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Researchers reach important milestone in leishmaniasis vaccine development

Researchers have taken an important step forward in developing a controlled human infection model to test leishmaniasis vaccines.

11 Jan 2021

Study suggests link between T. gondii infection and risk of aggressive brain cancer

A new study suggests a link between toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection and the risk of glioma, a type of brain cancer, in adults.

11 Jan 2021

Research opens up hope-filled possibilities for new autism therapies

Recent years have provided substantial research displaying the effect of genetic mutations on the development of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

11 Jan 2021

Researchers receive NIH grant to develop more effective flu vaccines

To build better vaccines, scientists want to know more about how our bodies make adequate numbers of effective, durable antibodies against the influenza virus.

11 Jan 2021

Anti-Black racism in Canada’s health care impacts people’ health, argue experts

Canada must dismantle anti-Black racism in health care to address its harmful effects on people's health, argue authors of a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)

11 Jan 2021

Study: Oral sex can increase risk of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer

Human papillomavirus (HPV) can infect the mouth and throat to cause cancers of the oropharynx. A new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, has found that having more than 10 prior oral sex partners was associated with a 4.3-times greater likelihood of having HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer.

11 Jan 2021

Marijuana use varies with seasons, shows study

Marijuana use increases throughout the calendar year, with use up 13 percent on average at the end of each year (2015-2019) compared to the beginning, according to a new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

11 Jan 2021

Schlieren techniques demonstrate patterns of exhaled air spread from wind instruments and singers

In an interesting new research paper published recently on the bioRxiv preprint server, scientists describe the dispersal of exhaled air, potentially infected, from singers and those playing wind instruments, using Schlieren techniques, a visual process that is used to photograph the flow of fluids of varying density. This could help assess measures to assess the actual spread of infectious droplets or aerosols in such situations.

10 Jan 2021

Tetherin downregulation by SARS-CoV-2 enhances viral spread

A new preprint research paper published on the bioRxiv server describes the role of a host protein called tetherin in the spread of the novel coronavirus.

10 Jan 2021

Synthetic lung organoids provide high-throughput platform to identify new cellular targets of SARS-CoV-2

An interesting new study published on the bioRxiv preprint server describes a new platform that allows a high-throughput workflow to generate matched human lung buds in the tens of thousands. This allows researchers to study SARS-CoV-2 infection and therapeutics in lung tissue that mirrors the key aspects of human lung development.

10 Jan 2021

Large-scale genome sequencing shows how SARS-CoV-2 mutated

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* describes the results of genomic sequencing of the virus, which may help trace the routes of transmission of the virus from person to person, and from country to country.

10 Jan 2021

Study shows P681H mutation is becoming globally prevalent among SARS-CoV-2 sequences

In a recent bioRxiv preprint study, researchers from the University of Hawaii showed that the S gene of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is continuously mutating according to the sequence and phylogenetic analysis.

10 Jan 2021

Naturally selected mutations of SARS-CoV-2 easily duplicated in vitro

In a recent and timely paper, currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server, researchers from Israel and France demonstrated how in vitro evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor-binding domain (RBD) follows contagious mutation spread – but can also generate an efficient infection inhibitor.

10 Jan 2021

Researchers pinpoint spike protein regions as targets for passive and active COVID-19 vaccines

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified regions of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that have relatively few mutations and might therefore serve as important targets for prophylactic agents against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

10 Jan 2021

Modeling study sheds light on SARS-CoV-2 genome packaging

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have conducted a study exploring how the spatial patterning of certain genomic RNA regions in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) promotes compaction, packaging, and cyclization of the viral genome.

10 Jan 2021

New test detects SARS-CoV-2 in less than 5 mins

A fast and accurate virus detection strategy is very crucial to reduce the rate of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pathogen responsible for COVID-19. The global scientific research community responded to this unprecedented demand in diagnostic testing by developing several detection platforms, the most sensitive of which detect the viral RNA.

10 Jan 2021