Pathogen News and Research

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Genomic surveillance of yellow fever outbreak in São Paulo

Yellow fever virus is normally confined to the Amazon region, but the virus circulated in the Southeast of Brazil between 2016 and 2018, causing the worst epidemic and epizootic outbreaks there for decades.

5 Nov 2020

Occupational risk of COVID-19 in 3.5 million Norwegians

A team of researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health have sought to determine which among workers and employees have higher odds of COVID-19 infection in the first and second waves of the outbreak.

5 Nov 2020

Children produce different antibodies in response to infection with new coronavirus

Children and adults produce different types and amounts of antibodies in response to infection with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, a new study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has found.

5 Nov 2020

Study reveals new mechanism underlying immune-cell activation

When antibody-producing immune cells encounter infectious pathogens for the first time, they engage a signal cascade to generate a massive activation signal within seconds.

5 Nov 2020

Computational study reveals SARS-CoV-2 spike protein structural stability

Using dynamic contact maps and energy differences between different conformations of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein (or S-protein), an international team of researchers have recently published an article on the bioRxiv preprint server showing the different stable conformations of the spike protein.

4 Nov 2020

Study shows brilacidin strongly inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in laboratory cell lines

A recent study by US researchers reveals that brilacidin, a small synthetic molecule with peptide-like properties, exerts potent in vitro antiviral activity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – both as a standalone treatment and in combination with FDA-approved remdesivir. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

4 Nov 2020

Lions and tigers and anteaters? US scientists scan the menagerie for COVID

As COVID-19 cases surge in the U.S., one Texas veterinarian has been quietly tracking the spread of the disease — not in people, but in their pets.

4 Nov 2020

Europe is the main source of COVID-19 spread, shows study

The University of Huddersfield's Archaeogenetics Research Group has mapped out the dispersal of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, responsible for the current worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, putting Europe centre-stage as the main source of the spread.

4 Nov 2020

Discoverey of four SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors, boceprevir, calpain inhibitors II and XII and GC-376

A team of scientists from the United States has recently revealed that small molecule inhibitors of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease exhibit potent antiviral activity. These inhibitors show better efficacy when used in combination with antiviral medicine Remdesivir. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

3 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 T-cell immunity is retained for at least six months

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv shows that functional SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses are retained for six months following infection. However, the strength of this response depends on the clinical features of the primary infection.

3 Nov 2020

Researchers track the flight trajectory of airborne cough droplets

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led many researchers to study airborne droplet transmission in different conditions and environments. The latest studies are starting to incorporate important aspects of fluid physics to deepen our understanding of viral transmission.

3 Nov 2020

Adaptive evolution of human coronaviruses may necessitate frequent reformulation of vaccines

Researchers from the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, USA, have revealed that adaptive evolution in the antigenic regions facilitates seasonal coronaviruses to escape the host immune responses and to cause recurrent infections.

3 Nov 2020

Scientists explore relationship between moisture and disease establishment

Downy mildew is the biggest threat to spinach production around the world. While the pathogen has a short life cycle (approximately a week), it can produce millions of spores during the spinach growing season.

3 Nov 2020

Scientists identify neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists have discovered the fastest way to identify potent, neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

3 Nov 2020

Researchers reveal mechanisms that help C. difficile pathogen to survive in low oxygen levels

Researchers from ITQB NOVA, in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur in Paris, have shed light on the mechanisms that allow Clostridioides difficile, a pathogen that can only grow in oxygen-free environments, to be able to survive low oxygen levels.

3 Nov 2020

Fight against trachoma disrupted by COVID-19 pandemic

Progress towards the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem has been substantial, but the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted community-based control efforts.

2 Nov 2020

Study sheds new light on how the immune system remembers viruses

For a person to acquire immunity to a disease, T cells must develop into memory cells after contact with the pathogen.

2 Nov 2020

UIC enrolls people into phase 3 monoclonal antibody clinical trial

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago are now enrolling people into a phase 3 clinical trial that will test if a monoclonal antibody treatment -- administered as a series of four shots -- will help protect uninfected individuals from acquiring or getting sick from COVID-19 after someone in the household tests positive for COVID-19.

30 Oct 2020

Hospital floors create route of transfer of potentially dangerous organisms to patients

The floors of hospital rooms are quickly and frequently contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria within hours of patient admission, creating a route of transfer of potentially dangerous organisms to patients, according to a study published today as part of the proceedings from Decennial 2020: The Sixth International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections.

30 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins can directly impact the blood-brain barrier

Like a key, SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - attaches to specific molecules on the host cell surface, opening gateways into the cell interior.

30 Oct 2020