Reverse Transcriptase News and Research

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Virology of the human monkeypox virus

A new review to be posted in the Virus Research journal aims to provide an overview of the recent advances reported concerning hMPXV virology.

21 Sep 2022

New antiviral mechanism of action for an FDA-approved thiopurine known as 6-thioguanine

Researchers described a novel antiviral mechanism of action for an FDA (food and drug administration)-approved thiopurine known as 6-thioguanine (6-TG).

21 Sep 2022

In Denmark, Omicron reinfections reveal ineffective post-COVID-19 immunity

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers investigated variant-wise SARS-CoV-2 reinfection cases in Denmark.

20 Sep 2022

The relationship between antigen concentration and diagnostic test performance for SARS-CoV-2 on different types of samples

Researchers investigated how antigen concentration and viral load in different specimen types affected the performance of SARS-CoV-2 rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs).

19 Sep 2022

Can cod liver oil supplementation prevent COVID-19 and other acute respiratory infections?

A new study aimed to analyze whether cod liver oil could prevent serious COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 infection, or other acute respiratory infections during the winter of 2020-2021.

9 Sep 2022

Overview of Marburg virus outbreak in Ghana

Researchers described the Marburg virus (MARV) July 2022 outbreak in Ghana and efforts globally to curtail MARV transmission.

23 Aug 2022

Flipping the switch on retrons to combat antimicrobial resistance

In this interview, we speak to Dr. Jacob Bobonis about his new discovery regarding retrons and how they could be used to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

23 Aug 2022

What is the impact of COVID-19 on maternal, fetal, and neonatal characteristics?

In a new study, researchers assessed the impact of early onset COVID-19 on maternal, fetal, and neonatal characteristics.

16 Aug 2022

A direct lineage-typing RT-PCR assay reveals insights into the transition from Omicron BA.1 to BA.2 dominance in Sweden

Researchers monitored the remarkably rapid Omicron BA.1 to BA.2 sublineage dominance transition in the Swedish population in early 2022 on a day-to-day basis using a customized lineage-typing RT-PCR assay.

10 Aug 2022

A novel 3D-printed lab-on-a-chip device concurrently detects SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in saliva

Researchers described the development and applications of a 3D-printed lab-on-a-chip device that quickly detected the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in patient's saliva.

10 Aug 2022

Evaluating vaccine effectiveness against Omicron BA.5 and BA.2 in Portugal

Researchers estimated the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the primary and booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines against reinfection by Omicron BA.5 and BA.2 lineages and severe post-infection outcomes.

9 Aug 2022

Inhaled aprotinin found to reduce viral load in mild-to-moderate COVID-19

A recent paper describes the use of aprotinin, a protease inhibitor that works across several pathways, to reduce the severity of COVID-19.

8 Aug 2022

What is the vaccine effectiveness of BNT162b2 against Omicron in five to 11-year-olds?

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine against the new SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, Omicron, in five to 11-year-old children of Ontario, Canada.

8 Aug 2022

The efficacy of honokiol in inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication in cell culture

Researchers evaluated the efficacy of honokiol in inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication in cell cultures.

2 Aug 2022

Vaccination after COVID-19 recovery reduces reinfection risk by almost 50%

Researchers estimated the probability of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection following COVID-19 recovery. Additionally, they determined the effectiveness of the primary vaccination series in reducing the reinfection risk.

29 Jul 2022

Naturally-infected, captive white-tailed deer in Texas have persistent anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

Researchers performed a longitudinal study to examine the neutralizing antibody kinetics of a naturally-SARS-CoV-2 infected white-tailed deer population for around 16 months.

26 Jul 2022

BNT162b2 vaccination induces moderate immunity against Omicron variant in children

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine against the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant of concern (VOC) Omicron in five to 11-year-old children.

26 Jul 2022

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies and pre-existing lung diseases may be independent predictors of long COVID

Researchers evaluated the incidence of long coronavirus disease (long COVID) in a demographically diverse population with different disease severities to inform clinicians and future vaccine development strategies.

21 Jul 2022

How effective is previous infection in preventing reinfection with Omicron BA.4/BA.5?

Researchers investigated the protection conferred by previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in preventing reinfection with BA.4 or BA.5 Omicron subvariants in the residents of Qatar.

18 Jul 2022

Researchers develop a rapid, specific, and accurate RT-qPCR-based method to detect and distinguish between Omicron sublineages

Researchers developed a novel, rapid and accurate qRT-PCR-based method to detect Omicron sublineages BA.1/BA.1.1 and BA.2 in patient samples.