BioBE Preprint: Controlled Chamber COVID Study

New COVID Preprint out from BioBE: Preprint Link: https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-940891/v1 We recruited 11 participants that were diagnosed with COVID-19 and studied each for 3 days in a controlled chamber with multiple independent variables. We collected more than 2500 biological samples, particulates, and CO2 in near field (1.2 m) and far field (3.5 m) per each trial. Each …

Wanted: Workers for the COVID19 Mass Testing Operations for UC Davis and Healthy Davis Together 

Wanted: Workers for the COVID19 Mass Testing Operations for UC Davis and Healthy Davis Together  Looking for a temporary job in the Davis/Sacramento area and want to help with COVID19 testing? See below. Needed right now “Mass Screening Kiosk Workers” to assist with operations at the site where people come in to provide saliva samples …

Open Postdoc Position at University of Oregon BioBE

The Biology and the Built Environment Center (BioBE) is currently seeking a post-doc to investigate fundamental questions surrounding the role of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi archaea, and protists) in the built environment and in relation to human health outcomes. Learn more and apply here. (https://careers.uoregon.edu/en-us/job/527294/post-doctoral-scholar-in-microbial-ecology)

Dust may be an efficient matrix for environmental monitoring of SARS-CoV-2

A new viral disease surveillance tool: Indoor dust as a matrix for surveillance of COVID-19, published in mSystems. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, large scale monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 has helped to prevent spread and inform public health decisions. This has largely been done through individual sampling (ie nasal and saliva sample collection) and through environmental surveillance …

Compiling Information about COVID19 transmission, masks, filtration, schools, etc.

UPDATE March 24, 2021. Wrote a summary post here: https://microbe.net/2021/03/24/compilation-of-guidance-from-a-few-sources-on-school-reopening/    Trying to collect some of the various information about COVID19 transmission and related topics including masks, schools, CO2, variants, etc. Mostly from Twitter threads and News articles Masks Wall Street Journal: Double Face Masks? N95? Protect Yourself Against New Covid-19 Variants With These Mask …

Wanted – science driven guidelines for deciding if and how to keep open / reopen schools re: #COVID19

I am compiling some materials on science driven guidelines for how to decide if and how to keep open and/or reopen schools in the face of COVID19. Here are some I have compiled that I seem to be useful.  I would love other examples. (Updated 12/21 at 3 PM) National Academy of Sciences Reopening K-12 …

#COVID19 Journal Club “Evidence of Long-Distance Droplet Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by Direct Air Flow in a Restaurant in Korea”

This one has been getting a lot of popular media attention… and really the title says it all “Evidence of Long-Distance Droplet Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by Direct Air Flow in a Restaurant in Korea”.  This study describes a transmission that took place at over 20 feet in only 5 minutes… both problematic considering the standard …

#COVID19 Journal Club: “Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA contamination of inanimate surfaces and virus viability in a health care emergency unit”

Another quick post here.  “Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA contamination of inanimate surfaces and virus viability in a health care emergency unit.” One of several studies that have found the presence of viral RNA in a healthcare setting, but who were unable to culture virus from surfaces there.  Abstract below: Objectives To detect …

#COVID19 Journal Club: “Lack of SARS-CoV-2 RNA environmental contamination in a tertiary referral hospital for infectious diseases in Northern Italy”

Just a quick one here… a study looking for viral RNA in an intensively cleaned healthcare study showing very little detectable RNA in shared spaces in the hospital (in contrast to patient areas).  No viral culturing which is pretty normal for these short notes.  “Lack of SARS-CoV-2 RNA environmental contamination in a tertiary referral hospital …