Scientists know that coronaviruses, including the SARS-CoV-19 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, can remain infectious for days — or even longer — in sewage and drinking water. Two researchers, Haizhou Liu, an associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, Riverside; and Professor Vincenzo Naddeo, director of the Sanitary Environmental […]
Will Wearing a Mask Protect You Against Coronavirus?
Fear of coronavirus infection has led to a massive increase in sales of surgical face masks and respirators. While the evidence is conflicting, some studies suggest healthy people do limit their chances of infection if wearing a face mask, especially properly fitted N95 or N100 respirators. With 663,828 reported COVID-19 cases across 177 countries and territories as […]
Lab team spins ginger into nanoparticles to heal inflammatory bowel disease
A recent study by researchers at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center took them to a not-so-likely destination: local farmers markets. They went in search of fresh ginger root. Back at the lab, the scientists turned the ginger into what they are calling GDNPs, or ginger-derived nanoparticles. The process started simply enough, with your basic […]
Commonly used mouthwash could make saliva significantly more acidic, change microbes
The first study looking at the effect of chlorhexidine mouthwash on the entire oral microbiome has found its use significantly increases the abundance of lactate-producing bacteria that lower saliva pH, and may increase the risk of tooth damage. A team led by Dr Raul Bescos from the University of Plymouth’s Faculty of Health gave a […]
Wuhan study shows lying face down improves breathing in severe COVID-19
In a new study of patients with severe COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) hospitalized on ventilators, researchers found that lying face down was better for the lungs. The research letter was published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. In “Lung Recruitability in SARS — CoV-2 Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A […]
Glucose: Potential new target for combating annual seasonal flu
Reducing glucose metabolism dials down influenza viral infection in laboratory cell cultures, providing an entirely new approach for combating seasonal flu, according to research that will be presented on Sunday, Dec. 15, at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) annual meeting in New Orleans. While annual flu shots are based on the U.S. Centers […]
Possible Role Of Melatonin In The Management Of Viral Infections
Besides playing an important role in various functions of the body, including sleep and circadian rhythm regulation, melatonin also shows immunoregulatory, free radical scavenger and antioxidant functions. Because of these latter characteristics melatonin has also been found to be effective in fighting viral infections in a variety of experimental animal and in vitro studies. These data suggest […]
‘Sushi parasites’ have increased 283-fold in past 40 years
The next time you eat sashimi, nigiri or other forms of raw fish, consider doing a quick check for worms. A new study led by the University of Washington finds dramatic increases in the abundance of a worm that can be transmitted to humans who eat raw or undercooked seafood. Its 283-fold increase in abundance […]
Coronavirus spreads quickly and sometimes before people have symptoms, study finds
Infectious disease researchers at The University of Texas at Austin studying the novel coronavirus were able to identify how quickly the virus can spread, a factor that may help public health officials in their efforts at containment. They found that time between cases in a chain of transmission is less than a week and that […]
New coronavirus stable for hours on surfaces
The virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA and Princeton University scientists in The New England Journal of Medicine. The scientists found that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable […]