Homologous News and Research

RSS

Amilorides reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral replication in vitro

A new U.S. study published on the bioRxiv preprint server reports the use of an amiloride-based scaffold that targets a viral RNA structure known to be essential in viral replication in the 5’-untranslated region (UTR) of the virus. The researchers say this heralds the application of these molecules as chemical probes to explore viral biology and produce specific antivirals targeting RNA regions of the coronavirus genome.

8 Dec 2020

Researchers develop a promising fix to CRISPR-Cas9's unwanted changes problem

A group of researchers developed a promising fix to CRISPR-Cas9's problem with unwanted genetic changes using a method that allows them to turn off gene-editing until it reaches key cell cycle phases where more accurate repairs are likely to happen.

4 Dec 2020

N-Glycosylation sites may contribute to spike-mediated invasion by SARS-CoV-2

The sugar residues decorating the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 are essential to the viral-receptor binding.

3 Dec 2020

Study: Tumors with high TMB tend to respond better to immune checkpoint inhibitors

Treatments that harness the immune system to fight cancer have greatly improved outcomes for some people with cancer. Scientists are learning more about why some people respond much better than others to these drugs.

2 Dec 2020

Research shows a unique T cell receptor repertoire in MIS-C patients

Children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) sometimes develop the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), which is associated with high morbidity. The underlying T-cell associated mechanism is described by researchers in a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in November 2020, as a response to superantigen activation.

11 Nov 2020

Discovery of novel hidden gene in SARS-CoV-2

A team of researchers from Germany, Taiwan, and the United States has identified and characterized a new hidden gene in SARS-CoV-2 that is also present in Guangxi pangolin coronaviruses – though, curiously, absent in closely related pangolin and bat coronaviruses.

11 Nov 2020

USask researchers to study how cannabis use during pregnancy affects fetus' brain development

University of Saskatchewan pharmacologist Robert Laprairie will use a Brain Canada research grant to determine how a mother's use of cannabis during pregnancy affects the brain of the developing fetus she's carrying.

9 Nov 2020

Biomarkers that are predictive of clinical benefit in Trop-2-expressing triple-negative breast cancer

Oncotarget recently published "Predictive biomarkers for sacituzumab govitecan efficacy in Trop-2-expressing triple-negative breast cancer" which reported that the authors investigated whether Trop-2-expression and homologous recombination repair of SN-38-mediated double-strand DNA breaks play a role in the sensitivity of triple-negative breast cancer to SG.

3 Nov 2020

Scientists compare ACE2 interaction with SARS-CoV-2 across species

Like other pathogenic coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 crossed the species barrier to cause human disease. This fact motivated the current study, published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in October 2020, which explores the way coronaviruses engage their host cell receptors in a range of animals.

28 Oct 2020

Antigenic imprinting of sarbecovirus

A recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in October 2020 shows that the design of a vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) must consider the prior history of exposure to coronaviruses since these affect the antibody response to the virus.

19 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

Cats and dogs are low risk for SARS-CoV-2 transmission to humans

Researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University studied the possible transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) among domestic cats and dogs.

5 Oct 2020

PROfound phase III results offer new targeted treatment for metastatic prostate cancer

Results from the PROfound phase III study, funded by AstraZeneca and Merck Sharp & Dohme, open up a much-needed new treatment avenue for the more precise and effective treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) whose disease has progressed with hormonal therapy.

21 Sep 2020

Spike-based priming leads to high neutralizing activity in animal models

A new report by researchers at the University of Melbourne and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in September 2020 reports on the use of a two-protein two-dose vaccine regimen and its immunogenicity in two animal models.

4 Sep 2020

Understanding SARS-CoV-2 evolution requires more focus on structural variants

Researchers in the United States and Canada warn that more attention needs to be paid to the role that structural variants and recombination in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have played in the evolutionary history of the virus.

3 Sep 2020

New bioluminescent reporter developed to track DNA double stranded break repair

A new bioluminescent reporter that tracks DNA double stranded break repair in cells has been developed by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

21 Aug 2020

Potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 identified

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 reports the discovery of two inhibitors of the helicase enzyme, which is essential for viral replication and the most highly conserved non-structural coronavirus (CoV) protein.

16 Aug 2020

Specifically designed cyclic peptide inhibitor shown to be active against SARS-CoV-2

A new bioRxiv study by a research group from the University of California Irvine shows in vitro activity and non-toxicity of the first-in-class cyclic peptide that inhibits the main protease of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – laying the groundwork for its use in the treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

4 Aug 2020

Genome comparisons between SARS-CoV-2 and other betacoronaviruses yield applicable insights

Researchers from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research and the Australian National University untangle the mutational and recombinational history of the SARS-2 lineage of betacoronaviruses and their metagenomes with the use of published genomic sequences. Their findings are currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

14 Jul 2020

Study suggests natural UV radiation protects against coronavirus

A new study by scientists at the University of Edinburgh and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in July 2020 suggests an interesting link between ultraviolet A radiation and deaths due to COVID-19. While this is an observational study, which means that direct inferences cannot be drawn from this finding, it does, however, suggest better strategies for reducing the death rate due to COVID-19.

8 Jul 2020