Viruses, Infections & Disease, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2021

'Rogue' antibodies found in brains of teens with delusions and paranoia after COVID-19

Two teens developed severe psychiatric symptoms such as paranoia, delusions and suicidal thoughts during mild COVID-19 infections. Now, scientists think they've identified a potential trigger: Rogue antibodies may have mistakenly attacked the teens' brains, rather than the coronavirus. The researchers spotted these rogue antibodies in two teens who were examined...

Aug 31, 2021

Huge, gold-standard study shows unequivocally that surgical masks work to reduce coronavirus spread

Results from a massive study in Bangladesh unequivocally show that surgical masks reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, scientists say. The results — from the highest-quality, gold-standard type of clinical trial, known as a randomized controlled trial — should end any scientific debate on whether masks are effective in battling the...

Aug 31, 2021

Viruses found in Laos bats are closest known relatives to SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have discovered coronaviruses lurking in Laotian bats that appear to be the closest known relatives to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, found to date, according to news reports. In a new study, researchers from the Pasteur Institute in France and the University of Laos captured 645 bats from...

Jul 31, 2021

What happens if a far more lethal coronavirus emerges in pets?

The recent suggestion that British ministers may have to consider culling or vaccinating animals to prevent the coronavirus from picking up another dangerous mutation and jumping back to humans may sound like sudden panic, but it's just part of a long debate among scientists. Evidence that cats could be infected...

Jul 31, 2021

FDA to authorize 3rd COVID-19 vaccine dose for immunocompromised people

On Thursday (Aug. 12), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to authorize a third vaccine dose for people with weakened immune systems, according to recent news reports. The FDA will update the emergency use authorizations for the two mRNA vaccines — Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna —to include a...

Jul 31, 2021

Ivermectin won't treat COVID-19, but it might kill you, CDC warns

Thousands of Americans may be taking potentially dangerous doses of an anti-parasitic drug because of misinformation that it will prevent or treat COVID-19, according to a new warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On Thursday (Aug. 26), the CDC alerted doctors that there's been a surge...

Jun 30, 2021

Respiratory virus spreads in the southern US

Parts of the southern U.S. are seeing off-season spikes in a respiratory virus called RSV after the lifting of public health measures put into place to slow COVID-19 spread, public health experts warn. RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is typically more active in the fall and winter. This summer spike...

Jun 30, 2021

Delta variant now makes up 83% of new COVID-19 cases in US

The SARS-CoV-2 delta variant now makes up 83% of new U.S. cases, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Tuesday (July 20) at a Senate hearing. This is a dramatic increase up from 50% the week of July 3, Walensky said. In...

Jun 30, 2021

Nerve damage in cornea could be sign of 'long COVID,' study hints

Nerve damage and a buildup of immune cells in the cornea may be a sign of long COVID, a long-term syndrome that emerges in some people after COVID-19 infection, a new study suggests. These preliminary results will need to be verified in a larger group of people with long COVID,...

Jun 30, 2021

How 350 vaccinated people caught COVID-19 in huge Cape Cod outbreak

A large COVID-19 outbreak in a Cape Cod town has changed health officials' understanding of the coronavirus delta variant, and played a key role in the decision to recommend masks indoors even for people fully vaccinated against the virus. The outbreak occurred in Provincetown, Massachusetts, after July 4 celebrations, and...

May 31, 2021

Is the COVID-19 vaccine causing rare myocarditis cases?

Researchers in Israel say they've found a possible link between the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and cases of heart inflammation in young men ages 16 to 30, according to a report submitted this week to the country's Ministry of Health. The report concluded that around 1 in 5,000 men who receive...

May 31, 2021

COVID-19 was spreading in the US by December 2019, mounting evidence suggests

The novel coronavirus may have already arrived in the U.S. by late December 2019, adding to the evidence that the virus was already lurking here at least a month before the country's first reported case, according to a new study. The study researchers analyzed more than 24,000 blood samples collected...

May 31, 2021

Scientist recovers coronavirus gene sequences secretly deleted last year in Wuhan

Finding the origin story for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for nearly 3.9 million deaths worldwide, has been largely hampered by lack of access to information from China where cases first popped up. Now, a researcher in Seattle has dug up deleted files from Google Cloud that reveal 13 partial genetic...

Apr 30, 2021

FDA okays emergency use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for young teens

On Monday (May 10), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) extended emergency approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 years old. The original emergency approval, issued on Dec. 11, 2020, allowed Pfizer's vaccine to be given to those who were...

Apr 30, 2021

Woman gets 6 doses of COVID-19 vaccine at once

A woman in Italy accidentally received six doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine all at once, according to news reports. The 23-year-old woman did not experience any serious side effects from the vaccine overdose, CBS News reported. The accident happened Sunday (May 9) at the Noa Hospital in Tuscany, Italy,...