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New study may lead to more effective and powerful COVID-19 vaccines

A new study looking at the way human cells activate the immune system in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection could open the door to even more effective and powerful vaccines against the coronavirus and its rapidly emerging variants keeping the global pandemic smoldering.

17 Jun 2021

'Wonder material' used to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus in laboratory experiments

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have successfully used graphene -- one of the strongest, thinnest known materials -- to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in laboratory experiments.

16 Jun 2021

New computational topology strategy to identify existing medicines for treating COVID-19

Researchers from the ESI International Chair of the CEU Cardenal Herrera University (CEU UCH) and ESI Group have just published in scientific journal Pharmaceutics a new computational topology strategy to identify existing medicines that could be applied to treat COVID-19 without waiting for the research and clinical trial phases required to develop a new medicine.

16 Jun 2021

COVID-e-Vax DNA vaccine candidate elicits robust immune responses in preclinical trials

A new study, released as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, describes the late-stage clinical trial efficacy of a new vaccine candidate based on a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) plasmid platform expressing the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Among different constructs of the vaccine plasmid, the RBD was found to produce the most potent and broad immune response.

16 Jun 2021

A study on SARS-CoV-2 proteins for the development of COVID-19 drugs

The authors of the review have grouped the virus proteins into three categories, (a) host-entry, (b) self-acting, and (c) host-interacting. Additionally, individual SARS-CoV-2 proteins are evaluated to be either directly targeted by drugs or block virus-host interactions.

16 Jun 2021

Two vaccines elicit durable neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in pre-clinical study

A group of scientists led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian reported that the Moderna mRNA vaccine and a protein-based vaccine candidate elicited durable neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in pre-clinical research. There were no adverse effects.

16 Jun 2021

RBD and NTD antibody cocktail could prevent the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 escape mutants

A new bioRxiv* preprint demonstrates how a combination of antibodies to two different regions on the viral spike could enhance neutralization efficiency as well as prevent the emergence of resistant variants.

15 Jun 2021

Fusogenicity and resistance of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 compared to D614G

A new study, released as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, describes the biological effects induced by mutations in two circulating VOCs. These are the alpha and beta strains, also called B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, respectively.

15 Jun 2021

Potent antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 can be produced without T follicular helper cells, suggests study

It has been uncertain whether antibodies produced via this non-canonical pathway are protective against SARS-CoV-2. In a new study, recently released as a preprint on the bioRxiv*server, the neutralization potency of these antibodies is compared with those traditionally produced in germinal center-based antiviral responses.

15 Jun 2021

Researchers screen dual main protease-cathepsin L inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2

In a recent study released on the bioRxiv* preprint server, a selective dual inhibitor of MPRO and cathepsin L is described, producing synergistic results that suppress SARS-CoV-2 infection.

15 Jun 2021

REGEN-COV antibody cocktail shown to significantly lower SARS-CoV-2 viral load

In human trials, the interim analysis of 275 participants showed REGEN-COV quickly reduced viral loads. Moreover, this reduction was much faster in people who did not have a high viral load when they started treatment.

15 Jun 2021

Immune memory responses differ between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A

Researchers in Canada have shown that the long-lasting immunity that develops following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is characterized by different T cell responses than those observed for influenza A virus-specific immune memory.

14 Jun 2021

Robust immunity against SARS-CoV-2 with Pfizer vaccine is mediated by memory B cells

A reassuring study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, from a multi-institutional team of researchers in Italy suggests that with the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine, post-vaccination immunity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is both robust and durable.

14 Jun 2021

Intranasal monoclonal SARS-CoV-2 antibody therapy shows promise in preclinical trials

A new study, released as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, presents a new monoclonal antibody (MAb) called DZIF-10c that powerfully neutralizes SARS-CoV-2, including the current variants of concern (VOCs). With high bioavailability in the lungs and wide distribution in the body, the antibody was able to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice after intranasal administration.

14 Jun 2021

Fatty acid binding site on SARS-CoV-2 spike triggers spike monomer crosstalk that is key to infectivity

A new study, released as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, examines the role played by a fatty acid called linoleic acid (LA) that attaches at a binding site near the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein. The spike exists as a homotrimer in open or closed conformations. In the former, at least one RBD points upwards.

14 Jun 2021

Joint ICMRA and WHO statement explains how COVID-19 vaccines are regulated for safety, effectiveness

Healthcare professionals and public health authorities have a central role in discussing vaccination against COVID-19 with their patients.

13 Jun 2021

Role of traditional medicine against SARS-CoV-2

A group of researchers at Kannur University reviewed selected papers and in silico work on potential drug leads that could be used to manage COVID-19.

13 Jun 2021

Humoral innate pattern recognition molecules against SARS-CoV-2

In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server medRxiv by Garlanda et al. (June 8th, 2021), humoral pattern recognition molecules are explored for affinity towards SARS-CoV-2, contributing to unraveling the role of these molecules in COVID-19 disease progression.

13 Jun 2021

New Astra-Zeneca B.1.351 vaccine AZD2816 strongly immunogenic against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

A new study, released on the bioRxiv* preprint server, supports the efficacy of the wildtype ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) vaccine against B.1.351, B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2, while showing that a booster dose of vaccine based on the B.1.351 spike induces further increase in antibody titers.

11 Jun 2021

In vivo protection from emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants by protein nanoparticle vaccine

Researchers in the United States have developed a new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine that induced potent neutralizing antibodies against variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in animal models.

10 Jun 2021

Spike Protein News and Research

New study may lead to more effective and powerful COVID-19 vaccines

'Wonder material' used to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus in laboratory experiments

New computational topology strategy to identify existing medicines for treating COVID-19

COVID-e-Vax DNA vaccine candidate elicits robust immune responses in preclinical trials

A study on SARS-CoV-2 proteins for the development of COVID-19 drugs

Two vaccines elicit durable neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in pre-clinical study

RBD and NTD antibody cocktail could prevent the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 escape mutants

Fusogenicity and resistance of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 compared to D614G

Potent antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 can be produced without T follicular helper cells, suggests study

Researchers screen dual main protease-cathepsin L inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2

REGEN-COV antibody cocktail shown to significantly lower SARS-CoV-2 viral load

Immune memory responses differ between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A

Robust immunity against SARS-CoV-2 with Pfizer vaccine is mediated by memory B cells

Intranasal monoclonal SARS-CoV-2 antibody therapy shows promise in preclinical trials

Fatty acid binding site on SARS-CoV-2 spike triggers spike monomer crosstalk that is key to infectivity

Joint ICMRA and WHO statement explains how COVID-19 vaccines are regulated for safety, effectiveness

Role of traditional medicine against SARS-CoV-2

Humoral innate pattern recognition molecules against SARS-CoV-2

New Astra-Zeneca B.1.351 vaccine AZD2816 strongly immunogenic against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

In vivo protection from emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants by protein nanoparticle vaccine

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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