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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

Researchers gain new insights into the pathology of Usher syndrome

Human Usher syndrome (USH) is the most common form of hereditary deaf-blindness. Sufferers can be deaf from birth, suffer from balance disorders, and eventually lose their eyesight as the disease progresses.

12 Jul 2021

mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine CV07050101 demonstrates limited immunogenicity in non-human primates

Scientists from the US and Germany have recently evaluated the efficacy of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CV07050101, in inducing humoral and cellular immune responses in non-human primates. The study reveals that prime-boost immunization with the vaccine candidate induces only limited immunity against SARS-CoV-2.

12 Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine efficacy reduced in patients with CD20-B-cell depleting treatment history

Researchers from Switzerland recently investigated humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to mRNA-based vaccines in patients undergoing treatment with CD20-B-cell depleting agents for autoimmune diseases, transplantation, or malignancy.

12 Jul 2021

Researchers discover new genetic driver of autism and other developmental disorders

A research group including Kobe University's Professor TAKUMI Toru (also a Senior Visiting Scientist at RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research) and Assistant Professor TAMADA Kota, both of the Physiology Division in the Graduate School of Medicine, has revealed a causal gene (Necdin, NDN) in autism model mice that have the chromosomal abnormality called copy number variation.

9 Jul 2021

Mating can turn off a single gene for multiple generations, study shows

Evidence suggests that what happens in one generation--diet, toxin exposure, trauma, fear--can have lasting effects on future generations.

9 Jul 2021

Can saliva metabolomics predict COVID-19 severity?

New research suggests that saliva metabolomics may be able to help prognosticate disease severity in COVID-19 positive individuals.

9 Jul 2021

Antiviral activity of long-chain polyphosphates against SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study has been published in Science Signaling that has examined the potential role that long-chain inorganic polyphosphates (polyPs) play against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

9 Jul 2021

Early B cell signatures predict antibody responses to mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine

Researchers in the United States have identified both antigen-specific and antigen non-specific predictive signatures of antibody responses to Moderna’s two-dose coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine that protects against infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

8 Jul 2021

Do lockdowns exert selection pressure on overdispersion of SARS-CoV-2 variants?

New research recently released on the medRxiv* preprint server describes a mathematical model that has been developed to evaluate competitions between variants that differ in their level of overdispersion (k) and their mean infectiousness.

8 Jul 2021

How do host factors like the lung microbiome aid in SARS‐CoV‐2 infection?

A new article has been published in Cellular and Molecular Lifesciences, which focuses on the connection between host factors and the worsening of the COVID-19. Further, the impact of the virus on the host’s microbiome and secondary infection has also been studied.

8 Jul 2021

Women at higher risk of post-COVID-19 syndrome

To better understand post-COVID sequelae, researchers at the University Hospital Basel and the University Hospital Zurich conducted a multicentre prospective observational cohort study.

8 Jul 2021

Striking increase in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies seen with prime dose AstraZeneca vaccine followed by Pfizer-BioNTech

Researchers in Germany have provided evidence that a booster shot of a messenger RNA (mRNA)-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine following prime immunization with AstraZeneca’s adenoviral vector-based vaccine is sufficient to achieve high levels of neutralizing antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

8 Jul 2021

How SARS-CoV-2 has evolved over the course of the pandemic

In an effort to understand the ongoing evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, researchers constructed a phylogenetic tree of all available SARS-CoV-2 genomes.

7 Jul 2021

Mother-to-baby SARS-CoV-2 transmission in pregnancy possible but rare, says study

A new meta-analysis, released on the medRxiv* preprint server, suggests that, though possible, the virus is rarely transmitted to the newborn in real life. A scientific brief from the World Health Organization (WHO) in February 2021 describes three mechanisms by which the virus might be transmitted from the mother to the fetus or newborn.

7 Jul 2021

Will the US’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign be undermined by novel SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern?

New research from Arizona State University, USA, uses a novel mathematical model to predict the impact of vaccination and vaccine-induced cross-protection on the B.1.1.7 variant and other SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in the US as of June 2021. The study has been published in medRxiv* preprint server, while it undergoes peer review.

7 Jul 2021

Study addresses potential interrelations between AID/APOBECs and the SARS-CoV-2 virus

Together with their multifaceted action mechanisms, activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) and so-called APOBEC proteins are important factors in the body's immune response and offer fast and effective protection against a large number of DNA and RNA viruses.

7 Jul 2021

Uncovering cellular mechanism related to gene silencing therapies

Gene silencing therapies are used to interfere with, or "silence", the expression of genes that are associated with disorders. Now, a team at TMDU has uncovered some of the cellular mechanisms by which the silencing therapies act in cells.

7 Jul 2021

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine elicits durable T cell memory and antibody responses

Researchers in the United States have shown that Moderna’s mRNA-1273 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine induces durable antibody and T cell responses to the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that are comparable to those seen in cases of COVID-19 caused by natural SARS-CoV-2 infection.

6 Jul 2021

Brain cells snap DNA strands in numerous locations to make memories

The urgency to remember a dangerous experience requires the brain to make a series of potentially dangerous moves: Neurons and other brain cells snap open their DNA in numerous locations--more than previously realized, according to a new study--to provide quick access to genetic instructions for the mechanisms of memory storage.

6 Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2 infects and replicates in the salivary glands, study finds

In Brazil, researchers at the University of São Paulo's Medical School (FM-USP) have discovered that SARS-CoV-2 infects and replicates in the salivary glands.

6 Jul 2021