Covid-19: Novel Coronavirus Outbreak

Protein crystallization of 3CL M^pro from SARS-CoV-2 is described along with neutron and X-ray data collection.

Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction using specimens collected from nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs is the standard screening approach for COVID-19; it requires costly laboratory equipment and healthcare professionals that limit its use for large-scale screening of patients. A detailed review of the commercially available self-collection kits is provided and their prospective impact is noted during the current pandemic.

Comparison of shortages and reuse of single-use personal protective equipment between Japan and an international survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

This report describes a COVID-19 patient treated with nafamostat and heparin to prevent circuit thrombosis during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. Combination with nafamostat and heparin might prevent circuit thrombosis in ECMO.

This study establishes COVID-19 as an emergent disease of aging, based on (a) an exponential growth of the COVID-19 mortality rate with age, (b) the COVID-19 mortality rate doubling time approaching that of all-cause human mortality, (c) higher mortality in men than in women, (d) strong association with pre-existing age-related diseases, and (e) COVID-19 being a subset of all-cause pneumonia, which we find itself is a disease of aging.

In addition to pulmonary manifestations, our study demonstrated that other organ systems can also be affected during COVID-19 infection. The injuries in COVID-19 patients could lead to immunosuppression and cardiovascular dysfunction, which might contribute to increased mortality in critically ill patients.

Current mechanisms of anti-CoV therapeutic strategies. The idea to disturb the normal life cycle of the virus provides significant insights into the clinical treatment strategies. All of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 encode structure proteins (like S protein), nonstructure proteins (eg, PLpro, 3CLpro, RdRp, and helicase), and accessory proteins that are essential for the viral life cycle and that are considered as important targets for the development of antiviral agents. Additionally, enhancement of INF response and several other cell signaling pathways are also regarded as potential anti-CoV strategies.

Bilateral facial palsy is a rare entity, accounting for 0.3 to 2% of all peripheral facial palsies. It can be caused by infections, inflammatory disorders (sarcoidosis), brainstem neoplasias, or can be idiopathic (bilateral Bell's palsy). SARS-CoV-2 adds to the list of infectious agents causative of bilateral facial palsy. Coinfection with SARS-CoV-2 is not rare (in this patient there was evidence of Epstein-Barr virus coinfection) and should be considered in the differential diagnosis.

The COVID-19 crisis necessitates and unprecedented level off cooperation and sharing in biomedical research. It should inspire science policies and funding post-COVID to help drive forward Open Science.