(CNN)It could be a real-life “Contagion,” much like the movie.As a deadly pandemic spreads across the globe, a timely new study has identified key drivers of “virus spillover” from mammals to humans.  The risk of virus spillover — when viruses jump from animals to humans — was highest when human exploitation and habitat destruction threatened wild animals, according…

Over the past 4 weeks, Amol Pohane—a postdoc at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), Amherst—learned that he’s no longer in the running for several faculty jobs. It’s not his fault. Four universities informed him that they were canceling or postponing job searches because of COVID-19 disruptions. He’ll have the option of reapplying—or having his original…

Help is on the way. In the midst of a societal upheaval resulting from the novel coronavirus and the disease that it causes, COVID-19, there are many efforts in progress to find solutions to slow the spread of the disease and treat those who already have it. These efforts include those from governments, nonprofit organizations,…

The FDA is expediting the development of treatments for COVID-19 in a new program called the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP) and offering new guidance on conducting clinical trials of all medical products during the pandemic. Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program On March 31, 2020 the FDA began cutting red tape, redeploying staff and working 24…

Amechanical ventilator can cost a hospital tens of thousands of dollars up front, and even more money each day it’s used to keep oxygen flowing into a sick patient’s lungs. It’s unsurprising, then, that some small U.S. hospitals can count theirs on one hand. There are about 160,000 ventilators in use in hospitals nationwide—about half the number…

Endologix is the latest medical device company to withdraw financial guidance for 2020 due to the uncertainty surrounding the magnitude, trajectory, and duration of COVID-19’s business impact. The uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 is making it difficult for public companies to accurately forecast 2020 earnings. Irvine, CA-based Endologix recently joined a growing list of medical device companies…

A therapeutic to treat novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is moving forward in development through a partnership between BARDA, the Department of Defense Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO – CBRND), and SAb Biotherapeutics, Inc. (SAb), of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Using an interagency agreement with JPEO’s Medical CBRN Defense Consortium, BARDA transferred approximately $7.2…

Nevertheless, a C.D.C. analysis of 2,572 cases found three deaths. Babies seem more vulnerable, but the data was incomplete. Children make up a very small proportion of American coronavirus cases so far and are significantly less likely to become seriously ill than American adults, according to a preliminary report on the first wave of coronavirus…

Here’s what economists say the United States needs to start returning to normal amid the coronavirus outbreak — and how the economy can survive in the meantime. WASHINGTON — How long can we keep this up? It is still very early in the U.S. effort to snuff a lethal pandemic by shutting down much of the economy.…