The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has had Parallax Health Sciences Inc. in its crosshairs at least as far back as April 2020, when the agency suspended trading of the company’s shares. In the latest development, the SEC charged the company and two of its executives with misleading investors regarding the availability of COVID-19 screening tests and personal protective equipment, actions the agency said were undertaken to exploit the pandemic in an effort to boost the company’s share prices.

In infectious disease research, most of the research into genetic determinants of susceptibility to infection and disease severity are focused on the host. For COVID-19, for example, the delta variant’s infectivity, and how likely infection is to lead to severe disease, is the focus of an intense research agenda. But host genetics, too, contribute to the consequences of infections. An ongoing study into the host genetics of SARS-CoV-2 infection has identified 13 such factors that affected either the likelihood of contracting SARS-CoV-2, or the severity of disease, gleaned from the data of 50,000 infected persons and 2 million controls.

New research suggests that ultraviolet (UV) light that operates at lower bandwidth than what currently exists in the market could be just as useful in inactivating the SARS-CoV-2 virus with less harmful effects on skin cells. Joint research by Asahi Kasei Corp. and Nara Medical University confirmed that 226 nanometer ultraviolet-C (UVC) LEDs can inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 while having less effect on animal skin cells compared to 270 nm UVC LEDs.

LONDON – Final results of the community pilot in Liverpool, U.K., that used the controversial Innova Medical Group Inc. lateral flow device to test all comers for COVID-19, show new cases fell by 21% compared to other areas of the U.K., because infections were detected early and people quarantined sooner.