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SARS-CoV-2 evolves antibody resistance in immunocompromised patient

Researchers in the United States who tracked the evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in an immunocompromised patient found that convalescent plasma therapy was associated with the emergence of viral variants that were less susceptible to neutralizing antibodies.

11 Feb 2021

Substrain of SARS-CoV-2 variant in UK may resist antibody neutralization

Researchers at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw have identified a substrain of the recently emerged B.1.1.7 variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that may confer resistance to antibody neutralization.

10 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 may soon become the dominant variant in US

A team of scientists from the United States has recently explored the prevalence and transmission dynamics of the B.1.1.7 variant (UK variant) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the United States. The study reveals that because of 35-45% increased transmissibility, B.1.1.7 may soon become the US's dominant variant. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

9 Feb 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine effective against variants, study shows

Researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York have conducted a study demonstrating the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNtech BNT162b2 vaccine against recently emerged variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

9 Feb 2021

Researchers develop self-assembling nanoparticle SARS-CoV-2 vaccines

Researchers in China have developed three SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle vaccines, containing receptor-binding domain (RBD) trimer, S1 trimer, and ectodomain (ECD) trimer, respectively. To do this, they have used Ferritin nanoparticle self-assembly technology.

9 Feb 2021

Study reveals new molecular mechanism linked to severe anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is a systemic allergic reaction that can affect the skin, the gastrointestinal tract, the respiratory system and the cardiovascular system.

9 Feb 2021

Subgenomic RNAs could help identify asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers report the association of subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) production, the structural differences between sgRNA variants, and clinical severity in 81 clinical specimens obtained from both asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

9 Feb 2021

Emergence and transmission of UK SARS-CoV-2 variant in the US

Researchers describe the impending rise to dominance of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant in the US. Understanding this development will help to shape preventive action to reduce the infection and mortality rates.

9 Feb 2021

New platform could help advance genomic medicine research, drug discovery

A Cleveland Clinic-led team of researchers has developed a personalized genomic medicine platform that will help advance accelerate genomic medicine research and genome-informed drug discovery, according to new study results published recently in Genome Biology.

8 Feb 2021

One-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccine policy may lead to antigenic evolution, study finds

In a new study, published on the pre-print server medRxiv, an international team of researchers found that a one-dose policy may increase the potential for antigenic evolution. The study revealed that focusing on one dose may decrease infections in the short term, but longer-term outcomes rely on this immune strength.

8 Feb 2021

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine effective against emerging variants

Researchers have conducted a study showing that the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine effectively protects against recently emerged variants of SARS-CoV-2 – the agent that causes COVID-19.

8 Feb 2021

Furin cleavage SARS-CoV-2 spike deletions mostly suppressed within infected airway epithelium, says study

A team of researchers recently examined the SARS-CoV-2 transcriptome and the dynamics of the S gene furin cleavage site in primary human airway epithelia.

8 Feb 2021

Bioengineered ankyrin compounds show high in vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2 mutants

A new study describes the use of DARPin (designed ankyrin repeat proteins) therapeutic agents, each of which contains three different DARPin domains within the same molecule.

8 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 escape mutations identified against monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal immune sera

A recent study describes the experimental selection of SARS-CoV-2 mutants associated with resistance to antibodies, with important implications for vaccine development and therapeutic antibody use.

8 Feb 2021

Research shows how mutation linked with CLN3-Batten disease could lead to vision loss

Progressive vision loss, and eventually blindness, are the hallmarks of juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL) or CLN3-Batten disease.

8 Feb 2021

Gut fungi teach the immune system how to respond to their dangerous relatives

Common fungi, often present in the gut, teach the immune system how to respond to their more dangerous relatives, according to new research from scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine. Breakdowns in this process can leave people susceptible to deadly fungal infections.

7 Feb 2021

Study shows how bacteriophage lysis genes could be key to developing new antibiotics

A study from the Center for Phage Technology, part of Texas A&M's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, shows how the "hidden" genes in bacteriophages -- types of viruses that infect and destroy bacteria -- may be key to the development of a new class of antibiotics for human health.

7 Feb 2021

New SARS-Cov-2 mutations could arise during chronic infection, say scientists

SARS-CoV-2 mutations similar to those in the B1.1.7 UK variant could arise in cases of chronic infection, where treatment over an extended period can provide the virus multiple opportunities to evolve, say scientists.

7 Feb 2021

FDA continues to support the development of medical products to tackle new virus variants

As the public health agency responsible for regulating medical products, we must ensure that health care providers have the most up-to-date diagnostics, treatments and vaccines in their toolbox to fight this pandemic.

5 Feb 2021

Study shows how genetic mutations lead to kidney cysts in tuberous sclerosis complex

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) afflicts as many as two million people around the world, affecting multiple organs, including lungs, brain, skin and kidneys. In about 80 percent of cases, it causes cysts and benign tumors to form in the kidney, eventually resulting in kidney failure.

5 Feb 2021