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Identifying cardiopulmonary processes involved in severe COVID-19

Researchers in the United States have identified cardiopulmonary processes that may partly explain why some individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) develop respiratory failure.

4 Oct 2020

Mapping the evolutionary profile of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 using mutation order approach

Several months into the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we still do not know much about the early evolutionary history and order of mutational events of the virus during this pandemic.

28 Sep 2020

Anti-N-protein IgG may predict severity of COVID-19

A recent study by researchers at the University of Miami, Miami VA Healthcare System and Express Gene and published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 reports on the prognostic significance of the anti-N Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

28 Sep 2020

Human-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed

Cat-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been experimentally proven, but little is known about the significance of this novel virus as a feline pathogen or its reverse zoonotic potential. The establishment of new animal reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 could pose serious problems for human health in the future.

24 Sep 2020

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 with D614G mutation in a second wave infection in Houston

A recent study reveals that the genetic variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detected in the initial phase of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic differ from the variants detected in a massive second wave of infection in Houston, Texas. The study is currently available on the medRxiv preprint server.

24 Sep 2020

Common genetic variants may influence susceptibility to COVID-19

Researchers in the United States and Japan have conducted a study suggesting that a commonly occurring genetic variant influences susceptibility to infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

23 Sep 2020

Study shows key genetic differences in ADHD between African American and Caucasian children

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have shown there may be key genetic differences in the causes of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder between African Americans and people of European ancestry, which may play an important part in how patients of different ethnic backgrounds respond to treatments for this condition.

22 Sep 2020

Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 with antisense oligonucleotides

A part of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral RNA is highly conserved. Researchers have used this as a target for designing antisense oligonucleotide gapmers to cleave the RNA and disrupt virus replication. Their research is published as a preprint on the online server bioRxiv in September 2020.

22 Sep 2020

Study identifies new regions of positive selection in SARS-CoV-2

Based on structural modeling of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and proteins, the researchers from Duke University argue that newly identified regions of positive selection in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) likely affect species-specific RNA instead of protein function – improving our understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for highly unique biological properties of this virus.

20 Sep 2020

New insights into human genetics

Who are we? Where did we come from? How did we get here? Throughout the ages, humans have sought answers to these questions, pursuing wisdom through religion, philosophy, and eventually science.

19 Sep 2020

Adaptations found in RNA secondary structure in genes of two proteins of SARS-CoV-2

To investigate mutations in coronaviruses, a new study by scientists at Duke University and published on the preprint server bioRxiv, used a computational methodology, adaptiPhy, which identifies extra nucleotide substitutions in certain parts of the viral genome compared to mutations that have no effect on the genome.

18 Sep 2020

Genetic variants of human ACE2 are differentially recognized by SARS-CoV-2

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin reveals that the genetic variants of human angiotensin 2 (ACE2) receptors can have altered recognition by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

18 Sep 2020

Different variants of SARS-CoV-2 identified in San Francisco Bay Area sewage

A team of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, Innovative Genomics Institute, Illumina, Inc., and Stanford University has performed a genomic sequencing of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) collected from sewage in the San Francisco Bay Area.

15 Sep 2020

Research finds genetic factors that protect from chronification of migraines

According to existing estimates, migraine is a highly prevalent ailment, with about 15 percent of global population suffering from it at one time or another.

14 Sep 2020

Computational models screen for coronaviruses likely to infect humans

The researchers from Rochester Institute of Technology and the Hauptmann-Woodward Medical Research Institute produced models of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) found on outbreak strains of betacoronaviruses and its interaction with the host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

14 Sep 2020

Inherited variation in GATA3 gene is linked to relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are investigating the inherited genetics of childhood leukemia and how particular gene variations can affect treatment outcomes.

11 Sep 2020

Understanding SARS-CoV-2 evolution requires more focus on structural variants

Researchers in the United States and Canada warn that more attention needs to be paid to the role that structural variants and recombination in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have played in the evolutionary history of the virus.

3 Sep 2020

Two viral gene targets needed in SARS-CoV-2 detection by PCR, say researchers

Researchers at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, and collaborators have warned against only targeting one viral gene when carrying out reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

27 Aug 2020

Researchers shed light on Boston's SARS-CoV-2 superspreading event

Researchers in the United States have shown that failure to prevent the importation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into Massachusetts led to superspreading that drastically altered the course of the epidemic and amplified the outbreak in this major urban area.

26 Aug 2020

BM32 vaccine against grass pollen allergy could be potential treatment for hepatitis B infection

Chronic hepatitis B infections represent a global health problem that could hitherto only be treated by chemotherapy.