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Enzyme SSH1 impairs the disposal of damaged tau and neurotoxic mitochondria

In a healthy brain, the multistep waste clearance process known as autophagy routinely removes and degrades damaged cell components - including malformed proteins like tau and toxic mitochondria.

12 Oct 2020

Newly identified coronavirus epitopes induce robust antibody responses

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have conducted a study showing that infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-C0V-2) triggers robust immune responses to epitopes across the full viral proteome.

12 Oct 2020

Elevated plasma ACE2 activity persists months after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Recently, researchers from the University of Melbourne and Immune Therapies Group, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, reported that downregulation of cardiac ACE2 is linked to increased plasma ACE2 activity. This study is summarized in a preprint paper published in medRxiv.

11 Oct 2020

Study examines ways to improve prone positioning for severe ARDS during COVID-19 pandemic

A new study published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines ways to increase the use of prone positioning for patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and develops specific implementation strategies that can assist in clinicians' response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

9 Oct 2020

Mass production of SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 protein using a chemical-inducible system in tobacco BY-2 cells

Researchers from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) and Ishikawa Prefectural University, Japan, recently attempted to synthesize the ORF8 protein with the help of a chemical-inducible protein production system using tobacco BY-2 cells. This study has been published demonstrated in the preprint server, bioRxiv.

9 Oct 2020

Scientists refine SARS-CoV-2 protein structures

An international team of scientists has developed computational models to re-analyze and validate experimentally-derived publicly available macromolecular structures of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

8 Oct 2020

Researchers identify a promising method to stop COVID-19 infection

While the world waits eagerly for a safe and effective vaccine to prevent infections from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers also are focusing on better understanding how SARS-CoV-2 attacks the body in the search for other means of stopping its devastating impact.

8 Oct 2020

NTHU research could have significant impact on the treatment of dementia

One of the causes of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's is the calcification of the basal nucleus of the brain, which blocks the membrane protein channels on the surface of brain cells, preventing the transmission of signal molecules and nutrients to the cells.

8 Oct 2020

Proteolytic cleavage of nucleocapsid helps SARS-CoV-2 evade host immune responses

A team of scientists of the University of Oxford reveals that the nucleocapsid protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) undergoes autoproteolysis, and that resulting products can escape the host immune responses and facilitate viral proliferation. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

7 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 infection analysis could help fight against COVID-19

Researchers in the United States has provided a detailed catalog of the interactions that occur between host cell proteins and RNA and the RNA of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the course of infection.

7 Oct 2020

Cerenkov luminescence imaging can accurately assess surgical margins during radical prostatectomy

A new intraoperative imaging technique, Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI), can accurately assess surgical margins during radical prostatectomy, according to a first-in-human research published in the October issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

7 Oct 2020

Case report of arthritis in a COVID-19 patient

The current paper published in the The Lancet Rheumatology discusses arthritis in a 58-year-old white woman with COVID-19 of less than severe intensity.

7 Oct 2020

Proteolytic activation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike S1/S2 site

In a recent paper published on the bioRxiv preprint server, Cornell University researchers study the proteolytic activation of the SARS-CoV-2 spike sites, re-evaluating the furin cleavage.

6 Oct 2020

Using virus-like particles to study SARS-CoV-2 assembly, budding, and entry

In a recent preprint paper published on the bioRxiv server, researchers from the Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology, and Infectious Disease, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, discuss their efforts to assess the 4 SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins for their ability to produce VLPs from human cells to create a competent system for BSL-2 studies of SARS-CoV-2.

6 Oct 2020

New approach to reveal high-resolution protein structural details

The number of proteins in the human body, collectively known as the proteome, is vast. Somewhere between 80,000 and 400,000 proteins circulate in our cells, tissues and organs, carrying out a broad range of duties essential for life.

6 Oct 2020

UM associate professor wins multiple awards for ear, skin science

University of Montana scientist Monica Serban is on a research roll. In recent months the UM associate professor and her team have earned three awards totaling $3.9 million in funding to study preventing hearing loss among U.S. troops, combating ear infections and creating a synthetic skin product.

6 Oct 2020

Study shows how amino acids are transported across liposome and cell membranes

The transport of amino acids and other molecules across the cell's membrane plays a crucial role in the metabolism of cells and, therefore, in human health.

6 Oct 2020

SARS-COV-2 traveled from China to West Africa directly or via Europe

With the onset of COVID-19, the focus of medical research has been on tracing the origin of SARS-CoV-2, which was first reported in China’s Wuhan city.

6 Oct 2020

Plasma ACE2 concentration associated with increased risk of major cardiovascular events

A team of scientists at the Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton Health Sciences, and McMaster University, Hamilton, in Ontario, Canada, revealed that increased plasma ACE2 levels in the blood could indicate a higher risk of major cardiovascular events. The study is published in the journal The Lancet.

6 Oct 2020

Thiopurines could help stop viral replication in human coronaviruses

Researchers from the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Dalhousie University, University of Calgary, and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Canada, worked with human coronaviruses in cell cultures to look for drugs that might prevent accumulation and replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

6 Oct 2020