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G6PD enzyme offers a promising therapeutic target in autoimmune diseases

A team from the University of Valencia, the La Fe Hospital Health Research Institute, and the INCLIVA Institute have participated in the identification of an enzyme (G6PD) as a possible therapeutic target in autoimmune diseases or in controlling exacerbated inflammatory responses such as the one caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection.

25 Jun 2020

Academy of Finland funds projects for vaccine and drug development for COVID-19

The Academy of Finland has selected the projects to be funded from the call for research into COVID-19 vaccines and pharmaceutical development.

25 Jun 2020

Early childhood vaccinations may offer protection against COVID-19

A group of Lithuanian and Kurdish scientists have raised a hypothesis that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine could protect children from COVID-19.

25 Jun 2020

Study assesses impact of anti-SARS-CoV-2 convalescent plasma in COVID-19 disease

The current COVID-19 pandemic is still very much active in most parts of the world. In the absence of effective antiviral drugs or vaccines, scientists are studying the use of blood plasma from convalescent COVID-19 patients, banking on its neutralizing antibody content.

25 Jun 2020

Obesity and COVID-19: Cause or effect?

A new University College London study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 dissects the contribution and incidence of obesity in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and describes measures to mitigate the impact of lockdown measures.

25 Jun 2020

Protein profile in serum reflects COVID-19 severity

The wide range of manifestations of COVID-19 has continued to baffle investigators. Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 shows that blood proteins in COVID-19 patients change over time, and these can possibly predict or reflect the severity of disease. More, they may present targets for treatment.

25 Jun 2020

Immune response variations across the COVID-19 spectrum

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 describes differences in the adaptive and innate immune response in mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. This may mean that permanent immune responses occur only in patients who recover from severe COVID-19.

25 Jun 2020

Platelets may be contributing to COVID-19

The current pandemic of COVID-19 is characterized mainly by severe acute respiratory distress of the lungs, but other organ dysfunctions are also being observed, including the heart and blood vessels. Now, a new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 describes the abnormal activation of platelets in this disease and the link between this phenomenon and poor outcomes for COVID-19 patients.

24 Jun 2020

A 'quick and easy' COVID-19 test developed for population-scale screening

Global endeavors to fight the Covid-19 pandemic heavily rely on accurate, fast and frequent tests for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 - "test, test, test", as the World Health Organization has bluntly put it.

24 Jun 2020

New project aims to track coronavirus using human waste

Recent studies in the Netherlands and other places have shown that the presence of SARS-Coronavirus-2, or the novel coronavirus, can be detected in human waste.

24 Jun 2020

New assay rapidly tests SARS-CoV-2 neutralization and screens antivirals

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, have developed a new platform that can rapidly test neutralizing antibody activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and perform high-throughput screening of potential antiviral agents.

24 Jun 2020

Effective neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 by synthetic nanobodies targeting the spike protein

In their recent bioRxiv paper, a multinational group of researchers reported rapid isolation and characterization of nanobodies from a synthetic library (known as sybodies) that target the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein – with a strikingly high neutralization ability.

24 Jun 2020

ACE inhibition in kidney could influence pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2

The dynamics of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression in the kidney could have implications for the infectivity and pathogenicity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), say researchers.

24 Jun 2020

Structured 'cut-and-paste' design enables streamlined development of SARS-CoV-2 molecular probes

A seminal study by US researchers, currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, demonstrates how structure-based design can be efficiently employed to develop molecular probes targeting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike and its domains, with possible future use in diagnostics, treatment and vaccine development.

24 Jun 2020

Far-UVC light can efficiently and safely kill airborne coronaviruses

More than 99.9% of seasonal coronaviruses present in airborne droplets were killed when exposed to a particular wavelength of ultraviolet light that is safe to use around humans, a new study at Columbia University Irving Medical Center has found.

24 Jun 2020

Statin therapy linked to lower death rate in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

The use of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins is associated with a lower death rate and a lower incidence of mechanical ventilation in patients hospitalized with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), researchers report June 24 in Cell Metabolism.

24 Jun 2020

Researchers develop eDNA method to prevent emergence of pathogens

As the SARS-CoV-2 puts a new focus on zoonotic pathogens, a Washington State University researcher has developed a method to use environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect disease in the vast international trade of aquatic animals.

24 Jun 2020

Kerafast offers the Delta-G-VSV Pseudotyping System for coronavirus research

Kerafast Inc., developers of an online platform to facilitate access to unique lab-made bioresearch materials, today announced the availability of the Delta-G-VSV Pseudotyping System for coronavirus research applications. The system, developed by the Michael Whitt laboratory at University of Tennessee, enables studies of SARS-CoV-2 viral entry and COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness at just biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) containment.

From Kerafast 24 Jun 2020

Avacta provides update on COVID-19 rapid antigen test development partnership with Cytiva

Avacta Group plc is pleased to announce that the rapid test strips to detect SARS-COV-2 spike protein have been evaluated by Avacta’s partners at Cytiva.

From Cytiva Life Sciences 24 Jun 2020

Abnormal findings in testicular tissue of COVID-19 patients, SARS-CoV-2 mostly undetected

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over 9.263 million cases and taken more than 477,000 lives as of June 24, 2020 – just six months after the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, was reported. The illness, called COVID-19 disease, caused by SARS-CoV-2 is a severe pneumonic illness, caused by the entry of the virus into the type II alveolar cells.

24 Jun 2020