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Study: Failure to combat second-dose vaccine attrition could prolong the pandemic

Though more than 131 million Americans have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to date, public confusion and uncertainty about the importance of second doses and continued public health precautions threaten to delay a U.S. return to normalcy, according to Cornell-led research published April 28 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

29 Apr 2021

New insights into how South African SARS-CoV-2 variant sacrifices tight binding for antibody evasion

The highly infectious SARS-CoV-2 variant that recently emerged in South Africa, known as B.1.351, has scientists wondering how existing COVID-19 vaccines and therapies can be improved to ensure strong protection.

29 Apr 2021

Study of 180 breastfeeding mothers after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination

Vaccines against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, were developed at an unprecedented pace. To date, more than 1 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide, many of which messenger RNA (mRNA) based.

29 Apr 2021

Eight countries prove that halting malaria is achievable

With human and financial resources deployed to fight the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, there is no doubt that healthcare services are facing major disruption.

29 Apr 2021

Long COVID also affects children, study finds

Older children and children with allergies or asthma were found to have greater odds of having persistent symptoms even months after recovery.

28 Apr 2021

Potent monoclonal antibody shows promise against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

In a new study currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, a group of US-based researchers developed a panel of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 that can block viral attachment to cells – and pinpointed a specific one that can potently neutralize all tested variants of concern.

28 Apr 2021

Safety and efficacy of Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines even better than clinical trials predicted

Researchers in the UK and United States have demonstrated the efficacy of one dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a real-world community setting in the UK.

28 Apr 2021

Recovered COVID-19 patients show signs of long-term immunity

A study conducted by researchers in the United States has found that most patients who recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) showed signs of long-lasting immunity against the causative agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

28 Apr 2021

Higher ratio of green spaces associated with reduced disparity in coronavirus infection rates

A higher ratio of green spaces at the county level is associated with a lower racial disparity in coronavirus infection rates, according to a new study.

28 Apr 2021

Brazilian coronavirus variant could pose a bigger threat than previously assumed

A new study with the University of Copenhagen represented indicates that the coronavirus variant called P.1, which originated in Brazil, could pose a bigger threat than previously assumed.

28 Apr 2021

Cloth face masks can be as effective as surgical masks in reducing transmission of COVID-19

Researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Surrey have found that well-fitting, three-layered cloth masks can be as effective at reducing the transmission of COVID-19 as surgical masks.

28 Apr 2021

Study examines mRNA COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness across age and gender

The findings reveal that although the two-dose vaccine regimen initially induces robust antibody response in all age groups, older male individuals are particularly associated with a gradual decline in vaccine-induced immunity six weeks after the second vaccine dose.

28 Apr 2021

Study observes increase in Lyme disease-causing ticks across California’s woodlands and beaches

US-based researchers – at Colorado State University and the Northern Arizona University – have discovered that disease-causing ticks are finding their way onto beachfront properties, including infestations in woodlands and beaches around North California.

28 Apr 2021

Can control theory explain differences in virulence and transmission of SARS-CoV-2?

A new study discusses variations in viral pathogenicity and in transmission, which are responsible for asymptomatic infection and for superspreading events. The ability to understand this would open the way to understand how this virus behaves the way it does, in terms of its virulence, its spread, and its emergent variants of concern.

28 Apr 2021

COVID-19 donor antibodies show broad cross-reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 variants and related viruses

A new study reports on a set of antibodies from COVID-19 donor serum, which seems to be cross-reactive across multiple Sarbecoviruses, including the very similar SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)-CoV.

28 Apr 2021

Peptide nucleocapsid vaccine candidate elicits protective T cell immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in vivo

A new study describes a synthetic peptide used as a platform to generate protective adaptive cellular immunity to the virus in rhesus macaques, which are the gold standard for preclinical testing in humans.

28 Apr 2021

Ohio’s Amish suffered a lot from Covid, but vaccines are still a hard sell

The Amish communities of northeastern Ohio engage in textbook communal living. Families eat, work and go to church together, and through the pandemic, mask-wearing and physical distancing have been spotty. That has meant that these communities bore a high rate of infection and death.

28 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 recruits heme metabolites in antibody evasion

A research paper recently published in the journal Science Advances by Cherepanov et al. (April 22nd, 2021) demonstrated that the NTD binds to biliverdin, a product of heme catabolism, leading to enhanced antibody escape at physiologically relevant concentrations.

28 Apr 2021

Horizontal transmission route is responsible for HTLV-1 uveitis

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) is a retrovirus similar to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and has mostly been thought to be transmitted vertically (mother-to-child), or horizontally (sexually or parenterally (e.g. via blood transfusion)).

28 Apr 2021

Scientists design 'smart' cellular biosensors for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike

New research led by Hana El-Samad of the University of California, San Francisco, and the Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub confirmed the beneficial use of an antiviral therapeutic called SARSNotch, which uses a combination of the SynNotch platform and de-novo designed protein binders. SARSNotch uses sentinel T cells to detect and mount a genetic response toward the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein.

28 Apr 2021

Disease/Infection News

Study: Failure to combat second-dose vaccine attrition could prolong the pandemic

New insights into how South African SARS-CoV-2 variant sacrifices tight binding for antibody evasion

Study of 180 breastfeeding mothers after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination

Eight countries prove that halting malaria is achievable

Long COVID also affects children, study finds

Potent monoclonal antibody shows promise against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

Safety and efficacy of Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines even better than clinical trials predicted

Recovered COVID-19 patients show signs of long-term immunity

Higher ratio of green spaces associated with reduced disparity in coronavirus infection rates

Brazilian coronavirus variant could pose a bigger threat than previously assumed

Cloth face masks can be as effective as surgical masks in reducing transmission of COVID-19

Study examines mRNA COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness across age and gender

Study observes increase in Lyme disease-causing ticks across California’s woodlands and beaches

Can control theory explain differences in virulence and transmission of SARS-CoV-2?

COVID-19 donor antibodies show broad cross-reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 variants and related viruses

Peptide nucleocapsid vaccine candidate elicits protective T cell immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in vivo

Ohio’s Amish suffered a lot from Covid, but vaccines are still a hard sell

SARS-CoV-2 recruits heme metabolites in antibody evasion

Horizontal transmission route is responsible for HTLV-1 uveitis

Scientists design 'smart' cellular biosensors for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike

Deciphering the Microbiome with The Microsetta Initiative

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

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