Scientists have developed improved methods for generating micro-organospheres (MOS) and have shown that they can be used as patient avatars for studies involving direct viral infection, immune cell penetration and high-throughput therapeutic drug screening - something that is not obtainable with conventional patient-derived models.

India’s agricultural system is largely based on input-intensive monocropping of staple crops. A study publishing August 18th in PLOS Sustainability and Transformation by Lindsay Jaacks at The University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom, Abhishek Jain at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, New Delhi, India and colleagues suggests that while COVID-19 disrupted agricultural labor, supply chains, and farmers’ access to credit and markets, the pandemic did not significantly push Indian farmers to adopt more sustainable cultivation practices.

Led by the University of Minnesota Medical School and School of Public Health, researchers have found that metformin lowers the odds of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, or death due to COVID-19 by over 40 percent; and over 50 percent if prescribed early in onset of symptoms.

A new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances; DOI 10.29026/oea.2022.210130 addresses scientific and technical advances in the field of Microchip Imaging Cytometry (MIC) and shows the applications of microchip imaging cytometry that may bring more economical, easy-to-use, and accessible healthcare to the public.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have discovered a key vulnerability across all major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including the recently emerged BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron subvariants. The weakness can be targeted by neutralizing antibodies, potentially paving the way for treatments that would be universally effective across variants.

Three natural compounds present in foods like green tea, olive oil and red wine are promising candidates for the development of drugs against the coronavirus. In a comprehensive screening of a large library of natural substances at DESY's X-ray source PETRA III the compounds bound to a central enzyme vital for the replication of the coronavirus. All three compounds are already used as active substances in existing drugs, as the team headed by Christian Betzel from the University of Hamburg and Alke Meents from DESY reports in the journal Communications Biology. However, if and when a corona drug can be developed on the basis of these compounds remains to be investigated.

Patients with prior COVID may be twice as likely to have unhealthy endothelial cells that line the inside of the heart and blood vessels, according to newly published research from Houston Methodist. This finding offers a new clue in understanding COVID-19’s impact on cardiovascular health. In a new study published today in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, Houston Methodist researchers examined the coronary microvasculature health of 393 patients with prior COVID-19 infection who had lingering symptoms. This is the first published study linking reduced blood flow in the body and COVID-19.