Biologist Larissa Vuitika at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil is one of many scientists worldwide working on a vaccine for the new coronavirus. Here she handles a sample of the virus’s genetic material. See more of Nature’s pick of the must-see COVID-19 images this month. (Pedro Vilela/Getty)
The state of COVID-19 vaccines now
- As of yesterday, there are 78 confirmed COVID-19 vaccine candidates, 5 of which have already entered clinical trials. Get a firm grip on this incredibly fast-moving field with a short, data-driven overview by seven experts at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), one of the world’s leading vaccine funders. (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery | 6 min read)
- Scientists agree that the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was very likely to have originated in bats. Other than that, there are few certainties about how the virus jumped to humans. Pangolins have been suggested as the possible intermediary, but that’s still unproven. It’s also not firmly established that the ground zero of the outbreak was definitely a live-animal food market in Wuhan, China. (The Guardian | 7 min read)
- Members of the world’s largest particle-physics laboratory, CERN, are doing their part to help countries deal with COVID-19 by turning their skills to manufacturing hand sanitizer, 3D-printed masks and face shields. CERN researchers are also designing an open-source ventilator, leveraging their extensive experience in managing gas flows and controls systems. (Nature | continuously updated)
- The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen (supported by the United States and United Kingdom, among other countries) has announced a unilateral two-week ceasefire in the devastating five-year conflict. On 23 March, United Nations chief António Guterres called for a global ceasefire to focus on efforts to stop COVID-19. No cases of the virus have been reported in Yemen, but the battered nation is in no state to fight — or even report — an outbreak. (BBC | 5 min read)
- COVID-19 infections range from asymptomatic to deadly — even among individuals in the same risk group. Infectious-disease researchers Arturo Casadevall and Liise-anne Pirofski explain the five variables behind very different outcomes: the number of viral particles that cause infection, (maybe) genetics, the route by which a virus enters the body, the virulence of the virus and which infections the immune system has fought in the past. (Bloomberg Opinion | 8 min read)
Read Nature’s continuously updated selection of the must-read papers and preprints on COVID-19.
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