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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.

Goblet cells are prime target for SARS-CoV-2, study finds

A recent study reports that in the airway of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a type of airway epithelial cell – called a goblet cell – presents a prime target for the virus and plays a vital role in promoting viral replication in this tissue.

16 Nov 2020

Researchers explain why COVID-19 infects older people and spares younger children

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and their colleagues have determined a key factor as to why COVID-19 appears to infect and sicken adults and older people preferentially while seeming to spare younger children.

16 Nov 2020

Researchers identify specific circular RNA that regulates neurogenesis

In a screening for a functional impact to the neuronal differentiation process, Danish researchers identified a specific circular RNA, circZNF827, which surprisingly "taps the brake" on neurogenesis.

16 Nov 2020

Baricitinib drug can reduce mortality in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19

The rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib can block viral entry and reduce mortality in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19, according to translational research by an international team coordinated by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

16 Nov 2020

Researchers use aerosolized molecules to shut down proteins generated by coronavirus

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have successfully used molecules comprised of small strands of RNA to shut down the production of destructive proteins generated by the COVID-19 virus.

16 Nov 2020

Measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission through wastewater in poor regions

A new paper published in the journal Science of the Total Environment on November 10, 2020, discusses the reality of the virus’s wastewater transmission. Overall, the researchers found that wastewater transmission would have a disproportionate impact on countries with low development indices.

15 Nov 2020

Study looks at SARS-CoV-2 RNA contamination in COVID-19 isolation ward of a hospital

To try and shed more light on SARS-CoV-2’s transmission, a research group based in Italy examined a COVID-19 isolation ward in a Milan hospital to evaluate the level of contamination present in the air and on surfaces with SARS-CoV-2 RNA (the virus’s genetic material).

15 Nov 2020

Promising new compounds to potentially treat novel coronaviruses identified

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and School of Pharmacy have discovered new drug compounds to potentially treat the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

15 Nov 2020

Immunotherapy combination shrinks rare angiosarcoma tumors in 25% of patients

Researchers from SWOG Cancer Research Network, a cancer clinical trials group funded by the National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, part of the National Institutes of Health, have shown that the immunotherapy combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab shrinks rare angiosarcoma tumors in 25 percent of all patients, with some having an even stronger response to the drug combination.

15 Nov 2020

High prevalence of cross-reactive anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in sub-Saharan Africa

A recent study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases has explained the lower prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in sub-Saharan Africa compared to that in the US, Europe, and Asia.

15 Nov 2020

Antimalarials could disrupt SARS-CoV-2’s Nsp1 translation termination

A research team from the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology in Russia have shown that Nsp1 – a non-structured protein present in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogen – stimulates translation termination in the stop codon recognition stage. Studying and developing drugs that compete with Nsp1 for binding with the termination complex could therefore be a potential strategy for fighting against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

15 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2-induces temporary loss of smell in mice

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in November 2020 presents the onset of olfactory dysfunction (loss of smell) in mice infected with the virus, examining this process at the cellular level. In doing so, this study throws more light on this curious symptom and COVID-19’s manifestations outside the lungs.

12 Nov 2020

Peptide-conjugated morpholino oligomers effectively inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vero cells

The hunt for antivirals has reached an unprecedented pace in light of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The causal agent for this disease – severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – has already infected over 52 million people worldwide, and has subsequently claimed over 1.3 million lives. However, among the innumerable promising drug candidates that help battle the virus and mitigate its damage, none have yet made it to the clinic.

12 Nov 2020

Rhesus monkeys and cats potential spillover reservoirs for COVID-19 virus

A team of researchers from Switzerland, Costa Rica and Germany has conducted a study showing which animal species could potentially serve as spillback reservoirs of severe acute repertory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

12 Nov 2020

Researchers discover a mechanism that cells use to degrade microRNAs

UT Southwestern researchers have discovered a mechanism that cells use to degrade microRNAs (miRNAs), genetic molecules that regulate the amounts of proteins in cells.

12 Nov 2020

New method using light-activated liposomes is safer, more direct to deliver CRISPR gene therapy

Light-activated liposomes could help to deliver CRISPR gene therapy - and the method could prove safer and more direct than current methods.

12 Nov 2020

TMDU and Fujitsu complete cancer gene network analysis in less than a day

Tokyo Medical and Dental University and Fujitsu Laboratories Limited have recently completed, in less than a day, estimation of the network that represents the influence relationship between genes and prediction of their relationship with infiltration and metastasis based on genes highly likely to be involved in cancer development.

12 Nov 2020

Researchers identify acrylamides that inhibit SARS-CoV-2 main protease

A new study in the preprint server bioRxiv published in November 2020 describes the discovery of acrylamide fragments that can effectively disable key enzymes in both the hand, foot and mouth virus and SARS-CoV-2 virus.

11 Nov 2020

Human coronaviruses cause processing body loss

Researchers continue to expand their knowledge of coronaviruses, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogen. Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in November 2020 describes a vital mechanism whereby the novel SARS-CoV-2 pathogen can restrict the human host response. In doing so, the study explores how this novel feature of SARS-CoV-2 works and how it results in a reshaping of the human host's immune response.

11 Nov 2020

Discovery of novel hidden gene in SARS-CoV-2

A team of researchers from Germany, Taiwan, and the United States has identified and characterized a new hidden gene in SARS-CoV-2 that is also present in Guangxi pangolin coronaviruses – though, curiously, absent in closely related pangolin and bat coronaviruses.

11 Nov 2020