Research News
BU researchers say they found what causes fatal lung inflammation in COVID-19 patients
Original article from Boston 25 News. September 21, 2020 Among a sea of symptoms in patients with COVID-19 is severe inflammation of the lungs, leading to decreased lung function, the need for a ventilator and possibly even death. COVID-19, a variation of acute respiratory infections, wreaks havoc on the respiratory system by... More
What Sets Off Deadly Levels of Lung Inflammation in Some COVID-19 Patients? (Video)
Original article from The Brink by Kat J. McAlpine & Carlos Soler. September 8, 2020 A team of infectious disease and regenerative medicine researchers at Boston University, studying human stem cell–derived lung tissue infected with SARS-CoV-2, are discovering new insights into how the novel coronavirus kicks off a cascade of tissue... More
BU lab using microscopic ‘lungs’ to study COVID-19 (Video)
Original article from Boston 25 News by Jim Morelli. August 5, 2020 Scientists sometimes use human lung cancer cells in medical research. But there's just one problem with that, said virologist Elke Muhlberger, PhD. “These cancer cells do not act like lung cells,” she said. “They act like cancer cells.” For her research... More
A popular heartburn medicine doesn’t work as a COVID-19 antiviral
Original article from Science News by Tina Hesman Saey. July 27, 2020 An over-the-counter heartburn remedy probably won’t directly stop coronavirus infections, a new study suggests. Anecdotal reports from China suggested people hospitalized with COVID-19 who were taking famotidine (sold under the brand name Pepcid) had better outcomes than people who took... More
The Long Game of Coronavirus Research
Original article from The New Yorker by Jerome Groopman. July 23, 2020 Last month, Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke at a biotech conference, where he emphasized how much is still unknown about the coronavirus. “I thought H.I.V. was a complicated disease,” he... More
Laboratory-grown lungs simulate coronavirus infection
Original article from ABC News by Dr. Stephanie E. Farber. June 13, 2020 Previous reports have suggested that the lungs are the part of the respiratory system most severely impacted by COVID-19 infection. In Boston, scientists at the National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratory have artificially created a lab-grown replica of the... More
Tiny, Decoy “Sponges” Attract Coronavirus Away from Lung Cells
Original article from The Brink by Kat J. McAlpine. June 18, 2020 Imagine if scientists could stop the coronavirus infection in its tracks simply by diverting its attention away from living lung cells? A new therapeutic countermeasure, announced in a Nano Letters study by researchers from Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious... More
Lighting firm Signify says UV light breaks down Coronavirus particles in seconds
Original article from CNBC by Sam Shead. June 17, 2020 Lighting firm Signify says one of its ultraviolet lights can “degrade” the coronavirus in a matter of seconds. The world’s biggest lighting maker tested its latest technology with researchers at Boston University and found that the exposure of the virus to UV... More
Signify: UV Light Could Be Gamechanger in Virus Fight
Original article from Bloomberg. June 17, 2020 Signify's new UV-C technology has been validated through tests by the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories at Boston University, says Signify chief executive Eric Rondolat. Rondolat tells Daybreak Europe's Caroline Hepker and Roger Hearing that while UV light is not curative, it can clean... More
An Infectious Disease Expert’s Perspective As Mass. Enters Phase Two Of Reopening
Original article from WBUR by Bob Oakes. June 8, 2020 Life in Massachusetts starts to look a little more normal today. For the first time in three months, shops and other businesses can open their doors to customers, restaurants can reopen for outside seating only, and playgrounds will open for children. But... More