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Naked mole rats may hold the key to new treatments for cancer, dementia

Scientists say naked mole rats - a rodent native to West Africa - may hold the key to new treatments for degenerative diseases such as cancer and dementia. The reclusive animals have a lifespan far in excess of other rodents - for example, mice and rats live about two years, whereas naked mole rats can live for 40 or 50 years.

11 Jun 2021

Shark vNAR antibodies inhibit SARS-CoV-2 variants in vitro

Researchers in the UK and Austria have identified a novel class of antibodies that is highly effective at neutralizing the original strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) and maintaining blocking activity against certain viral variants that have emerged.

10 Jun 2021

Surgeons can avoid postoperative opioid prescriptions, studies suggest

Surgeons can ease their patients' pain from common operations without prescribing opioids, and avoid the possibility of starting someone on a path to long-term use, a pair of new studies suggests.

10 Jun 2021

CWRU researcher receives $1.2 million to identify biomarkers for improving MS diagnoses

Case Western Reserve University researcher Farren Briggs was awarded $1.2 million over three years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health to identify biomarkers to improve the diagnoses of multiple sclerosis, including the ability to monitor disease activity and progression.

10 Jun 2021

Aptamer Group Ltd appoints Jordan Clark as Chief Commercial Officer

Aptamer Group, the developer of Optimer biotherapeutics and diagnostics, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jordan Clark as Chief Commercial Officer at Aptamer Group with immediate effect.

From Aptamer Group 10 Jun 2021

Eldelumab and Fenofibrate show potential for COVID-19

In a new study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Barrow Neurological Institute report the results of their analysis of several RNA-Seq studies and used computational approaches to discover potential drugs against COVID-19.

10 Jun 2021

Study: COVID-19 vaccines safe for IBD patients

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) do not appear to have increased risk of side effects from the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, according to a recent Cedars-Sinai study published online and upcoming in print in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

9 Jun 2021

Protein in prostate cancer may prevent tumor from spreading to the bone

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men, according to the American Cancer Society. It's also one of the trickiest cancers to diagnose and treat.

9 Jun 2021

A closer look at how COVID-19 damages human lungs

A recent study conducted at the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory provides the first atomic-level detailed model of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) envelope protein when bound to human proteins within the lungs. The study was recently published in Nature Communications.

9 Jun 2021

Microgel-coated mesenchymal stromal cells can reverse pulmonary fibrosis

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have shown that even after lung tissue has been damaged, it may be possible to reverse fibrosis and promote tissue repair through treatment with microgel-coated mesenchymal stromal cells.

9 Jun 2021

Cyperus rotundus medicinal plant shows promise for novel COVID-19 therapeutics

Cyperus rotundus is a plant with a history as herbal medicine, containing many chemical substances frequently found to be drug-like in character: flavonoids, terpenoids, and the like. Compounds sourced from the plant have demonstrated some inhibitory activity against HIV by modulation of the CYP3A4 enzyme, and thus in a drug lead discovery effort, Kumar et al. (July 2021) computationally screened these natural compounds against MPRO in a paper recently published to Computers in Biology and Medicine.

9 Jun 2021

New atomic-level model helps explain how SARS-CoV-2 causes extensive lung damage

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have published the first detailed atomic-level model of the SARS-CoV-2 "envelope" protein bound to a human protein essential for maintaining the lining of the lungs.

8 Jun 2021

Research reveals a possible new approach to prevent death among elderly COVID-19 patients

New research from the University of Minnesota Medical School and colleagues at the Mayo Clinic reveals a possible new approach to preventing death and severe disease in elderly people infected with SARS-CoV-2.

8 Jun 2021

ONK Therapeutics and Trinity researchers seek to improve cellular therapies for treating cancer

ONK Therapeutics Ltd, an innovative natural killer (NK) cell therapy company, today announced that it has been awarded an Innovation Partnership Programme grant by Enterprise Ireland (EI) to fund collaborative research at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, led by Dr. David Finlay to optimize the metabolism and engineering of NK cells for improved cancer therapies.

8 Jun 2021

NIH researchers find that the SARS-CoV-2 Nsp15’s uridine cleavage can evade the immune response

Research conducted by scientists at the National Institutes of Health in the USA shows that Nsp15 targets uridines (U). Following detection of U, Nsp15 can then further cleave a broad spectrum of RNA substrates.

8 Jun 2021

Iksuda Therapeutics closes $47 million financing round

Iksuda Therapeutics (Iksuda) has announced it has completed a US $47 million (circa GB £34 million) financing round, co-led by Mirae Asset Capital and its subsidiaries, Celltrion and Premier Partners, with the Company being advised by Ashfords LLP. The funding will support the advancement of Iksuda’s lead ADC assets and expansion of its payload and conjugation platform technologies.

From Iksuda Therapeutics 8 Jun 2021

Mass vaccination the only way to tackle emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers from Poland recently analyzed key information concerning SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as their infectivity, mutations, severity, and immune susceptibility. Their work is published in the open-access journal Pathogens.

8 Jun 2021

Nanozymes to the rescue - potential role in fighting COVID-19

Over the last few decades, researchers have developed artificial enzymes for many applications. Recently, they deployed nanomaterial-based enzyme mimetics or nanozymes in diagnosis and therapeutics. Nanozymes find applications in various biomedical applications, including antiviral agents and cancer therapy.

8 Jun 2021

NIH researchers identify novel small molecule inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 variants

A team of scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, has recently identified six novel small molecule inhibitors of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

8 Jun 2021

Distinct spike protein mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variant in Russia

Additionally, a novel variant has recently been characterized by researchers from Russia in the journal Viruses. The variant, first discovered in January 2021 in Northwest Russia, is characterized by distinct spike protein mutations.

7 Jun 2021