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New "molecular tweezers" can help combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University (BGU), together with American and German colleagues, have developed new "molecular tweezers" to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Their recently announced findings were published in Cell Chemical Biology.

10 May 2021

New model could help test vaccines against the deadly Strep A bacteria

Researchers have successfully developed a new Strep A human challenge model, paving the way to test vaccines against the common deadly bacteria that causes sore throats, scarlet fever and skin sores.

10 May 2021

Targeted methods to control spread of SARS-CoV-2 without resorting to lockdowns

Researchers at the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases and the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia revealed alternative ways to control the pandemic spread without resorting to these measures.

9 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 main protease conformations are temperature-dependent

New research led by Daniel A Keedy of City University of New York, USA, shows the structure of the main protease (Mpro) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the causative pathogen of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – reacts to being heated and cooled. The temperature-dependent conformations could act as potential therapeutic targets to neutralize the virus.

9 May 2021

Is COVID-19 a new disease?

In a review recently published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal by Osuchowski et al. (May 6th, 2021) the currently known pathophysiology of COVID-19 is laid out to describe the mechanistic features that make COVID-19 distinct from many conditions previously thought to be similar.

9 May 2021

Researchers identify anti-inflammatory prodrug Minnelide with potential against SARS-CoV-2

Using a transgenic mouse model of COVID-19, they have observed that treatment with Minnelide reduces viral load and inflammation in the lungs and improves survival. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

9 May 2021

Mild Covid-19 infection not likely to cause lasting damage to structure or function of the heart

Mild Covid-19 infection is very unlikely to cause lasting damage to the structure or function of the heart, according to a study led by UCL (University College London) researchers and funded by the British Heart Foundation and Barts Charity.

8 May 2021

Increased heart rate as a physiological response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine

Although widely publicized, evidence for physiological responses to the vaccines is currently scarce in published literature. Giogiro Quer and Matteo Gadaleta of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, USA, led an investigation to obtain tracking data for physiological responses to vaccine programs.

8 May 2021

Unique infectious profile explains why it is so hard to treat COVID-19

A comprehensive review into what we know about COVID-19 and the way it functions suggests the virus has a unique infectious profile, which explains why it can be so hard to treat and why some people experience so-called "long-COVID", struggling with significant health issues months after infection.

7 May 2021

UTMB researchers receive $11.3 million grant to study immunopathogenesis of Ebola

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have been awarded an $11.3 Million, multi-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study immunopathogenesis of Ebola, and in particular to determine why cells infected with Ebola develop "immune system paralysis," which inhibits immune response, leads to hyperinflammation, and allows the deadly infection to spread.

7 May 2021

Supervised rehabilitation program can help patients with lasting symptoms of COVID-19

Patients with lasting symptoms of COVID-19 who completed a six week, supervised rehabilitation programme demonstrated significant improvements in exercise capacity, respiratory symptoms, fatigue and cognition, according to researchers at the National Institute for Health Research Leicester Biomedical Research Centre - a partnership between Leicester's Hospitals, the University of Leicester and Loughborough University.

7 May 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine reduces both symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 infection in case study

Follow-up of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital revealed asymptomatic infection reduced by 90% and symptomatic infections reduced by up to 96% in vaccinated people compared to those not vaccinated.

7 May 2021

How did SARS-CoV-2 first evolve in humans?

In a perspective article recently published in the journal Science, Hyeryun Choe and Michael Farzan from the Scripps Research Institute, USA, have described the early-stage evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in humans. They have provided a detailed overview of how early mutations in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein facilitate its adaptation in human systems.

7 May 2021

Immunosuppression in COVID-19 promotes emergence of multiple immune escape mutants

An interesting new study describes the emergence of several such variants from a chronically immunosuppressed COVID-19 patient, who remained infected for over 170 days before clearing the virus.

7 May 2021

The ancestor of SARS-CoV-2’s Wuhan strain was circulating in late October 2019

The SARS-CoV-2 was first reported in a case from Wuhan, China, in December 2021, and subsequently became the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging the world today. A new study in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution tracks its variants all over the world since the onset of the pandemic.

7 May 2021

Are infants at greater risk of COVID-19 than children?

The widely circulating SARS-CoV-2 has caused the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of this infection varies significantly with age, sparing young children for the most part, though not completely. However, a new study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, shows that infants are not as resistant to the virus as children are. The researchers trace this to the expression of ACE2 to varying extents in different groups.

7 May 2021

Could antiviral surface designs help reduce SARS-CoV-2’s spread?

In an effort to improve surface decontamination methods, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, looked at fabricating surfaces with virucidal properties. More specifically, these scientists investigated surface properties that could prevent the survival of viruses on these surfaces, particularly SARS-CoV-2.

7 May 2021

Heart Research UK awards grant for new project investigating long-term effects of COVID-19 on the heart

A project at Newcastle University investigating long-term inflammation of the heart following COVID-19 infection has been awarded a grant of almost £150,000 by national charity Heart Research UK.

7 May 2021

Human organoids useful for modeling COVID-19 variants of concern, finds study

A new study published on the bioRxiv* preprint server found that using human organoids could help with better characterizing the phenotype of several viral variants, including B.1.1.7. Their findings show the ribonucleic acid (RNA) shedding of the SARS-CoV-2 variant correlated with viral fitness and infectiousness.

7 May 2021

COVID-19 may impact the heart health of young, healthy adults

New research published in Experimental Physiology highlight the possible long term health impacts of COVID-19 on young, relatively healthy adults who were not hospitalized and who only had minor symptoms due to the virus.

7 May 2021