New antibodies that the coronavirus can't elude.

Researchers aim to make monoclonal antibodies that mutations in SARS-CoV-2 won't thwart.

Billionaire's crypto company collapse strands scientists.

As FTX files for bankruptcy, the grantees its foundations supported may not see all of their pledged money.

Protein decoys may battle COVID-19 and more.

Drugs designed to resemble viruses' cellular targets move into clinical trials.

Could a popular antiviral supercharge the pandemic?

Molnupiravir appears to be speeding SARS-CoV-2 evolution.

Bad news for Paxlovid? Resistance may be coming.

In lab studies, SARS-CoV-2 finds ways to evade key drug. Some of the viral mutations are already found in people.

A CALL TO ARMS

The article presents the discussion on researchers testing an arsenal of weapons against the pandemic coronavirus. Topics include turning a pair of artificial intelligence (AI) tools against SARS CoV-2;blocking human enzymes playing essential roles in enabling the virus for infecting the cells;and reporting preliminary results suggesting hospitalized patients on the drug.

You may be able to spread coronavirus just by breathing, new report finds

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has given a boost to an unsettling idea: that the novel coronavirus can spread through the air—not just via the large droplets emitted in a cough or sneeze. Though current studies aren’t conclusive, “the results of available studies are consistent with aerosolization of virus from normal breathing,” Harvey Fineberg, who heads a standing committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases and 21st Century Health Threats, wrote in a 1 April letter to Kelvin Droegemeier, head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Thus far, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies have insisted the primary route of transmission for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is through the larger respiratory droplets, up to 1 millimeter across, that people expel when they cough and sneeze. Gravity grounds these droplets within 1 or 2 meters, although they deposit the virus on surfaces, from which people can pick it up and infect themselves by touching their mouth, nose, or eyes. But if the coronavirus can be suspended in the ultrafine mist that we produce when we exhale, protection becomes more difficult, strengthening the argument that all people should wear masks in public to reduce unwitting transmission of the virus from asymptomatic carriers.

The standard coronavirus test, if available, works well—but can new diagnostics help in this pandemic?

As the United States races to ramp up testing for the pandemic coronavirus using technology based on the tried-and-true polymerase chain reaction (PCR), alternative approaches are beginning to roll out that could make it easier and quicker for people to learn whether they have been infected. Some methods modify the standard PCR test, which amplifies tiny bits of genetic material to enable detection, while others sequence the virus directly or use the genome editor CRISPR.

Does disinfecting surfaces really prevent the spread of coronavirus?

Photos from the areas hardest hit by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 tell a story of disinfection: Trucks spraying streets and a phalanx of sanitation workers wearing backpack tanks fogging sidewalks, parks, and plazas in China, South Korea, Italy, and elsewhere. Countless recommendations admonish us to wash our hands and disinfect often-touched surfaces in our homes. But what is the most effective way to prevent exposure to the virus?

“The disruption is enormous.” Coronavirus epidemic snarls science worldwide ;Science ;AAAS

Normal daily life has come to a virtual standstill in large parts of China as a result of the epidemic of COVID-19—and so has science. Universities across the country remain closed;access to labs is restricted, projects have been mothballed, field work interrupted, and travel severely curtailed. But scientists elsewhere in the world are noticing an impact as well, as collaborations with China are on pause and scientific meetings for the next five months have been canceled or postponed. The damage to science pales compared to the human suffering;the total number of cases has risen to 71,429, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today, almost 99% of them in China, and there have been 1775 deaths. Still, for individual researchers the losses can be serious—and stressful. “Basically, everything has completely stopped,” says John Speakman, who runs an animal behavior lab at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing that has effectively been shut since the Lunar New Year on 25 January. “The disruption is enormous. The stress on the staff is really high.” But Speakman says he understands why the Chinese government took the measures. “It’s annoying, but I completely support what they have done,” he says.

NIH launches competition to speed COVID-19 diagnostics

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) today announced a $1.5 billion initiative to speed breakthroughs in diagnostic tests for the virus that causes COVID-19. The program aims to increase the U.S. capacity for SARS-CoV-2 testing up to 100-fold by late summer, in time for the start of the flu season. NIH Director Francis Collins said during a conference call with reporters that the improved tests are desperately needed to deal with the global pandemic, at least until an effective vaccine is rolled out. “These technologies will play a pivotal role in getting us back to normal,” Collins said.