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Researchers report zoonotic spillover of adapted SARS-CoV-2 from minks to humans

In a recent report made available on bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers from Poland and Finland reveal a spillover event of mink-adapted severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from farmed mink to humans after an extensive adaptation process.

9 Mar 2021

Proteomics shows SARS-CoV-2 NSP7 and NSP8 forms stable dimeric unit

A new preprint, released on the bioRxiv* preprint server, describes the structure of part of the dynamic protein-RNA complex known as the replication-transcription complex (RTC), which is crucial in the replication of the large ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome of this virus.

9 Mar 2021

Rapid increase of UK SARS-CoV-2 variant found in sewage in England between October 2020 to January 2021

A new study confirms the utility of wastewater surveillance as an important new tool in this regard by showing the presence of the UK SARS-CoV-2 variant in wastewater samples from London early in November, with increasing frequency thereafter.

9 Mar 2021

Worse problems with SARS-CoV-2 variants may be on the way

Researchers at the Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa, found evidence of a significant change in the selective forces acting on immunologically important SARS-CoV-2 genes, such as N and S. These likely coincided with the emergence of the 501Y lineages.

8 Mar 2021

How do viruses evolve in bats?

Bats have played a crucial epidemiological role in the evolution of many viruses and house many coronaviruses. Until 2002, coronaviruses had been known to cause mild respiratory ailments in human beings. However, this notion changed in the same year when a bat-borne virus caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic.

8 Mar 2021

Researchers present fragment-based computational design of antibodies that target structured epitopes

A new study describes a novel fragment-based method to design antibody complementarity determining region (CDR) loops.

8 Mar 2021

Interaction between LDL cholesterol and PRS can predict risk of heart attack

Allelica, a leading genomics software company specializing in developing polygenic risk scores (PRS) for personalised medicine, today announced publication of a study in Circulation (Vol. 143, Issue 10) showing that the effect of LDL cholesterol on a person's risk of having a heart attack depends on their genes.

8 Mar 2021

Apoptosis is an important mediator of pathogenesis in animal coronavirus infection

A new paper in the journal Life presents an early review of the viral factors involved in initiating and effecting apoptosis within infected cells.

8 Mar 2021

Diphtheria is evolving to become antibiotic-resistant and could lead to vaccine escape

Diphtheria - a relatively easily-preventable infection - is evolving to become resistant to a number of classes of antibiotics and in future could lead to vaccine escape, warn an international team of researchers from the UK and India.

8 Mar 2021

Novel bioinformatics tool could help improve COVID-19 diagnosis

An interesting new study by researchers at the University of Liverpool, University of Bristol and Public Health England in the UK describes a novel bioinformatics tool used to detect subgenomic messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) sequences from the virus. This may help develop new diagnostic tools and model the transmission of the virus.

8 Mar 2021

How can physicians distinguish between COVID-19 persistence and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection?

One of the most challenging tasks of physicians has been differentiating between persistent COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection. Recently, a team of researchers analyzed SARS-CoV-2 sequences from the publicly available reports on reinfection and persistence. They further characterized the markers of reinfecting sequences and studied the mutation rate in newly evolved persistent variants.

8 Mar 2021

New method provides more control over gene drive releases

Powerful new genetic engineering methods have given scientists the potential to revolutionize several sectors of global urgency.

8 Mar 2021

Rare Disease Day: Illumina shines a spotlight on people living with rare diseases

With a mission of empowering the rare disease community, Illumina has today partnered with medical researchers and families to highlight the importance of genomic sequencing and to shine the spotlight on the 300 million people worldwide living with a rare disease.

8 Mar 2021

Multidrug-resistant S. aureus strains may be spreading between pigs, farmworkers in North Carolina

DNA sequencing of bacteria found in pigs and humans in rural eastern North Carolina, an area with concentrated industrial-scale pig-farming, suggests that multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains are spreading between pigs, farmworkers, their families and community residents, and represents an emerging public health threat, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

5 Mar 2021

Researchers decipher how interspecies interactions arise, evolve and are maintained

Interspecies interactions are the foundation of ecosystems, from soil to ocean to the human gut. Among the many different types of interactions, syntrophy is a particularly important and mutually beneficial interspecies interaction where one partner provides a chemical or nutrient that is consumed by the other in exchange for a reward.

5 Mar 2021

Proteomics analysis from aggressive human cancers can help identify potential therapeutic targets

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine show that analysis of the proteomics, or all the protein data, from aggressive human cancers is a useful approach to identify potential novel therapeutic targets.

4 Mar 2021

Study explains how the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant is more transmissible

New research led by Thushan I. de Silva from the University of Sheffield proposes that increases in subgenomic RNA (sgRNA) expression cause increased viral transmissibility and subsequent infection. They suggest the ORF9 protein, found in high amounts of sgRNA, could be regulating interferon responses.

4 Mar 2021

Novavax COVID-19 vaccine shows efficacy against South African SARS-CoV-2 variant

Researchers in the United States and South Africa report that the NVX-CoV2373 vaccine from Novavax has proved effective at preventing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the B.1.351 variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has recently emerged in South Africa.

4 Mar 2021

Study reveals a small molecule inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in cells

Researchers found a small molecule that inhibits different virus proteins and significantly reduces infection in cells. Combined with the antiviral remdesivir, its potency increases significantly, suggesting it may be a potential antiviral candidate for the treatment of COVID-19.

4 Mar 2021

Multiple COVID-19 variants of concern have reached Houston, Texas

New research by a team at Houston Methodist Hospital in the United States has modeled the aggressive genomic sequencing of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) observed in the United Kingdom to document viral community spread in Houston, Texas.

4 Mar 2021

Genome News and Research

Researchers report zoonotic spillover of adapted SARS-CoV-2 from minks to humans

Proteomics shows SARS-CoV-2 NSP7 and NSP8 forms stable dimeric unit

Rapid increase of UK SARS-CoV-2 variant found in sewage in England between October 2020 to January 2021

Worse problems with SARS-CoV-2 variants may be on the way

How do viruses evolve in bats?

Researchers present fragment-based computational design of antibodies that target structured epitopes

Interaction between LDL cholesterol and PRS can predict risk of heart attack

Apoptosis is an important mediator of pathogenesis in animal coronavirus infection

Diphtheria is evolving to become antibiotic-resistant and could lead to vaccine escape

Novel bioinformatics tool could help improve COVID-19 diagnosis

How can physicians distinguish between COVID-19 persistence and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection?

New method provides more control over gene drive releases

Rare Disease Day: Illumina shines a spotlight on people living with rare diseases

Multidrug-resistant S. aureus strains may be spreading between pigs, farmworkers in North Carolina

Researchers decipher how interspecies interactions arise, evolve and are maintained

Proteomics analysis from aggressive human cancers can help identify potential therapeutic targets

Study explains how the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant is more transmissible

Novavax COVID-19 vaccine shows efficacy against South African SARS-CoV-2 variant

Study reveals a small molecule inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in cells

Multiple COVID-19 variants of concern have reached Houston, Texas

Genetics & Genomics - Second Edition eBook

Lab Matters host Harriet Gould on building a more connected lab community

The Critical Role of Sample Storage in Drug Discovery and Development

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

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