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Two viral gene targets needed in SARS-CoV-2 detection by PCR, say researchers

Researchers at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, and collaborators have warned against only targeting one viral gene when carrying out reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

27 Aug 2020

Axol Bioscience appoints Liam Taylor as Chief Executive Officer

Axol Bioscience today announced the appointment of Liam Taylor as CEO. Liam will focus on maximizing its iPSC technologies, products, and services.

From Axol Bioscience Ltd 27 Aug 2020

Scientists say insect repellent kills the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on surfaces

Now, a team of scientists at Britain's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) has shared preliminary findings of their research, showing that a product in insect repellent can kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

27 Aug 2020

Monoclonal antibodies may be a better choice than convalescent plasma for treating COVID-19

A team of researchers from the Netherlands demonstrated that prophylactic treatment with a high dose of human convalescent plasma or by using concentrated monoclonal antibodies could protect against disease following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in an animal model. However, no protective effect was observed with a ten-fold lower dose of convalescent plasma. The results are currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

25 Aug 2020

Advances in Virus Epigenetics

Growing evidence shows viruses exploit epigenetic processes to control their life cycles but epigentic regulation of viral infections is not fully understood.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 25 Aug 2020

BBI announces new vacancies to support the development of Covid-19 Point of Care antibody test

BBI Solutions is recruiting for roles to support its work as part of a UK Government consortium, tasked with developing and manufacturing a Covid-19 Point of Care antibody test to support the government strategy on COVID-19 testing.

25 Aug 2020

New strategies automate the assessment of stored red blood cell quality

Each year, nearly 120 million units of donated blood flow from donor veins into storage bags at collection centres around the world. The fluid is packed, processed and reserved for later use. But once outside the body, stored red blood cells (RBCs) undergo continuous deterioration. By day 42 in most countries, the products are no longer usable.

25 Aug 2020

Study reveals protective potential of all three major immunoglobulin isotypes against SARS-CoV-2

In a recent medRxiv preprint paper, researchers from Mount Sinai in New York showed that all three major immunoglobulin isotypes (IgM, IgG, and IgA) produced by our immune cells were capable of mediating neutralization of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, neutralization titers correlated much better with binding levels of IgM and IgA1 than IgG.

24 Aug 2020

Ferrets not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection

A recent study by scientists at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University has revealed that ferrets are not susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection even if they are directly exposed to symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients for a prolonged time.

24 Aug 2020

A better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 in children

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, have conducted a study showing that Hispanic ethnicity is associated with an increased risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among children.

24 Aug 2020

Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine candidate BNT162b2 profiled for large scale clinical trials

Although two RNA-based severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine candidates elicited similar, dose-dependent neutralizing antibody titers in both younger and older adults, a recent study by researchers from the U.S. and Germany has shown that BNT162b2 is associated with less systemic reactogenicity in elderly individuals – supporting its selection for further phase 2/3 clinical trials. The study is currently available on medRxiv* preprint server.

23 Aug 2020

Researchers validate novel flavivirus identification test

There are more than 70 species of flavivirus, and many cause diseases in humans and animals, including dengue, Zika and yellow fever viruses.

21 Aug 2020

AnteoTech's COVID-19 antigen and Flu A&B test detects SARS-Cov-2, influenza in less than 15 minutes

AnteoTech Ltd has successfully developed proof-of-concept COVID-19 antigen and Flu A&B point-of-care lateral flow tests that can detect the presence of SARS-Cov-2 and influenza in less than 15 minutes.

21 Aug 2020

No evidence of active SARS-CoV-2 in breastmilk of infected women

A recent study published in the journal JAMA in August 2020 suggests that SARS-CoV-2 RNA does not represent replication-competent virus and that breast milk may not be a source of infection for infants.

20 Aug 2020

Study evaluates the reliability of new serological assays for detecting SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Approximately four months after the initial description of cases of atypical pneumonia in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, COVID-19 had become a major pandemic threat.

20 Aug 2020

Whey protein from human breastmilk inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection

Many scientists have reported the effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on pregnancy and the virus has been detected in breastmilk. Now a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 shows that whey protein in human breastmilk efficiently prevents infection with SARS-CoV-2 as well as post-entry viral replication.

20 Aug 2020

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks antiviral factors to promote infection in human lung cells

Now, a new study published in the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 shows that under conditions resembling those in vivo, IFNs may promote efficient viral invasion instead.

20 Aug 2020

Majority of recovered COVID-19 patients have low neutralizing antibody titers

Now, a new study by researchers at New York University and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports on the type and intensity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in recovered COVID-19 patients and the implications of these findings.

18 Aug 2020

Coronacept - A trap-and-destroy molecule against SARS-CoV-2

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports a novel engineered molecule based on human and other mammalian orthologues of ACE2 fused with the Fc part of the antibody. This molecule interacts more tightly with the viral receptor-binding domain (RBD) to constitute a powerful immunoadhesin that targets the virus for destruction.

17 Aug 2020

Frequently used serology test may not detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, shows study

Two different types of detectable antibody responses in SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) tell very different stories and may indicate ways to enhance public health efforts against the disease, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

15 Aug 2020