Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Texas A&M AgriLife receives grant to support research on bacteriophage therapy

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID, part of the National Institutes of Health, NIH, has awarded $2.5 million in grants to support research on bacteriophage therapy, and Texas A&M AgriLife Research is among the grant recipients.

29 Apr 2021

Immunocompromised children and young adults may experience prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection

Children and young adults with compromised immune systems, such as those undergoing cancer treatment, may experience a prolonged period of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and the extended duration of infection may increase the incidence of mutations.

29 Apr 2021

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

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

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

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

You don’t have to suffer to benefit from Covid vaccination — but some prefer it

If you think vaccination is an ordeal now, consider the 18th-century version. After having pus from a smallpox boil scratched into your arm, you would be subject to three weeks of fever, sweats, chills, bleeding and purging with dangerous medicines, accompanied by hymns, prayers and hell-fire sermons by dour preachers.

28 Apr 2021

Scientists identify blood cells most likely to be targeted by HIV during a real-life infection

In the 40-some years since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, scientists have learned a lot about the virus, the disease, and ways to treat it. But one thing they still don't completely understand is which exact cells are most susceptible to HIV infection.

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

Eosinophils modify the respiratory barrier during influenza A infection, shows study

For the first time in published literature, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital and University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) researchers showed that a variety of white blood cells known as eosinophils modify the respiratory barrier during influenza A (IAV) infection, according to a recent paper in the journal Cells.

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

Why do we lose our sense smell/taste with COVID?

The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) enzyme attached to the membranes of cells is the entry point for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). They are abundantly found all over the body and most prominently in the lungs and nose.

28 Apr 2021

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Texas A&M AgriLife receives grant to support research on bacteriophage therapy

Immunocompromised children and young adults may experience prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection

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

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

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

Brazilian coronavirus variant could pose a bigger threat than previously assumed

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

You don’t have to suffer to benefit from Covid vaccination — but some prefer it

Scientists identify blood cells most likely to be targeted by HIV during a real-life infection

SARS-CoV-2 recruits heme metabolites in antibody evasion

Eosinophils modify the respiratory barrier during influenza A infection, shows study

Horizontal transmission route is responsible for HTLV-1 uveitis

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

Why do we lose our sense smell/taste with COVID?

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

Innovating for impact: Jordi Labs on aligning methodologies with FDA expectation

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

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

Innovating for impact: Jordi Labs on aligning methodologies with FDA expectation

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

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

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