Viruses inhibit the biochemical activity of host proteins and use them for invasion and replication inside the host. Transmembrane protease serine-2 (TMPRSS2) is an endothelial cell surface protein implicated in the activation of influenza A, B, and coronaviruses, including the…

Since the early phases of the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), national and regional lockdowns have been instrumental in controlling the spread of the virus in many parts of the…

A team of scientists from the University of Connecticut, USA, has developed a low-cost lab-on-paper technology to rapidly and easily detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The work has recently been published in a Royal Society of…

Researchers found different groups of symptoms persisting after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with fatigue and higher IL-6 levels common in women. About 75% of the patients they treated were women, indicating a link between sex hormones and immune response. A…

Real-world data from Pasquale Stefanizzi of Aldo Moro University in Italy and colleagues confirm that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine effectively prevents COVID-19 infection. Their results showed healthcare workers were 61.9% protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection 14 to 20 days after the first…

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) bears an abundance of the characteristic spike protein, which mediates its entry into and fusion with the host cell, as well as syncytium formation by the host cells themselves. Among the devastating…

Many have attributed the low number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the summer of 2020 to hot weather or increased outdoor activities. But a new study from researchers in Germany suggests this might not have been the case….

Researchers at Duke University, USA, are looking into the possibility of a combined influenza & coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine that could be used to simultaneously protect against annual flu strains and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)….

A team of scientists from the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, Chicago, USA, has recently investigated and compared the efficacy of spike-based and nucleocapsid-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in mice infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2…