Thousands of scientists around the world are working on problems raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a summary of some recent research from peer-reviewed academic journals and scientific agencies:
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The journal Science reports that a Chinese team has developed a possible COVID-19 vaccine candidate that kills the novel coronavirus in mice and primates. Researchers worked with inactive viruses to develop a serum to cause a recipient to develop its own antibodies. The serum also removed viruses from infected monkeys without making them dependent on the serum to produce antibodies. Clinical trials on the potential vaccine are expected to begin later this year.
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An article in one of the journals of the American Chemical Society says researchers have found a safe, reliable way to sterilize N95 face masks for reuse. The team found spraying masks with ethanol or bleach reduced a mask's filtration efficiency. The same thing happened with steam, but not as quickly. Ultraviolet light works but is difficult to apply. However, heating masks to 85 C for 20 minutes allowed the fabric to be treated 50 times without loss of filtration efficiency.
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The World Health Organization is publishing research that used a supercomputer to identify drugs possibly effective against the novel coronavirus. Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, used one of the world's most powerful computers to simulate how 42,000 different substances would react with the virus. After 30 billion calculations, researchers found four drugs originally developed against hepatitis that bonded strongly to the new virus, potentially blocking it from bonding to human cells. A similar characteristic was found in a substance derived from Japanese honeysuckle.
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A team at the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ont., says it is the first in the world to use dialysis to treat patients with COVID-19. A patient’s blood is gently removed and returned with white blood cells slightly modified to fight inflammation. COVID-19 can cause an extreme immune response in which the body attacks its own cells. There are few current ways to address that, but the new treatment is intended to provide one. The technique is being tested with up to 40 critically ill patients at London Health Sciences Centre.
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Non-peer-reviewed research from the University of Sheffield suggests a new mutation of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is even more transmissible than the current strain. It says the mutation began spreading in Europe in early February. It rapidly becomes the dominant virus when it enters a new region. Commenters urge caution, however, because viruses mutate all the time and the study doesn't prove this version is more virulent than the others.
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A group at the University of Montreal is using statistical methods from economics to estimate infection rates of COVID-19. Previous estimates have depended on non-random sampling — that is, people who have been selected for testing. The authors of a non-peer-reviewed paper found a technique they say corrects for that. They say using the method across several U.S. states suggested infection rates that were up to 19 times higher than rates of positive tests. They conclude the vast majority of COVID-19 cases remain undetected.
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This report by the Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2020
Bob Weber, The Canadian Press