Research News

Amid the rapidly evolving global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that has already had profound effects on public health and medical infrastructure across the globe, many questions remain about its impact on child health. New research published in the Journal of Clinical Virology indicates that the vulnerability of neonates and children and their role in the spread of the virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2]) should be included in preparedness and response plans.

People with certain heart diseases may be more susceptible to worse outcomes with COVID-19, but the reason why has remained unknown. New research from Mayo Clinic indicates that in patients with one specific type of heart disease obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) the heart increases production of the ACE2 RNA transcript and the translated ACE2 protein.

A study conducted in US Veteran hospital in United States found no evidence that use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), either with or without azithromycin, reduced the risk of mechanical ventilation or death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

As the demand for sanitizers has increased amid coronavirus outbreak, various laboratories have started the production of sanitizers. In one such endeavour, researchers of the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) have developed alcohol-based herbal sanitizer. The product is developed under Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Aroma Mission as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. 

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is leaving no stone unturned in the battle against novel coronavirus. Repurposing of existing drugs is one of the strategies deployed by CSIR. The Council is implementing this strategy by evaluating a an existing drug that is used for treating gram-negative sepsis patients.

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (round gold objects) emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. SARS-CoV-2, also known as 2019-nCoV, is the virus that causes COVID-19. The virus shown was isolated from a patient in the U.S.NIAID-RML

Early treatment with the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir significantly reduced clinical disease and damage to the lungs of rhesus macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to National Institutes of Health scientists.

An investigational vaccine called ChAdOx1 MERS protected two groups of rhesus macaques from disease caused by Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).  MERS-CoV is a relative of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).  National Institutes of Health scientists and colleagues are pursuing similar studies with ChAdOx1 SARS2, a vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2. They posted their results(link is external) with ChAdOx1 MERS on a preprint server. The findings are not yet peer-reviewed but are being shared to assist the public health response to COVID-19.

The swell of novel coronavirus appears not abating. In just a few months from the outbreak, it has reached around 210 countries, took lives of more than one lakh people. The numbers are climbing. In an effort to place a hurdle before the runaway train, scientists across the globe are racing to develop a drug that can cure or a vaccine that stop its spread.

Researchers at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram are in the final stages of developing a kit that promises to help detect SARS CoVID-19 infection as early as four days post-infection of the virus.