0000000000203796
AUTHOR
Castiglioni Sara
The magnesium global network (MaGNet) to promote research on magnesium in diseases focusing on covid-19
When the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic began in early 2020, the global magnesium researcher community came together and noted the striking similarities between COVID-19 risk factors and conditions associated with magnesium deficit state in humans, reasoning that magnesium deficiency could worsen the course of COVID-19 [1-4]. This prompted establishment of a worldwide collaborative network with regular virtual meetings to brainstorm the associations between magnesium and COVID-19. We hypothesize that magnesium deficiency, a common but mostly unrecognized state in modern global societies, could be an important component of the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Consequently, restoring the …
The rapid spread of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant in Italy reflected early through wastewater surveillance
The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged in South Africa in November 2021, and has later been identified worldwide, raising serious concerns. A real-time RT-PCR assay was designed for the rapid screening of the Omicron variant, targeting characteristic mutations of the spike gene. The assay was used to test 737 sewage samples collected throughout Italy (19/21 Regions) between 11 November and 25 December 2021, with the aim of assessing the spread of the Omicron variant in the country. Positive samples were also tested with a real-time RT-PCR developed by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), and through nested RT-PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Overall, 115 samples tested po…