A Chinese team of virologists has discovered a new bat coronavirus that can infect human cells, raising concerns about potential animal-to-human transmission. The virus, a new lineage of the HKU5 coronavirus, uses the same human receptor as the virus that causes COVID-19. The study, led by Shi Zhengli, a prominent virologist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, was published in the journal Cell. The discovery comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the Wuhan lab, which was previously accused of being the source of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese government has denied any involvement in the virus's origin and insists that the Wuhan lab never engaged in gain-of-function studies on coronaviruses.
As of now, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals has launched a vaccine, Gemcovac-OM, which is based on the Omicron variant.
The researchers noted that people who are fully vaccinated can still become infected with SARS-CoV-2 and can carry a viral load similar to those who are unvaccinated.
Evidence from a large study of several thousand patients shows that men have higher concentrations of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in their blood than women. Since ACE2 enables coronavirus to infect healthy cells, this may help to explain why men are more vulnerable to COVID-19 than women.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine provides less immunity against Omicron than from other coronavirus variants, according to a lab study that suggests a booster may still provide good protection.
Lower levels of ACE2 gene expression in nasal epithelium, the first point of contact for SARS-CoV-2 and the human body, may explain why children have a lower risk of Covid-19 infection and mortality, according to a study. The researchers found that ACE2 gene expression in nasal epithelium was lowest in younger children and increased with age.
The Kraken COVID-19 variant accounts for almost 41 per cent of all Covid infections.
The study, published in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, noted that the 'nanobodies' can prevent infection with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 by blocking its interaction with the protein ACE2, which it uses as a gateway to enter and infect cells.
Easy access to this kind of test could help people determine what kind of precautions they should take against COVID-19 infection, such as getting an additional booster shot, the researchers said.
Scientists have identified antibodies that neutralise Omicron and other variants of coronavirus by targeting areas that remain essentially unchanged as the virus mutates.
"We not only uncovered that these stem cell-derived heart cells are susceptible to infection by novel coronavirus, but that the virus can also quickly divide within the heart muscle cells," said study co-author Arun Sharma from the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute in the United States. "Even more significant, the infected heart cells showed changes in their ability to beat after 72 hours of infection," Sharma said.
COVID-19 patients commonly report symptoms such as brain fog, headaches, and insomnia, complications which are not new after a viral infection, the researchers said.
The international team of researchers combined lab-based experiments and epidemiology of vaccine breakthrough infections, showing that the Delta variant is better at replicating and spreading than other commonly-observed variants.
Doctors claimed it is the first time that cases of gallbladder gangrene have been reported after recovery from COVID-19 infection.
'The COVID-19 virus has the power to quietly enter your body, without causing pain via symptoms, because it craftily manipulates your pain response.'
Based on the observations, scientists said that additional care may be required for older men or those with underlying conditions. Yang and his team analysed several patient datasets to see if there were differences in how men and women respond to COVID-19.
One may be at a risk of heart attack or stroke even months after recovery, cautionss Dr Ruchit Shah, interventional cardiologist, Masina Hospital, Mumbai.
'If our body is able to mount a very successful immune response, we can negate the virus.'
'Mortality or hospitalisation has not increased in South Africa because of the new variant.' 'There is nothing to show so far that it is more infectious.' 'I am of the opinion that at the moment, there is no reason to panic.'
'Most vaccines do target the Spike protein, in which there are changes in the variants but vaccines stimulate our immune system to produce a wide range of protective antibodies'
'Smokers are a highly susceptible population during this pandemic.' 'Health benefits from quitting smoking can start as early as within an hour.'
According to the research, published in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics, gastrointestinal symptoms first suffered by some children hints at potential infection with SARS-CoV-2 through the digestive tract.
'...signatures.' 'But such signatures are missing in this virus.'
They stressed that classification of cases into mild, moderate and severe categories based just on respiratory symptoms should be relooked to include other organ involvement.
Over time, as more mutations occur, the vaccine may need to be altered.
These games of skill with a large social component have managed the transition to a new online avatar.
Using this sequence data, the researchers traced the origins and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 by focusing on the tell-tale features of the virus.
'The majority of transmission will be via people who are within two metres of one another.' 'The closer you are, the more likely that you'll be infected.'
'He has a gift none of his eight predecessors, from Manmohan Singh to Rajiv Gandhi, had: Being able to speak directly and convincingly to a large enough section of Indians who will take his word for gospel,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
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