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Novel mRNA delivery vehicle provides alternative to LNPs for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines

Researchers in the United States have developed an alternative messenger RNA (mRNA) delivery platform to the lipid nanoparticles that are currently used in vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

18 Apr 2021

Advancing the Diagnosis and Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

In this interview, News-Medical talks to Dr. Marcos Quintela Vasquez about the work he is conducting regarding the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer in partnership with Porvair Sciences.

From Porvair Sciences Limited 7 Apr 2021

New system facilitates real-time imaging of biological, pathological processes

Researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, have developed a novel far-red light-emitting luciferin-luciferase system that is more efficient than those available commercially. An article on the subject is published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

30 Mar 2021

Fluoxetine (Prozac) performs strongly in vitro against SARS-CoV-2 (including mutants)

Researchers from Finland, to expand on these studies, tested some of these drugs against the new SARS-CoV-2 variants. The study is published on the preprint server bioRxiv.

24 Mar 2021

Researchers develop innovative biosensor that can detect and quantitate SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers have generated protease-activatable fluorescent and luminescent biosensors for SARS-CoV-2 MPro (main protease) and PLPro (papain-like protease) activity, one based on “flip” GFP (FlipGFP), and the other based on circularly permuted firefly luciferase (FFluc).

24 Mar 2021

Researchers develop new method for measuring immunity to coronavirus

Igor Stagljar made his career building molecular tools to combat cancer. But when the pandemic hit last March, he aimed his expertise at a new adversary, SARS-CoV-2.

22 Mar 2021

A green tea compound shows anti-SARS-CoV-2 properties in vitro

Researchers show the antiviral potential of a green tea compound against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

22 Mar 2021

Research demonstrates multivalent nanobodies overcome SARS-CoV-2 variant mutations

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, researchers isolated anti-RBD nanobodies from llamas and “nanomice” (they engineered to produce VHHs cloned from alpacas, dromedaries and camels).

10 Mar 2021

Scientists successfully restore circadian function in the liver of arrhythmic mice

Circadian clocks, which regulate the metabolic functions of all living beings over a period of about 24 hours, are one of the most fundamental biological mechanisms.

18 Feb 2021

New SARS-CoV-2 variants resistant to convalescent sera and and monoclonal antibodies

Researchers studying the effect of convalescent sera and monoclonal antibodies from recovered patients found the UK and South African SARS-CoV-2 variants are more resistant to neutralization compared to the wild-type virus.

25 Jan 2021

New data on impact of spike mutations and B117 UK variant on neutralization by mAbs and sera

A recent paper by British and Dutch scientists, currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, shows that the neutralizing activity of monoclonal antibodies can be dramatically reduced by mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein – unlike polyclonal antibodies generated after natural infection that remain active regardless of any introduced amino acid changes.

21 Jan 2021

Could fenofibrate be an effective antiviral against SARS-CoV-2?

The resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2, has led to renewed efforts to find effective antivirals, both newly developed or repurposed drugs. A study reports the efficacy of the cholesterol-reducing drug fenofibrate in reducing infection rates of SARS-CoV-2 in cultured cells.

13 Jan 2021

Discovery of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies from a naïve human Ab library

Now, a new preprint research paper published on the bioRxiv server shows how closely the antibodies formed in exposed humans resemble the germline antibody molecules. This could lead to the development of novel therapeutics to counter the pandemic.

12 Jan 2021

ACE2 receptor is responsible for the wide host range of SARS-CoV-2

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is thought to have a zoonotic origin, perhaps originating in a bat coronavirus with an unknown intermediate host. It is not only very infectious but has been found to infect a wide range of mammals, including dogs, cats, ferrets, hamsters, and minks, besides non-human primates. This range may be still higher, claims a recent preprint that appeared in January 2021 on the bioRxiv server.

6 Jan 2021

A common compound in mouthwashes found to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

Researchers found that cetylpyridinium chloride, found in most mouthwashes, lowers infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro, likely by inhibiting viral fusion with target cells. With more tests to prove validity, mouthwashes could be a simple, cheap way of curbing transmission.

24 Dec 2020

Traditional herbal medicine Respiratory Detox Shot (RDS) inhibits SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza A infection in vitro

As researchers continue to search for antivirals to counter COVID-19, a study presents the potential utility of a decoction called Respiratory Detox Shot (RDS).

16 Dec 2020

Reliable Antibodies Testing for SARS-CoV-2

In this interview, Poncho Meisenheimer, VP of R&D at Promega, talks to News-Medical Life Sciences about the importance of having the reliability for SARS-Co-V-2 antibody tests.

From Promega Corporation 15 Dec 2020

Antifungal agent Itraconazole inhibits SARS CoV-2 in vitro

Itraconazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent that has been shown to have some in vitro activity against SARS-CoV-2 by a team of Belgian and German researchers.

16 Nov 2020

Researchers discover unique anti-cancer function for previously well-characterized protein

The development and progression of cancer is a complicated process that occurs when cells in the body grow out of control. Many different mechanisms and pathways that directly affect cell proliferation have been uncovered.

10 Nov 2020

Study shows brilacidin strongly inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in laboratory cell lines

A recent study by US researchers reveals that brilacidin, a small synthetic molecule with peptide-like properties, exerts potent in vitro antiviral activity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – both as a standalone treatment and in combination with FDA-approved remdesivir. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server.

4 Nov 2020