Sunday, May 31, 2020

SpaceX launches first crew to orbit

The two astronauts — veteran NASA fliers Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley — rode into space inside SpaceX’s new automated spacecraft called the Crew Dragon, a capsule designed to take people to and from the International Space Station.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/30/21269703/spacex-launch-crew-dragon-nasa-orbit-successful

Friday, May 22, 2020

The first human trial of a COVID-19 vaccine finds that it is safe, well-tolerated, and induces a rapid immune response

Researchers in China conducted a phase 1 trial of an Ad5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine. They used a vaccine that contains a part of the virus and checked if it's safe and if it helps the immune system. They gave different doses to 108 healthy adults. Most people had mild side effects like pain, fever, and fatigue, but nothing serious. The vaccine made their immune system respond well with antibodies and immune cells. This is good news for the fight against COVID-19.

Oxford COVID-19 vaccine to begin phase II/III human trials

University of Oxford researchers have begun recruiting for the next phase in human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine in human volunteers.

The new vaccine is being tested in different phases. First, in healthy adults, and now, they're going to study it in more people, including older adults and children. They want to see how well the vaccine works in these different age groups. In the last phase, they'll test it in a large group of adults to check if it prevents COVID-19 infections.

Thursday, April 30, 2020

AstraZeneca and Oxford University announce landmark agreement for COVID-19 vaccine

The collaboration aims to bring to patients the potential vaccine known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, being developed by the Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group, at the University of Oxford. Under the agreement, AstraZeneca would be responsible for development and worldwide manufacturing and distribution of the vaccine.

Saturday, March 21, 2020

The coronavirus was not engineered in a lab. Here's how we know

As the novel coronavirus causing COVID-19 spreads across the globe, with cases surpassing 284,000 worldwide today (March 20), misinformation is spreading almost as fast.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash
One persistent myth is that this virus, called SARS-CoV-2, was made by scientists and escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began. More here at LiveScience.

The illustration alongside, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Friday, March 13, 2020

China’s first confirmed Covid-19 case has been traced back to November 17, a 55-year-old from Hubei province

The first case of someone in China suffering from Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, can be traced back to November 17, according to government data seen by the South China Morning Post.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash
Chinese authorities have so far identified at least 266 people who were infected last year, all of whom came under medical surveillance at some point.


Wednesday, March 11, 2020

World Health Organization declares the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on Wednesday as the new coronavirus, which was unknown to world health officials just three months ago, has rapidly spread to more than 121,000 people from Asia to the Middle East, Europe and the United States.