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RIG-1 agonist shows potent antiviral efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of scientists from the United States has recently revealed the antiviral efficacy of stem-loop RNA 14, a RIG-1 agonist, in controlling severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in mice. The compound reduces the risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by inhibiting viral replication in the lower respiratory tract. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

18 Jun 2021

Combination of interferon-α and nafamostat inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in vivo

A new study, released as a preprint on bioRxiv* server, shows that a combination of the biological interferon-α and the small molecule nafamostat are effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro, as well as in vivo.

18 Jun 2021

Study examines SARS-CoV-2 replication in cells using super-resolution microscopy

Despite tremendous efforts by the global scientific community to curb the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), by developing more efficient testing protocols, therapies, and vaccines at a rapid pace, relatively little is known about the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 replication within cells.

18 Jun 2021

Nanodecoys made from human lung spheroid cells can neutralize SARS-CoV-2

Nanodecoys made from human lung spheroid cells (LSCs) can bind to and neutralize SARS-CoV-2, promoting viral clearance and reducing lung injury in a macaque model of COVID-19.

18 Jun 2021

Which vitamins and minerals help with COVID?

A study published in the journal Inflammopharmacology reviewed recent data related to the role of vitamins and minerals in treating COVID-19 patients. The primary goal of the review is to highlight the possible therapeutic role of vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K, and micronutrients as immunity boosters in COVID-19 patients.

18 Jun 2021

Indian WHO study examines COVID-19 susceptibility in children versus adults

Now, a group of researchers from India have explored this concept due to the lack of solid evidence and have undertaken a community and population-based serosurveillance study for the coronavirus infection under the World Health Organisation (WHO) Unity umbrella. In this study, participants older than two years old were compared to older adults in terms of seropositivity.

17 Jun 2021

Regeneron mAb cocktail benefits hospitalized patients with no natural SARS-CoV-2 antibody response

Researchers reporting on findings from the Randomized Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial in the UK are recommending that any therapeutic use of REGEN-COV may be best restricted to individuals without detectable antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

17 Jun 2021

Novel ferritin nanoparticle vaccine candidate effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants in preclinical trials

A team of scientists from the United States has recently evaluated the efficacy of a ferritin nanoparticle-formulated, SARS-CoV-2 spike-based vaccine against newly emerged Variants of Concern (VOCs).

17 Jun 2021

Mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 and simian adenovirus vector advance COVID-19 vaccine research

A new preprint recently released on the bioRxiv* server describes the immunogenicity and protective potential of a novel adenovirus SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate against a form of the virus adapted to cause severe disease in mice. The findings show that this provides a useful mouse model for the study of new vaccines, in addition to demonstrating the protective efficacy of the current rhesus adenovirus vaccine candidate RhAd52.

17 Jun 2021

How the common cold can provide protection against COVID-19

In a recent study, researchers found that prior infection with the rhinovirus can provide a more effective immune response against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

17 Jun 2021

New noninvasive biomarker can be used in the diagnosis of NAFLD

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide and can progress to liver cirrhosis, liver failure or cancer. Currently, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) diagnosis requires an invasive liver biopsy which can lead to procedural complications.

17 Jun 2021

Antibody combination REGEN-COV prevents symptomatic disease following SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers in the United States have demonstrated the effectiveness of early treatment with REGEN-COV™ at preventing symptomatic disease among people infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

17 Jun 2021

Long-term exposure to poor air quality increases COVID-19 risk, research finds

Even as governments across the United States consider lifting mask mandates and relaxing preventative measures as vaccination numbers creep up, new research from a UCLA-led team has found that such basic techniques significantly reduce the risk of getting COVID-19.

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

Gut microbiome impacts stroke severity and post-stroke functional impairment

New findings from Cleveland Clinic researchers show for the first time that the gut microbiome impacts stroke severity and functional impairment following stroke.

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

Repressing a protein that facilitates DNA repair to potentiate chemotherapy

Chemotherapy kills tumor cells by causing damage to them. One of the most effective ways of causing damage is to prevent the two DNA strands from separating so that the cellular machinery cannot read the instructions written in the genes.

15 Jun 2021

Cancer cells use an aging gene to establish permanent footing

Researchers at the University of Helsinki and the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow have discovered how mutated cells promote their chances to form cancer. Typically, the accumulation of harmful cells is prevented by active competition between multiple stem cells in intestinal glands, called crypts.

15 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