Coronavirus [NEW TOPIC PAGE]

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 Coronavirus

How to Discover Antiviral Drugs Quickly
JM Parks et al, NEJM, May 20, 2020

New three-dimensional structures of the S protein are being reported, a process that requires simulations and docking to be refined and repeated. Artificial intelligence is used to predict drug binding. Laboratory screening programs have been set up all over the world. For several proteins, the virtual high-throughput screening pipeline is in full production mode.

Genetic Engineering Could Make a COVID-19 Vaccine in Months Rather Than Years- Candidates are speeding toward human trials
C Schmidt, Scientific American, June 2020

DNA vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques
J Yu et al, Science, May 20, 2020

We developed DNA vaccine candidates and evaluated them in 35 rhesus macaques. Vaccinated animals developed humoral and cellular immune responses. Following vaccination, all animals were challenged with SARS-CoV-2, resulting reductions in median viral loads in bronchoalveolar lavage and nasal mucosa, respectively, as compared with controls.

Nasal ACE2 Levels and COVID-19 in Children
AB Patel et al, JAMA, May 20, 2020

Nasal Gene Expression of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 in Children and Adults
S Bunyavanich et al, May 20, 2020

This study shows age-dependent expression of ACE2 in nasal epithelium, the first point of contact for SARS-CoV-2 and the human body. Models showed that the positive association between ACE2 gene expression and age was independent of sex and asthma. Lower ACE2 expression in children relative to adults may help explain why COVID-19 is less prevalent in children.

COVID-19 genomic susceptibility: Definition of ACE2 variants relevant to human infection with SARS-CoV-2 in the context of ACMG/AMP Guidance
CL Shovlin et al, MEDRXIV, May 19, 2020

Can human genetic differences explain why some people suffer more from COVID-19 than others?
UK Research and Innovation, May 18, 2020

Early SARS-CoV-2 outbreak detection by sewage-based epidemiology.
Orive Gorka et al. The Science of the total environment 2020 May 139298

The infection fatality rate of COVID-19 inferred from seroprevalence data
J Ioannidis, MEDRXIV, May 19, 2020

A strategy for finding people infected with SARS-CoV-2: optimizing pooled testing at low prevalence
L Metusa et al, MEDRXIV, May 19, 2020

Why do some COVID-19 patients infect many others, whereas most don’t spread the virus at all?
K Kupferschmidt, Science, May 19, 2020

Emerging phylogenetic structure of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
NM Fountain-Jones et al, BIORXIV, May 19, 2020

Virus Mutations Reveal How COVID-19 Really Spread-Globe-trotting humans were the culprits
M Fischetti, Scientific American, June 2020