SARS

Overbearing restrictions on research into toxins and pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 could undermine public health and security in the long run.

Sherif Zaki worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more than 30 years, and was renowned for uncovering crucial intel on various outbreak-causing scourges, from Ebola and Zika to SARS and influenza.

Scientists are on the hunt for a shot that will protect against not only SARS-CoV-2, but other members of its family that may emerge in the future.

The recent news of consumers hoarding gasoline in the face of a brief closure of one of the world’s biggest petroleum pipelines is just the latest episode of panic buying since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Meet some of the people featured in the June 2021 issue of The Scientist.

In addition to continued scruitiny of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, research on similar pathogens could aid in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and future disease outbreaks.

Half a year after infection, people who had recovered from COVID-19 had robust antibodies, along with traces of the virus in their gut, which may drive long-lasting immunity.

Patients’ viral loads are highest within five days of their first symptoms, emphasizing the need to isolate early to prevent transmission.

A study finds that β-coronaviruses don’t use the normal secretory pathway, a possible explanation for some aspects of COVID-19 pathology.

Outcomes in COVID-19 patients may be better in those recently infected with endemic coronaviruses. 

Researchers turn to familiar model animals, along with some fresh strategies, to develop countermeasures against SARS-CoV-2 and investigate the biology of infection.

Using an elaborate apparatus, researchers find that the virus spreads via aerosolized particles between ferrets more than a meter apart.

The four factors that drive contagion

Fast science—with all its warts—is making unprecedented progress in the fight against COVID-19.

Download our poster of the biggest milestones, from the discovery of the viral family in humans in the 1960s to the identification of SARS-CoV-2.

Milder, cold-causing members of this pathogenic viral family long remained under the radar, although they aren’t entirely harmless.