Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Simple application of UVC light could make common disinfectants safer to use

Over 400 common disinfectants currently in use could be made safer for people and the environment and could better fight the COVID-19 virus with the simple application of UVC light, a new study from the University of Waterloo shows.

3 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 spike mutations during transmission among humans and to animals

A fascinating new study discusses the 40 mutations that are seen on the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein and their potential effects on viral biology.

3 May 2021

COVID-19 may not have appeared first in China, suggests new genomic study

A new study in Acta Mathematica Scientia suggests that the virus may have originated in multiple countries almost simultaneously, rather than spreading from China to the rest of the world.

3 May 2021

Hopeaphenol inhibits entry of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern into cells

A new study, released as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, reports promising results with the natural product hopeaphenol, which successfully prevented the entry of the virus into host cells.

3 May 2021

Class I HLA alleles shape CD8+ T cell repertoire in SARS-CoV-2 infection

An interesting new study discusses how adaptive cellular immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 is dependent on differences in HLA-encoding genes between patients.

3 May 2021

Most long COVID-19 sequelae affect people under 65, finds study

A new study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, discusses the typical symptoms and signs of this syndrome, with the intention of improving the specificity of detection and reporting.

3 May 2021

As schools spend millions on air purifiers, experts warn of overblown claims and harm to children

Last summer, Global Plasma Solutions wanted to test whether the company's air-purifying devices could kill covid-19 virus particles but could find only a lab using a chamber the size of a shoebox for its trials. In the company-funded study, the virus was blasted with 27,000 ions per cubic centimeter.

3 May 2021

As vaccine demand slows, political differences go on display in California Counties

Demand for Covid vaccines is slowing across most of California, but as traffic at vaccination sites eases, the vaccination rates across the state are showing wide disparities.

3 May 2021

A new SARS-CoV-2 variant (HMN.19B) has been identified in France

New research published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s journal Emerging Infectious Diseases has confirmed the emergence of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant called HMN.19B from the viral clade 19B in France. The 19B viral clade — which includes the D614G variant — was prevalent in late 2019 but had since been rarely observed since early 2020 because of newer viral clades.

3 May 2021

Vaccine candidate targeting SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein elicits protective immune response in animal model

New preclinical results from a study led by David Masopust of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, USA, show that a Had5-based vaccine targeting the nucleocapsid protein can also elicit a protective immune response.

3 May 2021

Competitive multiplex binding assay can monitor SARS-CoV-2 immune responses using nanobodies

Researchers at the Eberhard Karls University and the University of Tübingen in Germany described 11 unique nanobodies (Nbs) specific for the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD), of which 8 Nbs potentially inhibit the connection of RBD with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

3 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2’s distinctive "spike" protein plays a key role in the disease itself, shows study

Scientists have known for a while that SARS-CoV-2's distinctive "spike" proteins help the virus infect its host by latching on to healthy cells. Now, a major new study shows that they also play a key role in the disease itself.

3 May 2021

New gene therapy restores dystrophin protein in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

UT Southwestern scientists successfully employed a new type of gene therapy to treat mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), uniquely utilizing CRISPR-Cas9-based tools to restore a large section of the dystrophin protein that is missing in many DMD patients.

3 May 2021

Comprehensive "cell atlas" shows how COVID-19 can lead to organ failure and death

Scientists from several hospitals and research centers have shown what happens in individual cells of patients who died of COVID-19. In a study published in Nature, the researchers describe how infected cells from multiple organs exhibited a range of molecular and genomic changes.

3 May 2021

Interdisciplinary project explores the phenomenon of so-called “superspreaders”

Scientists from the Departments of Physics, Biomedical Sciences and Process Engineering at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg are in the process of analyzing the emergence and spread of infectious air bubbles in our breath, known as aerosols, using tissue cultivations and artificially-produced, virus-filled suspended particles.

3 May 2021

Study reveals new broadly neutralizing and protective antibody against coronaviruses

In the setting of potentially reduced vaccine efficacy against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) due to emerging viral variants, the deployment of effective treatments based on monoclonal antibodies may be an additional strategy to help control the pandemic. A new study by US researchers, currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server, describes the action of a specific antibody known as DH1047.

3 May 2021

Researchers develop a nanoparticle-based formulation with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity

A study recently published in the journal Matter has demonstrated the development and validation of a nanoparticle-based formulation, capable of completely inhibiting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection blocking the interaction between viral spike protein and host cell angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

3 May 2021

Could CRISPR be used as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral?

The potential of using this gene manipulation technology as a SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor or prophylactic is investigated in a review recently uploaded to the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine (April 25th, 2021) by Arnab Banerjee and colleagues.

2 May 2021

Study implies a likely rise of future SARS-CoV-2 recombinants

A recent astonishing feat by US researchers revealed that recombination is not only widespread in the evolutionary history of SARS-like coronaviruses, but it can also increase fitness traits of seasonal coronaviruses. Their paper is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server and sets the stage for phylogenetic tracking of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2 May 2021

Live "attenuated" influenza virus vaccine protects animals against respiratory infections, including SARS-CoV-2

Researchers in the United States and Austria have demonstrated the potential of a modified influenza virus as a vaccine to protect against viral respiratory pathogens, including the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

2 May 2021

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Simple application of UVC light could make common disinfectants safer to use

SARS-CoV-2 spike mutations during transmission among humans and to animals

COVID-19 may not have appeared first in China, suggests new genomic study

Hopeaphenol inhibits entry of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern into cells

Class I HLA alleles shape CD8+ T cell repertoire in SARS-CoV-2 infection

Most long COVID-19 sequelae affect people under 65, finds study

As schools spend millions on air purifiers, experts warn of overblown claims and harm to children

As vaccine demand slows, political differences go on display in California Counties

A new SARS-CoV-2 variant (HMN.19B) has been identified in France

Vaccine candidate targeting SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein elicits protective immune response in animal model

Competitive multiplex binding assay can monitor SARS-CoV-2 immune responses using nanobodies

SARS-CoV-2’s distinctive "spike" protein plays a key role in the disease itself, shows study

New gene therapy restores dystrophin protein in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Comprehensive "cell atlas" shows how COVID-19 can lead to organ failure and death

Interdisciplinary project explores the phenomenon of so-called “superspreaders”

Study reveals new broadly neutralizing and protective antibody against coronaviruses

Researchers develop a nanoparticle-based formulation with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity

Could CRISPR be used as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral?

Study implies a likely rise of future SARS-CoV-2 recombinants

Live "attenuated" influenza virus vaccine protects animals against respiratory infections, including SARS-CoV-2

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Modular, Scalable, Intelligent: How n6 Is Rethinking NGS Library Prep

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Modular, Scalable, Intelligent: How n6 Is Rethinking NGS Library Prep

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