Catching up with all the latest COVID-19 news and research can be difficult, so we have done it for you!
Statistics
At the time of writing, there have been:
- 246,341,298 cases
- 4,997,489 deaths
- 223,198,339 recoveries
Research
- Scientists have discovered specific genetic biomarkers that not only show who is infected with COVID-19 but can also predict the severity of infection. (Konigsberg et al, 2021)
- Researchers have identified a unique gene signature that can differentiate critical from non-critical young COVID-19 patients. (Carapito et al, 2021)
- A nationwide study has shown that those who received a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and then an mRNA vaccine for their second dose had a lower risk of infection compared to people who had received both doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. (Nordström et al, 2021)
- A new study has shown that SARS-CoV-2 disrupts the timing of the immune response and thereby blocks early control of the virus. (Witkowski et al, 2021)
- Researchers have identified urinary biomarkers that can predict severe kidney injury in patients hospitalised with COVID-19. (Menez et al, 2021)
- A new nanoparticle-based COVID-19 vaccine has shown great promise against variants of concern in a preclinical study. (Zhang et al, 2021)
- A new study has explained why the Delta variant is so infectious and how this will impact future COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. (Zhang et al, 2021)
- New findings have revealed that following infection with SARS-CoV-2, the number of dendritic cells decline which affects the body’s response to secondary infections. (Winheim et al, 2021)
- Researchers have observed differential placental immune responses between male and female foetuses that were associated with reduced antibody transfer to males. (Bordt et al, 2021)
Other news
- A study has found that although researchers’ productivity levels have mostly returned to pre-pandemic highs, scientists who did not pursue COVID-19-related research initiated 36% fewer new projects in 2020 compared to 2019. (Gao et al, 2021)
Image credit: canva
