News

The Garvan Institute of Medical Research developed the Genopo App which can analyze the coronavirus genome on a portable Android device in 30 minutes. 

Scientists in India reported asymptomatic SARS-COV-2 reinfection in two healthcare workers. These infections were detected during routine surveillance. This report highlights the possibility of undetected SARS-CoV-2 reinfections and the need for surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 reinfections in healthcare systems.

Chart of COVID-19 cases by demographics

A study published in the September issue of Nature highlights nanodevices that act much like brain cells. Using these devices, the researchers demonstrated proof of concept that the nano-system can identify possible mutations in a virus, key to ensuring the efficacy of vaccines and medications for viruses that exhibit genetic diversity. 

An artificial intelligence algorithm 'ProteinSolver,' developed by computational biologists at the University of Toronto.is a neural network graph designed to create new proteins which mimics the Japanese puzzle "Sudoku." ProteinSolver computes novel amino-acid sequences for any protein fold known to be geometrically stable, but the end goal is to engineer novel protein structures with entirely new biological functions as new therapeutics.

Four hundred US troops are testing a watch and ring pair that track changes in physiological states and can alert the wearer to impending illness. The pair identify biometric indicators, such as skin temperature changes, and compare them to an algorithm developed using almost 250,000 patient data sets. Being able to predict illness in individual troops would ensure faster treatment, recovery, and return to duty times, as well as potentially curbing an infectious disease outbreak in service member populations.

Three published studies point to international air travel as the cause of three COVID-19 'super spreader' events. Through contact tracing, researchers were able to trace the origin of resultant cases to particular flights. A closer examination of current airline industry standards for COVID-19, which currently recommend only the use of face masks and not physical distancing, may be impacted by the studies.

A growing subset of scientists think that the self-propagating properties of a virus could be exploited and used to spread immunity to infection. In theory, conferring immunity through an animal population could lower the chance of a zoonotic spillover; however, there are serious risks related to self-spreading vaccines.

A total of 3,245 people have tested positive for brucellosis as of 14 September 2020 in Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu Province, according to an investigation into the December 2019 brucellosis antibody positive event in Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD)  released two documents outlining the United States Government's detailed strategy to deliver safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses to the American people as quickly and reliably as possible.