Pathogen News and Research

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COVID-19 tests with the new assay may be just as reliable as laboratory-based molecular tests

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have designed a high-quality assay that can be used in at-home tests for rapid COVID-19 screening.

3 Jan 2022

The use of monoclonal antibodies against infectious pathogens

Joshua Tan of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health wrote a review article in the journal DNA and Cell Biology about the role of monoclonal antibodies and briefly described a study on bispecific antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2.

30 Dec 2021

Study explores relative reproduction of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant in South Africa

A new study, focused on the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, presented a modeling result from an analysis of genome surveillance data in Gauteng province, South Africa, using an existing estimation technique.

30 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 infection can produce self-attacking autoantibodies

Infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 can trigger an immune response that lasts well beyond the initial infection and recovery - even among people who had mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, according to Cedars-Sinai investigators.

30 Dec 2021

Intestinal organoids used to explain why bats infected with viruses do not succumb to diseases

Experiments attempting to explain why bats can be infected with many viruses at a time without succumbing to diseases such as COVID-19 - knowledge that could help us to reduce the threat to humans of infectious disease - have struggled until now with the fact that live wild bats make poor research subjects.

30 Dec 2021

At least 3 exposures to vaccine or virus needed for minimum protection against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron

Researchers determine the serum neutralizing and binding activity against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in individuals with different levels of immunity.

29 Dec 2021

New strategy to create a cheap and rapid COVID-19 test based on isothermal amplification

Russian researchers have developed a strategy to create a cheap and rapid COVID-19 test based on isothermal amplification. According to their publication in Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology, use of this strategy will make it possible to create universal test systems for any of the COVID-19 variants.

29 Dec 2021

Researchers reveal an unrecognized pathway promoting long-term survival of T cells

They are at the forefront in the fight against viruses, bacteria, and malignant cells: the T cells of our immune system. But the older we get, the fewer of them our body produces.

23 Dec 2021

Importance of pneumococcal vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic

A new study discusses the necessity and role of pneumococcal immunization in strengthening the global health system amid the current COVID-19 pandemic.

22 Dec 2021

Promising new drug target for TB identified

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the hardy bacterial species that causes tuberculosis (TB), has an unexpected vulnerability that future drugs may be able to exploit, according to a study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

21 Dec 2021

Cheap and accessible methods for genome sequencing will help tackle future pandemics

A worldwide consortium of scientists, led by the Earlham Institute and the University of Liverpool in the UK, mark a significant milestone in equipping researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with cheap and accessible methods for sequencing large collections of bacterial pathogens - at a cost of less than $10USD per genome.

21 Dec 2021

Study casts light on how to combine antibiotics and phage therapy to fight bacterial infection

New research has moved a step closer to harnessing viruses to fight bacterial infection, reducing the threat of antibiotic resistance.

20 Dec 2021

Lung memory B-cells provide primary protection against SARS-CoV-2 reinfection

Researchers study influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infection models to identify lung memory B cells during viral infection.

20 Dec 2021

Long-read RNA sequencing identifies important host immune responses during SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers conduct a comprehensive in vitro analysis of relatively unexplored host immune responses during SARS-CoV-2 infection.

20 Dec 2021

Study offers an analysis of fungicide resistance and informs management strategies

The use of fungicides to treat plant pathogens dates back 150 years, when a mixture of lime and copper sulfate, known as the "Bordeaux mixture," was used to control fungal diseases in French vineyards. However, as fungicide usage has increased, their efficacy has decreased thanks to a phenomenon known as fungicide resistance.

19 Dec 2021

CRISPR-based microfluidic platform detects respiratory viruses and SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers in the US have developed a novel multiplexed diagnostic platform based on CRISPR-based approaches and microfluidics - enabling robust and simultaneous surveillance of multiple viruses and viral variants. Currently, the paper is available on the medRxiv* preprint server pending peer review.

19 Dec 2021

Identifying protein targets in SARS-CoV-2 via machine learning

A new study provides insight on using an ML-based algorithm to analyze and predict therapeutic targets in emerging pathogens with a range of mutations.

17 Dec 2021

Investigating SARS-CoV-2 genomics-informed outbreaks using new bioinformatics tools

Researchers have created a tool designed to make as much use of the overwhelming amount of SARS-CoV-2 data as possible.

17 Dec 2021

Using fungal vaccine to train stem cells and enhance immune response to infections

The research group Immunology of Fungal Infections at the University of Valencia (UV) has investigated a fungal vaccine with which to train stem cells and hematopoietic progenitors (which produce all the cells of the blood and lifelong immune system) to improve the immune response to infections. The work has been published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

16 Dec 2021

Researchers spot signs of 'pre-resistance' in bacteria for the first time

Scientists have spotted signs of 'pre-resistance' in bacteria for the first time – signs that particular bacteria are likely to become resistant to antibiotics in the future – in a new study led by UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital researchers.

15 Dec 2021

Pathogen News and Research

COVID-19 tests with the new assay may be just as reliable as laboratory-based molecular tests

The use of monoclonal antibodies against infectious pathogens

Study explores relative reproduction of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant in South Africa

SARS-CoV-2 infection can produce self-attacking autoantibodies

Intestinal organoids used to explain why bats infected with viruses do not succumb to diseases

At least 3 exposures to vaccine or virus needed for minimum protection against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron

New strategy to create a cheap and rapid COVID-19 test based on isothermal amplification

Researchers reveal an unrecognized pathway promoting long-term survival of T cells

Importance of pneumococcal vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic

Promising new drug target for TB identified

Cheap and accessible methods for genome sequencing will help tackle future pandemics

Study casts light on how to combine antibiotics and phage therapy to fight bacterial infection

Lung memory B-cells provide primary protection against SARS-CoV-2 reinfection

Long-read RNA sequencing identifies important host immune responses during SARS-CoV-2 infection

Study offers an analysis of fungicide resistance and informs management strategies

CRISPR-based microfluidic platform detects respiratory viruses and SARS-CoV-2 variants

Identifying protein targets in SARS-CoV-2 via machine learning

Investigating SARS-CoV-2 genomics-informed outbreaks using new bioinformatics tools

Using fungal vaccine to train stem cells and enhance immune response to infections

Researchers spot signs of 'pre-resistance' in bacteria for the first time

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