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Breakthrough study could lead to much needed therapies for Huntington's disease

A new mechanism that stops the progression of Huntington's disease in cells has been identified by scientists at UCL and the University of Cambridge, as part of their research groups at the UK Dementia Research Institute.

31 Aug 2021

Antisense oligonucleotides engineered to inhibit SARS-CoV-2

In a paper recently uploaded to the bioRxiv* preprint server, structure-based ASOs are developed against SARS-CoV-2, intended to bond with RNA in its structured in situ form, rather than the more rarely encountered linear section, achieving greater affinity and specificity than linear ASOs, and demonstrating inhibition of virus replication in human cells.

30 Aug 2021

New machine learning method enhances computational prediction of RNA structures

Researchers present ARES (Atomic Rotationally Equivariant Scorer) – a machine learning method that significantly improves the computational prediction of RNA structures over previous approaches. Like proteins, RNA molecules twist and fold into intricate three-dimensional shapes that are crucial to their function.

27 Aug 2021

New study identifies novel compound as promising pan-coronavirus drug candidate

A recent study describes a novel compound with frameshifting capability against MERS-CoV, inhibiting viral propagation within infected cells.

23 Aug 2021

Study uncovers a subset of human short introns spliced out by a distinct mechanism

The interrupted non-coding regions in pre-mRNAs, termed “introns,” are excised by “splicing” to generate mature coding mRNAs that are translated into proteins.

13 Aug 2021

New study describes SARS-CoV-2 ExoN enzyme that promotes antiviral resistance

A new study describes the structure of a crucial enzyme present in SARS-CoV-2.

8 Aug 2021

Research suggests potential new treatment strategy for phenylketonuria

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a critical new factor in regulating phenylalanine metabolism and, therefore, in preventing the inherited metabolic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU).

5 Aug 2021

Finding potential microRNAs from humans and plants against SARS-CoV-2

A new study focuses on the identification of probable miRNA candidates from three medicinal plants.

1 Aug 2021

Clinical trials during a pandemic – lessons from COVID-19

In this interview, Dr. Benedicte Roquebert, Dr. Stephanie Haim-Boukobza and Dr. Souad Mehlal discuss how COVID-19 has resulted in new ways to think about clinical trials during a pandemic.

From Cerba Research 23 Jul 2021

Scientist explore conserved RNA elements as potential targets for anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs

The study, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition, identified many small molecules that bind to certain parts of the SARS-CoV-2 genome that are less likely altered by mutations using dedicated substance libraries. The scientists derived key functional units and groups in ligands for effective and safe targeting of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

22 Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2 mutations occur in essentially the same locations, research finds

New research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has shown that the mutations arising in the COVID-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus seem to run in the family -- or at least the genus of coronaviruses most dangerous to humans.

14 Jul 2021

Coronaviruses identified in two species of Sri Lankan bats

Researchers sampled different species of bats roosting in the Wavul Galge cave in Sri Lanka and found two species harboring alpha- and beta-coronaviruses.

22 Jun 2021

Viral phosphoesterases (including in CoVs) can restrict antiviral innate immunity

An interesting new study describes the activities of a family of viral enzymes called two-histidine-phosphoesterases (2H-PEs), found in coronaviruses (CoVs) and rotaviruses, as well as a mammalian A-kinase anchoring protein enzyme, AKAP7, that shares the same function. Together called 2’,5’-PEs, these enzymes all break down 2’,5’-oligoadenylate compounds that activate the antiviral enzyme ribonuclease L (RNase L).

21 Jun 2021

Study reveals potentially druggable process of SARS-Cov-2 assembly and replication

Of all the proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the pathogen that causes COVID-19), the spike protein is the one that gets the most attention.

17 Jun 2021

Precise manipulation of folate metabolism may pave way to broadly improve health during aging

Several different causes of aging have been discovered, but the question remains whether there are common underlying mechanisms that determine ageing and lifespan.

16 Jun 2021

The genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in the USA

In a research paper recently uploaded to the preprint server medRxiv by Capoferri et al. (June 4th, 2021), the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 through each phase is examined in detail using publicly available genomic data available from before 2021, highlighting the need to continuously track and assess the evolution of the virus to ensure the future efficacy of the currently available vaccines.

7 Jun 2021

Nanopore sequencing contradicts human genome integration of SARS-CoV-2

Now a new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv* server dismisses the possibility, raised by that study, that the virus inserts its genetic material into the host cell’s genome.

2 Jun 2021

Could a mathematical application of information theory identify and predict SARS-CoV-2 mutations?

An interesting new study by researchers at the University of Portsmouth, UK, describes the use of a mathematical method to sequence genomes based on information theory. The method offers an alternative to clinical techniques, allowing mutations to be detected and possibly even predicted. In this way, it opens new research opportunities in bioinformatics and genetics.

31 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 genome mutations display convergent evolution indicating strong adaptive advantages

A recent report by a team of researchers focused on the extent of convergent evolution in the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein. The report confirms that top SARS-CoV-2 lineages of concern have the most convergent spike protein mutations. This indicates their fundamental adaptive advantage.