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Encouraging results from Phase I NovaVax SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle vaccine trial

NVX-CoV2373, a recombinant nanoparticle vaccine developed by Novavax and manufactured at Emergent Biosolutions, was found to be well tolerated and immunogenic – inducing T-cell response and neutralization antibodies four-fold higher than the mean observed in hospitalized coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, shows a recent study available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

9 Aug 2020

New platform shows potential to generate most effective vaccines with fewest side effects

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is shining a bright spotlight on vaccine development. As numerous vaccines race through clinical trials, physicians and researchers continue to work on developing new vaccine technologies to generate the most effective vaccines with the fewest side effects.

7 Aug 2020

Swansea University tests new way to give vaccines through microneedle skin patches

A revolutionary new way to give vaccines through microneedle skin patches is being tested at Swansea University, thanks to £200,000 of EU funding announced by the Welsh Government.

7 Aug 2020

Research unlocks key mechanism in the communication between brain cells during stroke

Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, and Ludmila Belayev, MD, LSU Health New Orleans Professor of Neuroscience, Neurology and Neurosurgery, has unlocked a key fundamental mechanism in the communication between brain cells when confronted with stroke.

6 Aug 2020

31st International Symposium on Human Identification is going virtual in 2020

Forensic DNA experts from around the world will gather virtually in 2020 for the 31st International Symposium on Human Identification.

6 Aug 2020

Study: UnityPhilly app can help fight America's opioid crisis

Equipped with naloxone and a smartphone app, community members can save lives in the fight against America's opioid crisis, according to a paper from researchers at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health and colleagues published this week in The Lancet journal EClinicalMedicine.

6 Aug 2020

CDC warns acute flaccid myelitis is poised for a comeback in kids this fall

As if the novel coronavirus pandemic was not enough! Now the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns parents and pediatricians to be on the watch for a rare condition called Acute Flaccid Myelitis or AFM for short, which could affect young children and cause unexplained muscle paralysis similar to poliomyelitis. Their report is published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

5 Aug 2020

Researchers discover how to activate brown fat in humans

The receptor responsible for activating the energy-burning property of brown fat in humans has been identified.

5 Aug 2020

New UK supply contract for COVID-19 sample collection kits

EKF Diagnostics Holdings plc, the AIM listed point-of-care business, announces that it has received an initial order worth £3 m from a partner from the private sector to supply PrimeStore MTM, a novel patented sample collection device, to be used in a COVID-19 testing programme for UK staff.

From EKF Diagnostics 5 Aug 2020

Study: "Memory" T cells that recognize common cold coronaviruses also recognize SARS-CoV-2

Your immune system's "memory" T cells keep track of the viruses they have seen before. This immune cell memory gives the cells a headstart in recognizing and fighting off repeat invaders.

5 Aug 2020

Picomolar inhibitors to SARS-CoV-2 proteins

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 reports the development of mini-inhibitors based on computational design, that are suitable for such topical use.

4 Aug 2020

Oxford Nanopore Technologies partners with UK Government to roll out LamPORE, a new generation of COVID-19 test

Oxford Nanopore today announces an agreement with the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care, to roll out its novel LamPORE test.

From Oxford Nanopore Technologies 3 Aug 2020

Pre-COVID-19 coronavirus antibodies fail to neutralize SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in Austria have shown that antibodies with potent neutralizing activity against a well-established seasonal coronavirus had no neutralizing activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2 Aug 2020

From swab to sequencing - scalable method for identifying SARS-CoV-2

A research group headed by Stanford University scientists has developed a scalable, high throughput method to generate high fidelity whole genome and HLA sequencing, viral genomes, and representation of human transcriptome from single nasopharyngeal swabs of coronavirus disease (COVID19) patients. Their results are published on the medRxiv preprint server.

30 Jul 2020

Novel vaccine candidate robustly protects non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2

The development of a safe and effective vaccine will likely be required to end the COVID-19 pandemic. A group of scientists, led by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center immunologist Dan H. Barouch, MD, PhD, now report that a leading candidate COVID-19 vaccine developed at BIDMC in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson raised neutralizing antibodies and robustly protected non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

30 Jul 2020

Researchers are developing comprehensive catalog of functional elements of human and mouse genomes

Scientists around the world have access to a rich trove of information through the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE)--annotated versions of the human and mouse genomes that are vital for interpreting their genetic codes.

30 Jul 2020

Relatives of SARS-CoV-2 may pose a health threat for years to come

Coronaviruses are zoonotic viruses that jump from animals to humans and cause infection. There are many types of common human coronaviruses, which usually cause mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses, like the common cold. Most people get infected with one or more of coronavirus types 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1 at some point in their lives.

29 Jul 2020

Iota-carrageenan from red seaweed inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in laboratory conditions

In a recent bioRxiv paper, a research group from the Marinomed Biotech biopharmaceutical company in Austria showed that a sulfated polysaccharide iota-carrageenan has the propensity to inhibit cell entry of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by using an in vitro neutralization assay.

29 Jul 2020

Study explores if prior exposure to common cold viruses may affect SARS-CoV-2 severity

A study led by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG) shows that some healthy individuals possess immune cells capable of recognizing the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

29 Jul 2020

WHO and NDWG launch framework for evaluation of new tests for TB infection

WHO and the Stop TB Partnership's New Diagnostics Working Group launched today a framework for the evaluation of new tests for tuberculosis infection.

29 Jul 2020