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Can metformin reduce mortality in diabetic individuals with severe COVID-19?

A new study by researchers in China and the U.S. describes a round-up of the effects of commonly used hypoglycemic drugs on the outcomes of COVID-19 in diabetic patients.

1 Feb 2021

Inhaled single dose vaccine creates antibodies and prevents infection in rhesus macaques

Now, a new preprint research paper describes a chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored vaccine that, when administered intranasally in rhesus macaques, led to a robust immune response and demonstrated protection against infection by the virus that causes COVID-19, namely, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The preprint is published on the bioRxiv server.

1 Feb 2021

India's Covaxin vaccine likely effective against UK SARS-CoV-2 variant: Study

A new preprint research paper, posted to the preprint server bioRxiv, presents data indicating that the Indian-made Covaxin vaccine candidate successfully neutralizes this variant, preventing infection when challenged by it.

1 Feb 2021

E484K mutation is potentially associated with SARS-CoV-2 adaptive fitness

A team of Brazilian scientists has recently conducted genomic and phylogenetic analyses of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genome to understand the viral evolution process better. Their analyses reveal that the E484K mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2 is present in three different lineages in four Brazilian regions and that the mutation may serve as a common solution for viral evolution.

31 Jan 2021

Synergistic effect between NF-κB inhibitors and zinc in vitro reducing ACE2 expression

Researchers at National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei have conducted a study demonstrating the potential effectiveness of a novel drug combination at reducing morbidity and mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

31 Jan 2021

Crystal structures of nanobodies could aid the design of COVID-19 therapies

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, have shown how certain synthetic nanobodies bind to the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – a development that could help inform the design of therapies.

31 Jan 2021

Scientists engineer potent trivalent inhibitors of thrombin

Thrombosis, the clogging of blood vessels, is a major cause of heart attacks and embolism. Scientists have now engineered the first inhibitors of thrombin, a protease promoting thrombosis, that is three-fold efficient.

29 Jan 2021

Researchers develop ‘next-generation vaccine platform’ against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have designed a subunit vaccine based on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein co-administered with CpG (Oligodeoxyribonucleotides) adjuvant.

29 Jan 2021

Researchers develop an easier way to deliver pancreatic cancer drugs

Researchers with the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center and North Dakota State University have designed a new way to deliver pancreatic cancer drugs that could make fighting the disease much easier.

29 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2 is resistant to extreme variations in temperature, finds study

A recent study from Belize and Taiwan shows that four essential proteins of SARS-CoV-2 are well adapted to habitable temperatures and exhibit extreme thermostability, which means temperature changes between the winter and summer months have a negligible effect on the viral spread.

28 Jan 2021

Moderna vaccine shows robust suppression of SARS-CoV-2 infection in animal model

Researchers have demonstrated that the prime or prime-boost vaccination of Moderna vaccine in hamsters induced robust neutralizing antibodies, ameliorated weight loss, and suppressed SARS-CoV-2 replication in the airways.

28 Jan 2021

COVID-19 patients in high-altitude ICUs had improved survival in case study

A team of researchers in Ecuador and the U.K. found that high altitudes may be linked to improved COVID-19 survival – particularly among patients with no comorbidities.

28 Jan 2021

Viral ExoN regulates the rate of recombination in SARS-CoV-2

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston have discovered what may be the Achilles' heel of the coronavirus, a finding that may help close the door on COVID-19 and possibly head off future pandemics.

28 Jan 2021

Innovative breakthrough promises to diagnose DNA rearrangement mutations

Doctors are increasingly using genetic signatures to diagnose diseases and determine the best course of care, but using DNA sequencing and other techniques to detect genomic rearrangements remains costly or limited in capabilities.

28 Jan 2021

American scientists receive the 2021 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize

FRANKFURT am MAIN. Two American scientists, Bonnie L. Bassler and Michael R. Silverman, receive the 2021 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, which is endowed with 120,000 €.

28 Jan 2021

New York Tech researchers receive NIH grant to improve the understanding of atherosclerosis

A New York Institute of Technology research team led by Olga V. Savinova, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical sciences at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, has secured a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

27 Jan 2021

Biliverdin shields SARS-CoV-2 from host antibody response, study finds

A team of international scientists has recently revealed that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) interacts with two heme metabolites, bilirubin and biliverdin, to escape the antibody-mediated host immune responses.

27 Jan 2021

Archaeological scientists use proteomics to study ancient dairying

Tracking milk drinking in the ancient past is not straightforward. For decades, archaeologists have tried to reconstruct the practice by various indirect methods. T

27 Jan 2021

Could spironolactone treat COVID-19-related pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis?

Researchers have described the potential of the drug spironolactone, a potassium-sparing diuretic, and anti-androgen, in preventing or alleviating the severity of COVID-19 pneumonia, and in preventing pulmonary fibrosis.

27 Jan 2021

Allarity Therapeutics announces plans to test antiviral activity of stenoparib drug

Allarity Therapeutics of Hørsholm, Denmark, today announced plans to further test the antiviral activity of stenoparib, its PARP inhibitor, against SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7, also known as Coronavirus Variant B117 (the "British variant"), at the COVID-19 Testing Service Center (CTSC) of Northern Arizona University's Pathogen and Microbiome Institute (PMI), a leading U.S. infectious disease testing center.

27 Jan 2021