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New antibody assay for COVID-19 promises sensitive mass-scale detection

A new paper by researchers at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020, reports on the development of a serologic assay that is suitable for sensitive high-throughput antibody testing for COVID-19.

15 Sep 2020

RNA nanoparticles show great promise for targeted delivery of anticancer drugs

A new study by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James) shows that RNA nanoparticles have elastic and rubbery properties that help explain why these particles target tumors so efficiently and why they possess lower toxicity in animal studies.

15 Sep 2020

Effective, simple, safe self-amplifying RNA vaccines

A recent review paper in the journal Current Opinion in Virology in September 2020 shows how a new generation of RNA vaccines called self-amplifying RNA vaccines are more potent than conventional mRNA vaccines and could hold the key to the global production of cost-effective potent COVID-19 vaccines.

11 Sep 2020

Bedrails, door handles and ECG monitors hotspots for SARS-CoV-2 in hospital wards

A new study published in the journal Science of The Total Environment in September 2020 reports that the virus can be detected rapidly using already available technology, which will help to monitor viral spread within healthcare facilities more closely and enable better control of the pandemic.

10 Sep 2020

Researchers develop a simple and low-cost platform for diagnosing tropical fevers

Dengue, zika, and chikungunya viruses are transmitted by mosquitoes and cause tropical fevers with similar symptoms, making accurate diagnosis complicated.

10 Sep 2020

Host gene editing main driving force of SARS-CoV-2 mutations

A new study published on the aRxiv preprint server in September 2020 shows that the host immune response, mediated by two RNA editors, causes the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to adapt and change strain characteristics.

9 Sep 2020

Using proteins to track SARS-CoV-2 infections through wastewater

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in September 2020 describes the measurement of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) proteins in wastewater as a reliable way to track the virus in the community.

6 Sep 2020

Combined point-of-care nucleic acid and antibody testing increases COVID-19 detection

A Cambridge hospital has piloted the use of combined rapid point-of-care nucleic acid and antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection after researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that this approach was superior to virus detection alone for diagnosing COVID-19 disease.

2 Sep 2020

NIH provides scale-up and manufacturing support for new COVID-19 testing technologies

The National Institutes of Health today announced $129.3 million in scale-up and manufacturing support for a new set of COVID-19 testing technologies as part of its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative.

2 Sep 2020

A nanoscaffolding approach for rapid design of highly immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 vaccines

A research group from Slovenia, Switzerland, and Germany shows how nanoscaffolded assemblies may neutralize interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and cell receptor, providing adequate protection in a surrogate infection assay and warranting the advance of such platforms in the pursuit for the effective vaccine.

31 Aug 2020

T cell epitopes from recovered COVID-19 patients identified for vaccine

A new study by researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 collates the available database of SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes gathered from 8 studies of COVID-19 patients who recovered. This could serve as a launchpad to fill in knowledge gaps regarding the immunological aspects of this disease, and drive towards an effective T cell vaccine.

31 Aug 2020

Bio-Helix announces approved patent for ECL

Bio-Helix is pleased to be notified of the approved patent application for its proprietary enhanced chemiluminescent substrates (ECL).

24 Aug 2020

New type of immunotherapy extends survival of mice with triple negative breast tumors

Immunotherapies for cancer -; treatments that prime the immune system to attack tumors -; are valuable weapons in the anti-cancer arsenal. But some cancers are more difficult to target with this strategy than others.

17 Aug 2020

FDA grants emergency use authorization to Yale's SalivaDirect COVID-19 diagnostic test

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Yale School of Public Health for its SalivaDirect COVID-19 diagnostic test, which uses a new method of processing saliva samples when testing for COVID-19 infection.

15 Aug 2020

Promega introduces new serological antibody test for COVID-19

Promega Corporation today announced the launch of its new serological antibody test for COVID-19 to detect the presence of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

From Promega Corporation 13 Aug 2020

Study: Anti-microRNA drug significantly reduces miR-92a levels in human peripheral blood

A single intravenous dose of MRG-110, an anti-microRNA drug, significantly reduced miR-92a levels in the blood of healthy humans.

12 Aug 2020

Large-scale analysis of Alport syndrome reveals the effectiveness of existing treatments

A large-scale analysis of the clinical characteristics of Alport syndrome in Japanese patients has revealed that the effectiveness of existing treatment with ACE inhibitors and/or angiotensin receptor blockers (RAS inhibitors) varies depending on the type of mutation in the syndrome's causal gene (COL4A5).

7 Aug 2020

Fast, cheap and easy COVID-19 test from Yale

As a result, a new study by Yale University researchers and published on the preprint server medRxiv in August 2020 shows that a new saliva test named SalivaDirect simplifies the test approach, avoids invasive samples collection, and the need for trained personnel to collect specimens.

6 Aug 2020

Test, trace, isolate key to safe schools in COVID-19

Researchers led by Professor Kristine Maccartney from the National Centre for Immunization Research and surveillance, the Children's Hospital at Westmead and the University of Westmead, Australia explain that schools around the world have shut down to prevent the virus transmission.

4 Aug 2020

Synthetic riboregulators detect SARS-CoV-2 genome parts in 40 minutes

By exploiting the tools of synthetic biology, the researchers from Turkey have successfully developed a de novo riboregulator system for rapidly detecting the presence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomic material. Their paper is currently available on medRxiv preprint server.

2 Aug 2020