percent of all COVID-19 cases,

Promising path found for COVID-19 therapeutics

A team of researchers at the University of Georgia has successfully demonstrated that a set of drug-like small molecules can block the activity of a key SARS-CoV-2 protein - providing a promising path for new COVID-19 therapeutics.

Led by Scott Pegan, director of UGA's Center for Drug Discovery, the team was the first to evaluate the SARS-CoV-2 protein PLpro, known to be essential in

A protein that helps to fight viruses can also block lung damage repair

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have found that a protein which is initially helpful in the body's immune response to a virus, can later interfere with the repair of lung tissue. The work, published in Science, highlights the need for careful consideration regarding the use of this protein to treat viruses, including coronavirus.

COVID-19 mouse model will speed search for drugs, vaccines

The global effort to quickly develop drugs and vaccines for COVID-19 has been hampered by limited numbers of laboratory mice that are susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report they have developed a mouse model of COVID-19 that replicates the illness in people.

Research & Development News

Nanosponges could intercept coronavirus infection

Low-cost dexamethasone reduces death by up to one third in hospitalised patients with severe respiratory complications of COVID-19

Super-potent human antibodies protect against COVID-19 in animal tests

Up to 45 percent of SARS-CoV-2 infections may be asymptomatic

Promising path found for COVID-19 therapeutics

A protein that helps to fight viruses can also block lung damage repair

COVID-19 mouse model will speed search for drugs, vaccines

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