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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

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

Researchers try and pop SARS-CoV-2 with an AFM tip - virion surprisingly resilient

Researchers at Semmelweis University and the National Public Health Center in Hungary have conducted an imaging study showing that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a highly dynamic and resilient virus

20 Sep 2020

Novel sequencing method could be useful for COVID-19 research

Researchers at the University of Chicago and the Cleveland Clinic have presented a novel single-cell RNA sequencing method that could be a useful application for research into the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

20 Sep 2020

A novel method for 3D printing of milk-based products

Researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) developed a method to perform direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing of milk-based products at room temperature, while maintaining its temperature sensitive nutrients.

19 Sep 2020

New method isolates antibody-like proteins that capture and neutralize SARS-CoV-2

Scientists have used a new high-speed, in vitro selection method to isolate 9 antibody-like proteins (ALPs) that bind to the SARS-CoV-2 virus - 4 of which also exhibited neutralizing activity - within 4 days, according to a new study.

19 Sep 2020

Research identifies new alteration in the brain of people with Alzheimer's

Despite the important advances in research in recent years, the etiopathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is still not fully clarified. One of the key questions is to decipher why the production of beta amyloid, the protein that produces the toxic effect and triggers the pathology, increases in the brain of people with Alzheimer's.

19 Sep 2020

Scientists identify new drug to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection consequences

Scientists from the Department of Cell Biology of the University of Malaga and the Andalusian Centre for Nanomedicine and Biotechnology have made progress in finding new rapid implementation therapies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying a new drug that could prevent or mitigate the consequences derived from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

19 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

Enhancing the efficacy of anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy for cancer

For most people, there is no scarier diagnosis than that of cancer. While treatments including chemotherapy and radiotherapy have been used since the 1940s and late 1800s, respectively, immunotherapy has more recently emerged as a viable and successful approach to cancer treatment.

18 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

Researchers develop non-infectious nanoparticle probes to study SARS-CoV-2

Scientists and researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, submitted their findings to ACS Nano, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal, on their collaboration to develop SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle probes that are used to study fundamental interactions between SARS-CoV-2 Spike proteins and human cells.

18 Sep 2020

S-pseudotyped VLPs offer promising COVID-19 vaccine platform

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in September 2020 reports on a Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) platform that produces VLPs expressing the important spike antigen of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

18 Sep 2020

Key China COVID-19 study produced results that influenced subsequent research on coronavirus

Early in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a small study in China produced results that influenced subsequent research on the virus.

18 Sep 2020

Study invalidates Ebselen and other broad-spectrum SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors

Other novel compounds with Mpro inhibitory activity have also been claimed to have antiviral activity. These include ebselen, disulfiram, tideglusib, carmofur, shikonin, and PX-12. A new research paper discusses the role of these molecules as potential Mpro inhibitors in the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

18 Sep 2020