Codon News and Research

RSS

Study in India shows SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is evolving

In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* pre-print server, researchers analyzed the whole-genome sequences of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) collected from SARS-CoV-2-infected patients in Delhi, India, between June 2021 and March 2022.

18 May 2022

Camelid IFNs could play important role in combating emerging zoonotic pathogens

In a recent study published in the Developmental & Comparative Immunology journal, the discovery of a novel form of mammalian interferon-Beta (IFN-β) with four cysteine residues from the dromedary camel and the five remaining members of the mammalian suborder Tylopoda is described.

17 May 2022

Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 by plant-made neutralizing monoclonal antibodies

In a recent study published in the journal Vaccines, researchers developed plant-based monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2).

17 May 2022

SARS-CoV-2 variants are not evolving to escape from T cell-mediated immunity

In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* pre-print server, researchers demonstrated that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants did not evolve further to escape from T cell-mediated immunity.

6 May 2022

Relevance of stem-loop 2 motif in SARS-CoV-2 and astroviruses

A recent paper posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server demonstrated that the stem-loop 2 motif (s2m) was substantial for astroviruses but unnecessary for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

5 May 2022

CRISPR/Cas9 deletions induce adverse on-target genomic effects

Researchers utilized a CRISPR/Cas9 system to evaluate the usage of tRNA by deleting two tRNA genes from the genomes of hyper hepatocellular carcinoma and human near-haploid chronic myeloid leukemia cells.

27 Apr 2022

New, longest documented case of persistent acute SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers describe a 16-month-old case of SARS-CoV-2 infection in an immunocompromised individual.

18 Apr 2022

Exploring evolutionary trajectories of SARS-CoV-2 interacting proteins in bats and primates

Researchers performed high-throughput evolutionary analyses of genes encoding 334 SARS-CoV-2 viral-interacting proteins of modern humans, primates, and bats.

11 Apr 2022

The emergence and limited spread of the Mu SARS-CoV-2 variant

A recent report provides insights into the restricted worldwide spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Mu (B.1.621) variant.

4 Apr 2022

MERS-CoV-related viruses invade host cells via bat angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors

A recent study discovered that near relatives of MERS-CoV utilize ACE2 as functional receptors.

31 Mar 2022

Newcastle disease virus-based trivalent vaccine found to be effective across SARS-CoV-2 variants in mice

In a new study, researchers tested the bi-, tri-, and tetravalent formulations of Newcastle disease virus (NDV)-based low-cost vaccine in mice.

29 Mar 2022

Study evaluates mutation-induced SARS-CoV-2 spike protein fold stability

Researchers evaluated the stability and expression of mutations in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.

24 Mar 2022

Study evaluates interactions between SARS-CoV-2 proteins and viral and host RNA

A new study investigated the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 proteins and viral and host ribonucleic acid in virus-infected cells.

22 Mar 2022

Origins and evolutions of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant in the UK

In a new study, researchers presented the origins and evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 in the United Kingdom.

10 Mar 2022

A new view of SARS-CoV-2 genome structure

Researchers performed DMS mutational profiling with sequencing and DREEM clustering to determine the SARS-CoV-2 RNA secondary structure.

8 Mar 2022

UH researchers receive grant for developing new imaging technique to peer into ribosomes

Two University of Houston researchers are developing a type of spectroscopy to help understand how ribosomes make proteins deep within cells, the discovery of which could potentially guide drug design to treat cancers and viral infections.

8 Mar 2022

Development of RT-qPCR assays for differentiating SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv*preprint server, a team of researchers from Israel developed and validated novel reverse transcriptase - quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assays. The new assays enable the rapid and high throughput identification and differentiation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants.

8 Mar 2022

Semarion raises £2.14 million GBP ($2.89 million USD) seed funding

Investors include Parkwalk Advisors, University of Cambridge Seed Funds, Martlet Capital, and angel investors.

From Semarion 24 Feb 2022

Research shows the impact of accessory genes deletion in SARS-CoV-2 evolution

In a recent study published in the journal PLoS ONE, researchers investigated the effect of genetic variability based on accessory gene deletions on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission and the clinical severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

22 Feb 2022

Study confirms SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has a decreased ability to enter lung cells

A large multinational group of researchers has shown how the Omicron variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has gained exceptional immune evasion properties but also a much lower propensity to enter cells such as those in lung alveoli, resulting in its reduced pathogenicity. Their paper is currently released as an unedited version of the manuscript prior to publication in the journal Nature.

1 Feb 2022