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  • Structural basis of receptor recognition by SARS-CoV-2

    1 Apr, 2020
    A novel SARS-like coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) recently emerged and is rapidly spreading in humans1,2. A key to tackling this epidemic is to understand the virus’s receptor recognition mechanism, which regulates its infectivity, pathogenesis and host range. SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV recognize the same receptor - human ACE2 (hACE2)3,4. Here we determined the crystal structure of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) (engineered to facilitate crystallization) in complex with hACE2. Compared wi...
  • Real-time tracking of pathogen evolution

    1 Apr, 2020

    Think of the open-source project Nextstrain.org as an outbreak museum. Labs around the world contribute genetic sequences of viruses collected from patients, and Nextstrain uses that data to paint the evolution of epidemics through global maps and phylogenetic charts, the family trees for viruses.

    Click here for reference // Click here to see related publication







  • Quantifying treatment effects of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for COVID-19: a secondary analysis of an open label non-randomized clinical trial (Gautret et al, 2020)

    1 Apr, 2020
    Human infections with a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) were first identified via syndromic surveillance in December of 2019 in Wuhan China. Since identification, infections (coronavirus disease-2019; COVID-19) caused by this novel pathogen have spread globally, with more than 250,000 confirmed cases as of March 21, 2020. An open-label clinical trial has just concluded, suggesting improved resolution of viremia with use of two existing therapies: hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as monotherapy, and in...
  • Report 13: Imperial College

    31 Mar, 2020


    Estimating the number of infections and the impact of nonpharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 in 11 European countriesSummary  - Click to access full textFollowing the emergence of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and its spread outside of China, Europe is now experiencing large epidemics. In response, many European countries have implemented unprecedented non-pharmaceutical interventions including case isolation, the closure of schools and universities, banning of mass gatheri...
  • Responding to COVID‐19: How to Navigate a Public Health Emergency Legally and Ethically

    31 Mar, 2020
    AbstractFew novel or emerging infectious diseases have posed such vital ethical challenges so quickly and dramatically as the novel coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2. The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern and recently classified COVID‐19 as a worldwide pandemic. As of this writing, the epidemic has not yet peaked in the United States, but community transmission is widespread. President Trump declared a national emergency as fifty governors declared sta...
  • COVIDathon aims to develop open source tools to combat pandemic

    31 Mar, 2020
    The goal of the hackathon is to bring together the decentralized artificial intelligence community in an effort to help find new approaches to combat the coronavirus crisis.
    Starting April 1st, the Decentralized AI Alliance and partners SingularityNET and Ocean Protocol plan to host an online, not-for-profit hackathon called COVIDathon.

    The goal is to bring together the decentralized artificial intelligence community in an effort to help find solutions to combat the COVID-19 outbrea...
  • Experimental AI tool predicts which COVID-19 patients develop respiratory disease

    31 Mar, 2020
    An artificial intelligence tool accurately predicted which patients newly infected with the COVID-19 virus would go on to develop severe respiratory disease, a new study found.


    Towards an Artificial Intelligence Framework for Data-Driven Prediction of Coronavirus Clinical Severity
    AbstractThe virus SARS-CoV2, which causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a pandemic and has spread to every inhabited continent. Given the increasing caseload, there is an urgent need to aug...
  • Top Chinese Scientist talks about COVID-19 - What can we learn?

    31 Mar, 2020
    Via Science, Jon Cohen write: Not wearing masks to protect against coronavirus is a ‘big mistake,’ top Chinese scientist says 
    Chinese scientists at the front of that country’s outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have not been particularly accessible to foreign media. Many have been overwhelmed trying to understand their epidemic and combat it, and responding to media requests, especially from journalists outside of China, has not been a top priority.

    Science has tried t...
  • A continuously evolving process that requires adapting by the hour

    31 Mar, 2020
    It's imperative for hospital IT departments to track information for management decisions, enable the fast ramp-up of additional ICU beds and set up tools for remote working.As the number of lives touched by COVID-19 is continuously mounting, so are the efforts of IT departments to counter the rising pressure on hospitals. The recent HIMSS Webinar, 'Italy and Germany facing COVID-19', hosted by Charles Alessi, Chief Clinical Officer, HIMSS, had two CIOs from private hospital chains in Italy a...
  • Watch the recording of the webinar on COVID-19 and Digestive Health from UEG

    31 Mar, 2020




    UEG (United European Gastroenterology) did a webinar on Thursday 27th about Covid-19 and Digestive Health. Watch the recorded webinar to learn more about COVID-19, IBD and endoscopy from the experts James Lindsay and Alessandro Repici. You can watch it here. 




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  • Estimates of the severity of coronavirus disease 2019: a model-based analysis

    31 Mar, 2020
    As of March 25, 2020, 414 179 cases and 18 440 deaths due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), had been reported worldwide. The epidemic began in mainland China, with a geographical focus in the city of Wuhan, Hubei. However, on Feb 26, 2020, the rate of increase in cases became greater in the rest of the world than inside China. Substantial outbreaks are occurring in Italy (69 176 cases), the USA (51 914 cas...
  • The U.S. Just Signed A $450 Million Coronavirus Vaccine Contract With Johnson & Johnson

    31 Mar, 2020

    The Trump administration is spending nearly half a billion dollars on one company in the race to find a coronavirus vaccine.




    That’s according to a $456 million order with Johnson & Johnson’s Pharmaceuticals arm Janssen, which specified a “new vaccine asset for 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19),” Forbes found. It’s the largest reported amount spent on a vaccine project to date, even though the pharma giant hasn’t yet started any clinical trials as other firms have.