The race is on to develop a vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Australian researchers are leading several major clinical trials that might help bring an end to the deadly disease.
A team of researchers from Indiana University performed random testing for SARS-CoV-2 across the state. The results offer some of the most accurate data to date about important aspects of the virus.
On a family camping trip over the Australia Day long weekend, I sat in a tent with my laptop, designing New South Wales’ first genomic sequencing test for COVID-19.
COVID-19 antibody tests can’t replace the use of PCR tests in people showing symptoms. But they can help test people who may be infected and asymptomatic.
Scientists have developed and tested a new anti-clotting drug in mice that shows promise for treating heart attacks and stroke. It may also prove useful for COVID-19.
The percentage of people who die from a coronavirus infection is an important number for public health experts to know. Recent estimates now put it at 0.65%, far lower than initially thought.
Craig Polizzi, Binghamton University, State University of New York and Steven Jay Lynn, Binghamton University, State University of New York
As the pandemic drags on, uncertainty and fears about health and safety mix with confusion and challenges tied to re-opening society. You need flexibility when picking your coping strategies.
Vaccine development usually spans a number of decades. This is because there’s a need to understand the mechanisms of protection against the pathogen, and to minimise adverse reactions.
As if the symptoms of COVID-19 were not disturbing enough, physicians have noted a rare neurological condition that emerges during some severe cases of this viral infection.
239 scientists have penned an open letter to the WHO arguing COVID-19 likely spreads through the air. But what is airborne transmission, and how strong is the evidence COVID-19 spreads this way?
Severe scrutiny of two major papers, including one about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, is part of science’s normal process of self-correction.
Deborah Williamson, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity; Allen Cheng, Monash University, and Sharon Lewin, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Saliva testing is less sensitive than a nasal swab. But in the midst of a public health crisis, in some cases a test with slightly reduced sensitivity may be better than no test at all.
Screening multiple samples with a single test gets more people diagnosed using fewer supplies. Two health policy researchers explain how it works and how it could help the US.
During the last six months, news reports have mentioned dozens of drugs that may be effective against the new coronavirus. Here we lay out the evidence and reveal which ones are proven to work. Or not.
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand