A courier truck carrying highly-infectious Covid-19 samples has been hijacked in South Africa. The truck was transporting the specimens in Port Elizabeth in the country’s Eastern Cape Province when it was taken over by thieves at gunpoint on Monday. The truck has since been recovered but the specimens are missing, according to local media reports. … Read more
Blood samples taken from New Yorkers reveal some had coronavirus antibodies in late February – more than a week BEFORE the first case in the state was announced Researchers looked at 5,500 blood samples taken from patients at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City starting the week ending in February 9 Coronavirus antibodies were detected … Read more
Researchers identify 13-million-year-old bacteria in permafrost samples collected in the Swiss Alps, which could be used in bioreactors to break down plastic waste Swiss researchers have discovered a new species of bacteria in the Swiss Alps It was found in permafrost samples and is believed to be 13million years old The team describes permafrost as … Read more
European Space Agency enlists Airbus to help it build a Mars rover called ‘Fetch’ that will find and retrieve rock samples on the Red Planet The Airbus firm has won the next phase of the contract to develop the rover It will travel more than 9 miles across the red planet to pick up rock … Read more
Monkeys steal coronavirus samples after attacking lab technician in India The monkeys took three samples Meerut Medical College in Uttar Pradesh today Police say there is a risk of the infection spreading as the monkeys move around The college is attempting to trace the samples and prevent more contamination Here’s how to help people impacted by … Read more
British health officials have told companies offering Covid-19 antibody tests to stop processing blood samples from patients in the UK, MailOnline can reveal. Private tests to see whether people have already had the disease and recovered are now available from various online pharmacies from around £69. Superdrug became the first high street retailer to offer … Read more
China has acknowledged it destroyed early samples of COVID-19, confirming a claim put forward by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late last month. On Friday, Liu Dengfeng, a supervisor with China’s National Health Commission, admitted that ‘the Chinese government issued an order on January 3 to dispose of coronavirus samples’ at unauthorized laboratories, according … Read more
A way to expand coronavirus testing? ‘Pooling’ samples from up to 30 people could help speed up screening and diagnoses, German scientists say Researchers in Germany are suggesting pooling portions of samples taken from multiple people to be tested for coronavirus together If they are all negative, each sample in the group could be ruled … Read more
Google and Apple show samples of how eventual coronavirus exposure apps might look and forbid use of GPS-enabled location services The companies released samples of what COVID exposure apps may look like Samples are meant to be starting points for developers The companies are also forbidding the use of location tracking by apps Here’s how … Read more
France’s patient zero died of coronavirus in DECEMBER: Doctor says samples from patients with flu-like symptoms tested positive Dr Yves Cohen said testing confirmed coronavirus was in France from December One re-test from 24 patient samples came back positive from December 27 The intensive care chief, from Paris, wants negative samples to be reviewed Here’s … Read more