The following is a brief roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

In-home COVID-19 antibody test shows high accuracy

Recovering surgery patients at risk from coronavirus

Immune system overreaction may not be cause of bad outcomes

COVID-19 survivors will need rehab therapy, experts say


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An effective track-and-trace system to prevent a second coronavirus peak will not only save lives, it could reduce the number of working hours lost to illness by as much as 50%, according to a major global study.

The International Labour Organisation said the effective testing and tracing of infections was essential if employers wanted staff to return to work and for them to stay healthy.


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As many countries emerge from lockdowns, researchers are poised to use genome sequencing to avoid an expected second wave of COVID-19 infections.

Since the first whole-genome sequence of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was shared online on 11 January, scientists have sequenced and shared some 32,000 viral genomes from around the world. Such a vast amount of data has allowed researchers to trace the origin of COVID-19 outbreaks in their countries and pinpoint when communi...

A drug treatment called remdesivir that appears to shorten recovery time for people with coronavirus is being made available on the NHS. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was probably the biggest step forward in the treatment of coronavirus since the crisis began. Remdesivir is an anti-viral medicine that has been used against Ebola.

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South Koreans from all walks of lives are experiencing a strong sense of déjà vu as the Covid-19 pandemic has miraculously turned their country into the poster child for how to manage a public health crisis. The so-called "K-quarantine" and "K-testing", which have been duplicated worldwide, have added an extra layer to the existing Hallyu or "Korean Wave" of virtuosity and respectability, as the nation's actions have protected and saved lives even though the government is still fighting a...

The daily data covering the coronavirus epidemic in Spain continued in the same direction on Sunday, according to the latest figures supplied by the Health Ministry. Once again, the majority of indicators were at low levels, while there were continuing problems with the notification of the figures from the Catalonia region.

New infections came in at 246, hospitalizations at 86, and new intensive care unit (ICU) admissions were at three – all of which were the lowest seen since Marc...

A trial to see whether two anti-malarial drugs could prevent Covid-19 has begun in Brighton and Oxford.

Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine or a placebo will be given to more than 40,000 healthcare workers from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.

All the participants are staff who are in contact with Covid-19 patients.

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Member states have backed a resolution strongly supportive of the World Health Organization, after Donald Trump issued a fresh broadside against the UN body, giving it 30 days to make unspecified reforms or lose out on US funding. None of the WHO's 194 members states raised objections to the resolution brought by the EU on behalf of more than 100 countries. The resolution backs the WHO’s leadership and said there needed to be an investigation into the global response to the coronavir...

Moderna Inc’s (MRNA.O) experimental COVID-19 vaccine, the first to be tested in the United States, produced protective antibodies in a small group of healthy volunteers, according to very early data released by the biotech company on Monday.


The data comes from eight people who took part in a 45-subject safety trial that kicked off in March. The Moderna vaccine is one of more than 100 under development intended to protect against the novel coronavirus that has infected more tha...

Abstract"A novel coronavirus was recently discovered and termed SARS-CoV-2. Human infection can cause coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has been rapidly spreading around the globe. SARS-CoV-2 shows some similarities to other coronaviruses. However, treatment options and a cellular understanding of SARS-CoV-2 infection are lacking. Here we identify the host cell pathways modulated by SARS-CoV-2 infection and show that inhibition of these pathways prevent viral replication in human cel...

A test to find out whether people have been infected with coronavirus in the past has been approved by health officials in England.

Public Health England said the antibody test, developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, was a "very positive development".

The blood test looks for antibodies to see if a person has already had the virus and might now have some immunity.

Until now, officials have said such tests are not reliable enough.






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Immune warriors known as T cells help us fight some viruses, but their importance for battling SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been unclear. Now, two new studies reveal that infected people harbor T cells that target the virus—and may help them recover. Both studies also found that some people never infected with SARS-CoV-2 have these cellular defenses, most likely because they were previously infected with other coronaviruses.

“This is encouraging data,” says virol...