Severe Acute Respiratory News and Research

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Researchers develop broadly neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 ferritin nanoparticle vaccine

In the continued need for next-generation vaccines that confer broad protection against COVID-19, scientists developed an adjuvanted SARS-CoV-2 Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle (SpFN) vaccine.

30 Mar 2021

Determination of vaccine-elicited SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in breastmilk

A new study has analyzed the levels of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies elicited by the novel COVID-19 vaccines in breastmilk.

30 Mar 2021

More people now willing to get vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, study finds

The study, which appeared on the pre-print server medRxiv, aimed to examine the general public's willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines and their safety concerns.

30 Mar 2021

Scientists develop new method to estimate prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies

In the study, which appeared on the pre-print server medRxiv*, the team also modeled the pandemic phases with exponential growth and decay. The model improves upon maximum likelihood estimates by conditioning on more data.

30 Mar 2021

Nanoparticles elicit neutralizing antibodies to diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants

Spike-protein-based nanoparticle vaccine candidates were retained longer in follicular dendritic cells and showed higher germinal center reactions in lymph node follicles compared to soluble spike protein vaccine.

30 Mar 2021

Using ACE2 structure to predict SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility in animals

Researchers based at the Rice University, Texas, USA, have now demonstrated a novel method of predicting a species' susceptibility to contracting COVID-19, based on the animal's structure of ACE2.

30 Mar 2021

Arginine methylation important in SARS-CoV-2 viral replication

Researchers show that methylation of arginine in the virus nucleocapsid protein controls the protein's functions and plays a role in the life cycle of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

29 Mar 2021

Vaccine-induced 2C08 antibody protects against SARS-CoV-2 variants

A new preprint study posted to the bioRxiv* server led by Ali H. Ellebedy from the Washington University School of Medicine found that the monoclonal antibody 2C08 produced by the Pfizer vaccine could help neutralize COVID-19 variants.

29 Mar 2021

Have scientists found SARS-CoV-2's Achilles' heel?

Have scientists uncovered the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Achille's heel? New preclinical research from Cell neutralizing antibodies targeting the N-terminal domain of the coronavirus could be a potential target for antibodies to bind and effectively neutralize SARS-CoV-2.

29 Mar 2021

New study reports increased spread of B.1.1.7 variant in Houston, Texas

Research led by Jimmy Gollihar from the CCDC Army Research Laboratory-South in Austin, Texas found the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant B.1.1.7 —first detected last fall in England — increased in Houston, Texas. The B.1.1.7 variant is rapidly spreading with a case doubling time of 6.9 days.

29 Mar 2021

Emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants and co-mutations in India

The study "Genomic surveillance and phylodynamic analyses reveal the emergence of a novel mutation and co-mutation patterns within SARS-CoV2 variants prevalent in India" is available as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review.

29 Mar 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine causes steep drop in COVID-19 among healthcare workers

A team of scientists from Spain has recently evaluated the efficacy of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2). Their findings reveal that a 2-dose regimen of BNT162b2 vaccine is capable of providing almost 100% protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers.

29 Mar 2021

Corticosteroid therapy in pregnant women with COVID-19

A new study describes the outcome of corticosteroid use in pregnancy.

29 Mar 2021

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted birth statistics in the U.S.?

A new study examines national-level changes in fertility, preterm birth and other obstetric outcomes, in the U.S., over the period of the pandemic throughout 2020.

29 Mar 2021

Rare genetic variant may explain severe COVID-19 in young healthy male patients

A recent study describes the association of rare alleles in a specific gene with severe COVID-19 in young male patients.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers develop new rapid and highly sensitive SAR-CoV-2 RNA detection test

In an alternative approach to the PCR-based methods, CRISPR-Cas proteins have been employed by a large team of researchers to identify the SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA in patient samples with PCR-derived cycle threshold (Ct) values up to 22 - corresponding to ~1600 copies/µl in the assay.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers examine circRNAs encoded by MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2

New research published in Briefings in Bioinformaticsm has identified thousands of circRNAs in Betacoronaviruses, including MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2, from the RNA-sequencing data of viral infections. These coronaviruses have a similar genomic structure with a diverse circRNA coding ability. Researchers have also systematically characterized circRNAs in coronaviruses, with regard to their size, sequence feature, expressions, genome, location preference, and functions. This opens the door to further explore and understand the mode of action of individual circRNAs in coronaviruses.

29 Mar 2021

Researchers develop novel nanoadjuvant COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Researchers at the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), introduced a new vaccine, which compromises the spike protein’s receptor-binding domain (RBD) and the manganese nanoadjuvant (MnARK), inducing humoral and cellular responses.

29 Mar 2021

Study identifies key features in SARS-CoV-2 genome essential for replication in respiratory cells

Researchers at the Institute of Medical Virology, the University of Zurich in Switzerland, have identified features in the SARS-CoV-2 genome that are important for human respiratory cell growth.

29 Mar 2021