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Trial drug may block early stages of COVID-19, human cell study shows

hrsACE2, a genetically modified protein already being tested to prevent lung disease, reduces the viral growth of SARS-CoV-2 by a factor of 1,000 to 5,000 in human cell cultures. Researchers believe the enzyme copy lures the virus to attach itself to the copy, rather than human lung cells. The findings suggest hrsACE2 could significantly block the early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infections and prevent COVID-19 from becoming severe. Read More

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Loss of smell and taste is strongest predictor of early COVID-19 infection

User data from a new COVID-19 symptom tracking app reveals a loss of taste and smell are the strongest predictors of a positive coronavirus diagnosis. Using the data, researchers have developed a model to identify which combination of symptoms together could best predict COVID-19 infection in individuals. Read More

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Historical coronaviruses show evidence of seasonality & immunity

Historical data from Flu Watch about other coronaviruses reveals they appear to have a seasonal pattern, with peaks occurring during winter. Only small amounts of other coronavirus infections were transmitted during the summer. The findings support the hypothesis that COVID-19 may have lower levels of transmission during the summer, but this may reverse during the winter months if there is still a large, susceptible population. Read More

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Aggressive lockdowns need to last more than six weeks to contain COVID-19

Preliminary results from a new model suggest the COVID-19 lockdown should last for more than six weeks. The advice is based on data which shows it takes countries almost three weeks to see a growth rate staying below 10% and doubling time over seven days. It takes a month to keep the growth rate under control and at 1%, and 45 days to achieve containment. Read More

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Antiviral used to treat cat coronavirus could hold key to COVID-19

A drug used to treat feline infectious peritonitis, an often fatal coronavirus infection in cats, may hold the key for developing a treatment for human COVID-19. Read More

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How the novel coronavirus binds to human cells

Compared to the virus that caused the SARS epidemic in the early 2000s, SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, has evolved new strategies to bind to cell receptors, resulting in tighter binding. A new study identifies key mutations that potentially enabled the animal-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The study mapped out important binding sites on SARS-CoV-2 for antibody drugs to act on. If new drugs can bind to the sites on SARS-CoV-2, they will block the virus out of cells. Read More

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