Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Monoclonal antibody treatment of COVID-19 reduces viral shedding

Researchers aim to understand the potential benefits of mAbs in preventing and treating SARS-CoV-2 infection.

5 Jan 2022

Researchers discover how oral bacteria increase vulnerability to infection

Researchers from the University of Louisville School of Dentistry and their colleagues have discovered details of how proteins produced by oral epithelial cells protect humans against viruses entering the body through the mouth.

5 Jan 2022

Wistar announces initiation of Phase 2 clinical study of VK-2019 in patients with advanced head and neck cancer

The Wistar Institute announces the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical study of VK-2019 in patients with advanced Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and lymphoma.

5 Jan 2022

Pre-departure test not needed for eligible fully vaccinated travelers

From 4am on Sunday 9 January, eligible fully vaccinated travellers and over 5s will be able to take a lateral flow test instead of a PCR on or before day 2 of their arrival in England. Lateral flow tests for travel can be booked from Friday 7 January and taken upon arrival, by the end of day 2.

5 Jan 2022

Impact of delaying the lifting of SARS-CoV-2 lockdown restrictions

New study findings provided critical insights into competitive behavior and the relative transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 variants, which could be used for planning responses to future emerging variants and exploring co-infections with different strains of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus.

5 Jan 2022

Exploring SARS-CoV-2-like viruses to mitigate the risk of zoonotic transmission to humans

In a new study, a team of researchers developed a genetic assay to evaluate several clade 2 and clade 3 receptor-binding domains (RBD) of spike (S) protein sequences of genus sarbecovirus.

5 Jan 2022

Study findings suggest spread of Omicron can be ascribed to immune evasiveness rather than an increase in transmissibility

Researchers investigate the household transmission of the Omicron VOC and increased immune evasiveness of both the Omicron and Delta variants

5 Jan 2022

Efficacy of rapid antigen diagnostic tests for the detection of infectious individuals at mass gatherings

New study findings show that incidence data often underestimates the prevalence of COVID-19 infectious individuals at a given point in time in a population.

5 Jan 2022

Oral bacteria-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine platform

In a new study, researchers engineered the bacterial strain, Salmonella, to express differently-sized antigens to serve as vaccine platforms.

5 Jan 2022

Nucleocapsid protein preferentially binds to structured and longer RNA to deliver viral proteins in host circulation

Results from a new study could be crucial in studying the molecular and biochemical basis of SARS-CoV-2 infection at a more granular level and help in strategizing therapeutic solutions to treat and manage COVID-19 effectively.

5 Jan 2022

Can the COVID-19 delta variant evade vaccine-induced immunity?

Can the COVID-19 delta variant evade vaccine-induced immunity? We spoke to Professor Brian J. Willett from the University of Glasgow to find out.

5 Jan 2022

mRNA booster vaccine confers strong protection against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron in cancer patients

A new preprint research paper posted to the medRxiv* server reports the induction of high neutralizing activity in these patients against the Omicron VOC with a booster dose.

5 Jan 2022

Scientists provide a structural framework for Omicron immune evasion and ACE2 receptor recognition

An interesting preprint research paper describes structural changes resulting from the multiple mutations found in the recent Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent behind the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In addition, the research describes the consequent effects of these changes on Omicron’s infectivity and immune evasion capabilities.

5 Jan 2022

Transplant recipients benefit from a COVID-19 vaccine booster

A new preprint research paper posted to the medRxiv* server describes the reduction in humoral immunity in SOTR following vaccination, as well as the improvement with an additional dose of the vaccine.

4 Jan 2022

Time since COVID vaccination is a key driver of breakthrough Omicron infections

Published on the preprint medRxiv* server and awaiting peer review, the findings showed that the significant factor behind breakthrough Omicron infections is the timing from vaccination. The time between vaccination and breakthrough infections induced effective or cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies that neutralize Omicron after Alpha or Delta breakthrough infections.

4 Jan 2022

New gene therapy addresses primary cellular deficit associated with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2B

Children's National Hospital experts developed a new pre-clinical gene therapy for a rare disorder, known as limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) 2B, that addresses the primary cellular deficit associated with this disease.

4 Jan 2022

Unique nanoparticle can deliver genome editing technology to endothelial cells

The lab of Youyang Zhao, PhD, from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago developed a unique nanoparticle to deliver genome editing technology, including CRISPR/Cas9, to endothelial cells, which are cells that line blood vessel walls.

4 Jan 2022

Novel insight into the immune characteristics of bats

Many studies have indicated that bats are significant reservoirs of innumerable viruses, such as influenza, coronaviruses, and rabies. These studies have also reported that bats predominantly remain asymptomatic or develop mild diseases during viral infections caused by henipaviruses, Ebola virus, coronaviruses, etc.

4 Jan 2022

Birth during the pandemic associated with slightly lower scores in infants' motor and social skills

Columbia researchers found that babies born during the pandemic's first year scored lower on a developmental screening test of social and motor skills at 6 months - regardless of whether their mothers had COVID during pregnancy - compared to babies born just before the pandemic.

4 Jan 2022

Oxford researchers demonstrate the feasibility of increasing the speed and volume of vaccine production

The University of Oxford's vaccine manufacturing research team has today published a pre-print paper demonstrating the feasibility of a step change in the speed and volume of production of adenovirus-vectored vaccines against new virus variants or other future pandemics.

4 Jan 2022

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Monoclonal antibody treatment of COVID-19 reduces viral shedding

Researchers discover how oral bacteria increase vulnerability to infection

Wistar announces initiation of Phase 2 clinical study of VK-2019 in patients with advanced head and neck cancer

Pre-departure test not needed for eligible fully vaccinated travelers

Impact of delaying the lifting of SARS-CoV-2 lockdown restrictions

Exploring SARS-CoV-2-like viruses to mitigate the risk of zoonotic transmission to humans

Study findings suggest spread of Omicron can be ascribed to immune evasiveness rather than an increase in transmissibility

Efficacy of rapid antigen diagnostic tests for the detection of infectious individuals at mass gatherings

Oral bacteria-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine platform

Nucleocapsid protein preferentially binds to structured and longer RNA to deliver viral proteins in host circulation

Can the COVID-19 delta variant evade vaccine-induced immunity?

mRNA booster vaccine confers strong protection against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron in cancer patients

Scientists provide a structural framework for Omicron immune evasion and ACE2 receptor recognition

Transplant recipients benefit from a COVID-19 vaccine booster

Time since COVID vaccination is a key driver of breakthrough Omicron infections

New gene therapy addresses primary cellular deficit associated with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2B

Unique nanoparticle can deliver genome editing technology to endothelial cells

Novel insight into the immune characteristics of bats

Birth during the pandemic associated with slightly lower scores in infants' motor and social skills

Oxford researchers demonstrate the feasibility of increasing the speed and volume of vaccine production

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

Exploring the role of confocal-based high-content imaging in advancing core facilities

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

Exploring the role of confocal-based high-content imaging in advancing core facilities

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

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