Nucleic Acid News and Research

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siRNA-based treatment can reduce psoriasis symptoms

Psoriasis, a chronic skin condition that causes itchy, red, scaly patches, afflicts more than 8 million Americans and 125 million people worldwide.

23 Jul 2020

Study: L-Grb2 has therapeutic efficacy in preclinical models of ovarian and uterine cancer

The cover for issue 29 of Oncotarget features, "In vivo effects of treatment with L-Grb2 in combination with anti-angiogenic therapy in an ovarian tumor model," by Lara, et al. which reported that adaptor proteins such as growth factor receptor-bound protein-2 play important roles in cancer cell signaling.

23 Jul 2020

Arcturus and Duke-NUS announce approval of clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc., a leading clinical-stage messenger RNA medicines company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapeutics for rare diseases and vaccines, and Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore's flagship research-intensive graduate entry medical school, today announced that the Clinical Trial Application for COVID-19 vaccine candidate LUNAR-COV19 has been approved to proceed by the Singapore Health Sciences Authority.

22 Jul 2020

LabVantage COVID-19 LIMS solution implemented for onsite workplace health and safety

LabVantage Solutions, Inc., the leading provider of laboratory informatics solutions and services including purpose-built LIMS solutions that allow labs to go live faster and at a lower total cost, today announced that a Fortune 100 global consumer packaged goods company has deployed the LabVantage COVID-19 LIMS solution to ensure employee health and safety in the workplace.

From LabVantage Solutions 22 Jul 2020

Promega Maxwell Extraction System added to CDC COVID-19 diagnostic protocol

Promega Corporation’s Maxwell RSC 48 Instrument and Maxwell RSC Viral Total Nucleic Acid Purification Kit are now in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 diagnostic protocol for emergency use.

From Promega Corporation 21 Jul 2020

Analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 proteome via visual tools

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in July 2020 shows how this can be advanced at a greater speed by combining experimental results with homology models obtained by high-throughput pipelines. This will help produce new hypotheses that will show novel druggable targets for effective drug development.

21 Jul 2020

COVID-19 vaccine displays protective traits in nonhuman primates

A replicating RNA vaccine, formulated with a lipid-based nanoparticle emulsion that goes by the acronym LION, produces antibodies against the COVID-19 coronavirus in mice and primates with a single immunization. These antibodies potently neutralize the virus.

20 Jul 2020

New assay improves detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz have developed a new assay for the detection of antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that they say provides significant advantages over the techniques currently used.

20 Jul 2020

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody among blood donors in China

Now, a study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in July 2020 reports on the low seroprevalence of antibodies to the virus, now designated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), among blood donors in Wuhan, the Chinese city it all started in, and two other equally large cities in China.

17 Jul 2020

Nanotechnology plays major role in COVID-19 vaccine development

From mRNA vaccines entering clinical trials, to peptide-based vaccines and using molecular farming to scale vaccine production, the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing new and emerging nanotechnologies into the frontlines and the headlines.

15 Jul 2020

EKF introduces novel molecular transport media for dual COVID-19 and influenza sampling

EKF Diagnostics the global in vitro diagnostics company, announces that it has added a novel viral transport media for the safe sample handling and testing of multiple infectious diseases from a single swab to its product range.

From EKF Diagnostics 13 Jul 2020

As winter comes other viruses will compete with SARS-CoV-2 for susceptible hosts

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in July 2020 traces how COVID-19 became the predominant cause of respiratory infection in the period from early January until the present.

10 Jul 2020

Cell 'membrane on a chip' could help test potential drug candidates for COVID-19

Researchers have developed a human cell 'membrane on a chip' that allows continuous monitoring of how drugs and infectious agents interact with our cells, and may soon be used to test potential drug candidates for COVID-19.

6 Jul 2020

Study shows oropharyngeal secretions as alternative for COVID-19 detection

As the global battle to understand and eliminate the coronavirus continues, a new study published in the Journal of Dental Research demonstrates that testing of oropharyngeal secretions may reduce the number of false-negative results from nasal swab testing of patients who have seemingly recovered from the disease.

2 Jul 2020

Developing Vaccines and Therapeutics by Exploiting Structure in Spherical Nucleic Acids

An interview discussing the use of spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) and what they show about the importance of structure in pharmaceutical development.

From Pittcon 2 Jul 2020

New tool to increase accessibility for COVID-19 testing

A research group from the University of California Santa Barbara recently demonstrated a cost-effective, simple, and much less toxic method to isolate host and pathogen nucleic acids and proteins in order to streamline the detection of DNA and RNA viruses – including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

1 Jul 2020

Phosphorylation of SARS-CoV-2 N protein affects its function

Now, a new study by researchers at the University of California San Francisco and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 shows the effect of phosphorylation on the state and function of the N protein.

1 Jul 2020

China imposes lockdowns as new coronavirus cases surge

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic first emerged in a seafood market in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Since then, it has spread to 188 countries and territories and infected more than 10 million people. The viral infection has so far killed more than 500,000 people worldwide.

29 Jun 2020

Researchers develop potential new therapy for common form of muscular dystrophy

Researchers have designed a potential new treatment for one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy, according to a new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

29 Jun 2020

Chronic kidney disease medication doesn’t work, shows study

A major clinical trial from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) reports that a medication called allopurinol, which is prescribed to about 20% of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), doesn’t work as expected. The results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine on June 25, 2020.

28 Jun 2020