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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.

South Africa SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.351 easily escapes Sputnik vaccine

A new preprint research paper posted to the medRxiv* server reports on vaccine resistance data that pushes the end of the pandemic further away.

6 Apr 2021

Researchers use single-cell RNA sequencing technologies to track cellular development in leaves

While developmental biologists have long researched this fundamental question, Stanford University biologist and HHMI investigator Dominique Bergmann's recent work on the plant Arabidopsis thaliana has uncovered surprising answers.

5 Apr 2021

Devastating liver disease itching turns out to have a surprising cause

A devastating itching of the skin driven by severe liver disease turns out to have a surprising cause. Its discovery points toward possible new therapies for itching, and shows that the outer layer of the skin is so much more than insulation.

5 Apr 2021

New RNA-sequencing method can help detect numerous modified small RNAs

A team led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside, has developed a new RNA-sequencing method-- "Panoramic RNA Display by Overcoming RNA Modification Aborted Sequencing," or PANDORA-seq -- that can help discover numerous modified small RNAs that were previously undetectable.

5 Apr 2021

RNA-binding cylinders inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro

Research led by Michael J. Hannon from the University of Birmingham, UK, finds metallo-supramolecular helicates (cylinders) binding to untranslated regions of SARS-CoV-2 suppresses viral replication. The untranslated regions (UTR) of the viral genome could serve as drug targets for antiviral treatment.

5 Apr 2021

Targeting microRNAs makes cancer stem cells more susceptible to chemotherapies

Researchers in Italy have identified a pair of microRNA molecules that help maintain a population of cancerous stem cells that drive the growth of breast cancers and initiate tumor relapse after treatment.

3 Apr 2021

Researchers offer large-scale screening of potential broad-spectrum SARS-CoV-2 antivirals

A new study describes the identification of new compounds from a library, with inhibitory activity against several coronaviruses. This study shows the utility of this method, besides identifying compounds that not only inhibit viral shedding in SARS-CoV-2 cultures, but have an immunomodulatory effect that may be useful in mitigating the damaging cytokine storm typical of severe or critical COVID-19.

2 Apr 2021

Comparative study of SARS, MERS, BAT‐SARS, and SARS-CoV-2

Even though a comparative study on the genomic sequences of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 is available, there is a gap in the research in regards to the comparison between four types of coronaviruses, namely, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, BAT-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2. A new study, which deals with the genomic comparison between the sequence of the above-stated four types of coronaviruses, has been published in the Journal of Medical Virology.

2 Apr 2021

Diet and lifestyle may play a significant role in Alzheimer's disease

For years, research to pin down the underlying cause of Alzheimer's Disease has been focused on plaque found to be building up in the brain in AD patients.

2 Apr 2021

Single injection of RNA therapy improves vision in patient with genetic form of childhood blindness

A Penn Medicine patient with a genetic form of childhood blindness gained vision, which lasted more than a year, after receiving a single injection of an experimental RNA therapy into the eye.

1 Apr 2021

Can asymptomatic COVID-19 confer long-term immunity?

Researchers examined the antibody responses in symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals recovered from COVID-19 to see if there was a discernable difference in their humoral immune responses and long-term protection from reinfection with SARS-CoV-2.

1 Apr 2021

Glycans influence SARS-CoV-2 spike–ACE2 binding affinity, finds study

A study conducted at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA, and Concordia University, Canada, has explored the impact of different types of glycans on the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and human ACE2 receptor.

1 Apr 2021

Could a flavonoid found in common fruit and vegetables combat COVID-19?

Researchers in India have gathered and presented a large body of evidence highlight quercetin – a flavonoid molecule found in many common fruits and vegetables – may be developed into drug therapies used to combat COVID-19.

1 Apr 2021

Researchers develop a recombinant SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain trimer vaccine candidate

New research deals with the development of RBD trimer as a potent target for SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccines. This study revealed the development of a trimeric RBD subunit vaccine candidate that could induce strong humoral and cellular immune responses in nonhuman primates (NHPs), namely, rhesus macaques.

1 Apr 2021

Discovery of cryptic pocket in SARS-CoV-2 may lead to pan-coronavirus therapies

A new research paper published in the Biophysical Journal describes a novel binding pocket used by a viral non-structural protein (nsp) to form an activated complex with its partner nsp. In so doing, it may have revealed a common target that may be useful in the development of a broad-spectrum antiviral drug against all coronaviruses.

1 Apr 2021

Study reports on two cats that caught COVID-19

Our feline friends are also vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, according to new research posted to the preprint server bioRxiv. The researchers diagnosed two cats living in France with mild symptomatic COVID-19 illness. The virus was most likely transmitted from their owners.

31 Mar 2021