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Stray dogs possible origin of COVID-19 pandemic

After tracing coronavirus signatures in different species, a new research article published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution shows that stray dogs (more specifically dog intestines) may have acted as the origin of current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic.

14 Apr 2020

New vaccine for Chikungunya reported safe and well-tolerated

A virus-like particle vaccine was shown to be safe and well-tolerated among a healthy adult population living in chikungunya endemic areas, the researchers report in a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

14 Apr 2020

New study offers insight on how bacteria exchange drug resistance genes

Researchers have been able to identify and track the exchange of genes among bacteria that allow them to become resistant to drugs, according to a new study published today in eLife.

14 Apr 2020

Technologies converge on interacting surfaces in protein complexes

Researchers have fine-tuned a method to pinpoint surfaces within interacting large multi-protein complexes.

14 Apr 2020

Ebola drug effective against key enzyme of coronavirus that causes COVID-19

Scientists at the University of Alberta have shown that the drug remdesivir is highly effective in stopping the replication mechanism of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to new research published today in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

13 Apr 2020

CRISPR may help in kidney-transplants by detecting viruses

An exciting new study published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering in April 2020 reports excellent results with a new test for two common viruses that infect kidney transplant patients. The levels of these viruses shoot up during the acute phase of rejection.

13 Apr 2020

First detailed map of transcriptome and epitranscriptome for novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)

A team of researchers has come out with the first detailed map of the transcriptome and epitranscriptome of the virulent SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 disease, the illness that has become a pandemic ravaging both developed and less developed countries of the world. The study, published in the journal Cell in April 2020, may assist in the development of new vaccines and therapeutics.

12 Apr 2020

UMSOM launches new initiative to expand COVID-19 testing

University of Maryland School of Medicine Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today the launch of a large-scale COVID-19 Testing Initiative that will significantly expand testing capability over the coming weeks, enabled by new funding of $2.5 million from the State of Maryland.

12 Apr 2020

PARP inhibitor drugs can be structurally modified to better kill tumor cells

A prospective "PARP inhibitor" drug that has struggled to show effectiveness in clinical trials against cancers can be structurally modified to greatly increase its power to kill tumor cells, researchers from Penn Medicine report this week in Science.

12 Apr 2020

Scientists make plant genome public to help combat COVID-19

Plant Nicotiana benthamiana is currently used as a bio-factory for several experimental vaccines against SARS-COV-2.

11 Apr 2020

Study demonstrates the benefits of genomic risk assessment in preventing common diseases

A new Finnish study demonstrated the benefits of large-scale genomic information in estimating the risk of onset for cardiac diseases, diabetes and common cancers.

10 Apr 2020

Arizona COVID-19 Genomics Union to study how the virus may be evolving

The Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope, The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at Northern Arizona University, and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona have formed a union dedicated to tracking the COVID-19 coronavirus, it was announced today.

10 Apr 2020

Microneedle patches for potential COVID-19 vaccines or therapeutics

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading over the world, causing panic and illness on a scale unprecedented in one hundred years. Even while the death toll nears 100,000, with over 1.5 million confirmed cases worldwide, public health experts and medical professionals are battling it using all the weapons available. Unfortunately, these are all too few.

9 Apr 2020

Combination of rare, damaging mutations negatively affects healthspan and longevity

Scientists report that the combined effects of rare, damaging mutations present at birth have a negative impact on healthspan and longevity, according to a study published this week in eLife.

9 Apr 2020

Phylogenetic network analysis provides ‘snapshot’ of COVID-19 origins

Researchers from Cambridge, UK, and Germany have reconstructed the early "evolutionary paths" of COVID-19 in humans - as infection spread from Wuhan out to Europe and North America - using genetic network techniques.

9 Apr 2020

Chinese newborns experienced mild form of COVID-19

A new paper published by Dr. Zhi-Jiang Zhang and colleagues from Wuhan University in the European Respiratory Journal in April 2020 reports that COVID-19 apparently left little impact on newborns born to infected mothers at the height of the epidemic.

9 Apr 2020

Researchers develop online resource to refine results from RNA sequencing

DNA sequencing is becoming a more commonplace method for detecting diseases and improving precision medicine.

8 Apr 2020

Top NAU microbiologist joins Arizona COVID-19 Genomics Union

The Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope, The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at Northern Arizona University and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Arizona have formed a union dedicated to tracking the COVID-19 coronavirus, it was announced today.

8 Apr 2020

World's largest protein connection map reveals cell workings

The human body is comprised of billions of cells. Yet it functions and grows as a single organism, because of trillions of interactions that help various cells recognize and respond to each other via different molecules on their surface or inside the cells. Now, a new study published in the journal Nature in April 2020 describes the first-ever interactome map, to help distinguish healthy interactions and disease-producing ones.

8 Apr 2020