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New inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 RNA translation

As the search for effective severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) inhibitors continues, a recent study by Yale University School of Medicine researchers published on the preprint server bioRxiv in October 2020 reports the inhibitory effect of the drug merofloxacin on frameshifting during SARS-CoV-2 replication.

26 Oct 2020

Age can affect response to adjuvant treatment among patients with resected melanoma

Younger patients with resected melanoma had some benefit from adjuvant treatment with the anti-VEGF therapeutic bevacizumab (Avastin) while older patients with resected melanoma did not

23 Oct 2020

Oregon biologists reveal molecular mechanisms that produce DNA damage in sperm

University of Oregon biologists have used the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to identify molecular mechanisms that produce DNA damage in sperm and contribute to male infertility following exposure to heat.

23 Oct 2020

Researchers use viral signatures to reveal transmission patterns of SARS-CoV-2

The coronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has one official name--SARS-CoV-2. But according to virologists, mutations lead to hundreds of genetically-distinct versions of the virus.

23 Oct 2020

Distinct DNA methylation signature found in the cord blood of newborns diagnosed with ASD

A new study led by UC Davis MIND Institute researchers found a distinct DNA methylation signature in the cord blood of newborns who were eventually diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

22 Oct 2020

'Mini-lungs' can provide important insights into how COVID-19 damages the lungs

'Mini-lungs' grown from tissue donated to Cambridge hospitals has provided a team of scientists from South Korea and the UK with important insights into how COVID-19 damages the lungs.

22 Oct 2020

Study shows how genome sequencing can track mutations in SARS-CoV-2 virus

A study published in Cell Reports shows how next generation genetic sequencing can track mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which can in effect help with transmission tracing, diagnostic testing accuracy and vaccine effectiveness.

22 Oct 2020

Congress should clarify limits of gene-editing technologies, says law professor

Genome editing of human embryos represents one of the most contentious potential scientific applications today. But what if geneticists could sidestep the controversy by editing sperm and eggs instead?

22 Oct 2020

Study may help develop effective therapeutic strategies against COVID-19

People have different susceptibilities to SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, and develop varying degrees of fever, fatigue, and breathing problems -- common symptoms of the illness. What might explain this variation?

22 Oct 2020

Researchers use molecular dynamics simulations to identify secrets of SARS-CoV-2 virus

The virus wreaking havoc on our lives is an efficient infection machine. Comprised of only 29 proteins (compared to our 400,000), with a genome 1/200,000 the size of ours, SARS-CoV-2 is expertly evolved to trick our cells to contribute its machinery to assist in its propagation.

22 Oct 2020

Study reveals why oxygen deficiency impairs brain cells

Brain cell dysfunction in low oxygen is, surprisingly, caused by the very same responder system that is intended to be protective, according to a new published study by a team of researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

22 Oct 2020

Ancient elements in human DNA can activate powerful immune response to kill cancer cells

Ancient embedded elements in our DNA from generations past can activate a powerful immune response to kill cancer cells like an infection.

22 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 mutations dictate severity of COVID-19 disease

A recent study by researchers from Semmelweis University and Pazmany Peter Catholic University in Budapest, Hungary, published on the preprint server medRxiv in October 2020, shows the relationship of specific mutations on the disease's outcome.

22 Oct 2020

Scientists develop a way to accurately detect and monitor common pediatric brain cancer

A team of scientists at Texas A&M University, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital have developed a way to more accurately both detect and monitor a common type of pediatric brain cancer, setting the stage for giving clinicians a real-time view into how the cancer responds to treatment.

21 Oct 2020

Study characterizes biochemical mechanism of cancer-linked enzyme

A new study led by scientists at IUPUI and Indiana University Bloomington is the first to describe a biochemical mechanism that increases the activity of a molecule whose presence is observed in many types of cancer.

21 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 mutations possibly making virus less virulent

In their bioRxiv* preprint paper, the researchers focus on mapping the clade-specific mutations' effects on the protein structures' conformation and stability. They identified the mutations in the set of seven proteins - orf8, nsp2, nsp4, nsp6, nucleocapsid protein (N), and Spike protein (S).

21 Oct 2020

New DNA-cutting tool could advance gene editing for novel treatments

Gene editing for the development of new treatments, and for studying disease as well as normal function in humans and other organisms, may advance more quickly with a new tool for cutting larger pieces of DNA out of a cell's genome, according to a new study by UC San Francisco scientists.

21 Oct 2020

Study indicates the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 viral infection and diabetes

It has recently been described that infection by some enteroviruses - a genus of viruses that commonly cause diseases of varying severity - could potentially trigger diabetes, although its direct effect 'in vivo' as well as its mechanism of action at the molecular level were unknown.

21 Oct 2020

SARS-CoV-2 hijacks mitochondria

An important phase of the viral protein translation relies on the mitochondrial translation machinery. Towards this goal, the molecular mechanism involved in the SARS-CoV-2 entry into human cells is studied by Zhenguo Cheng et al.

21 Oct 2020

Study shows ssRNA encapsidation results in stabilization of the Ebola virus nucleocapsid

The Ebola virus causes a serious infection with a mortality rate between 50% and 90%. Nucleoproteins in the virus assemble into a helical arrangement and encapsulate a single stranded RNA genome, ssRNA, to form a rodlike complex known as a nucleocapsid, which is critical to the function of the virus.

21 Oct 2020