Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Vaccine mRNA not found in breast milk after COVID mRNA vaccination

A study conducted by researchers in the United States has found no evidence to suggest that the messenger RNA (mRNA) present in the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines that protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be transferred to human breast milk.

9 Mar 2021

UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 could be more deadly than previous strains

Researchers have conducted a study showing that the B.1.1.7 variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that has emerged in the UK is associated with a significantly increased risk of death compared with the viral strain previously circulating in the country.

9 Mar 2021

Buck scientists develop a predictive model to help identify people at risk for severe COVID-19

Researchers at the Buck Institute analyzed data from the COVID-19 Symptom Tracker app used by 3 million people in the United Kingdom, adding the use of immunosuppressant medication, use of a mobility aid, shortness of breath, fever, and fatigue to the list of symptoms and comorbidities that increase the risk for severe COVID-19.

9 Mar 2021

Human cerebral organoid model to screen drugs for treatment of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Approximately two years after establishing a human cerebral organoid system to study Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), National Institutes of Health researchers have further developed the model to screen drugs for potential CJD treatment.

9 Mar 2021

CBD ameliorates cognitive function in experimental model of familial Alzheimer's

A two-week course of high doses of CBD helps restore the function of two proteins key to reducing the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaque, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, and improves cognition in an experimental model of early onset familial Alzheimer's, investigators report.

9 Mar 2021

Researchers examine susceptibility of raccoons and striped skunks to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers from the University of Georgia, USA, have found some members of the superfamily Musteloidea – the group that includes badgers and weasels – appear to not only have no effects of the virus, but do little in spreading it.

9 Mar 2021

Researchers report zoonotic spillover of adapted SARS-CoV-2 from minks to humans

In a recent report made available on bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers from Poland and Finland reveal a spillover event of mink-adapted severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from farmed mink to humans after an extensive adaptation process.

9 Mar 2021

Higher levels of airborne pollen increase SARS-CoV-2 infection rates

When airborne pollen levels are higher, increased SARS-CoV-2 infection rates can be observed. These results were determined by a large-scale study conducted by an international team headed by researchers at the Technical University of Munich and the Helmholtz Zentrum München.

9 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2's amyloid-driving nucleoprotein could inform future therapeutic research

New research led by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the US suggests that functional amyloid fibrils could play an integral role in developing COVID-19 treatments.

9 Mar 2021

Greater cross-neutralization against UK SARS-CoV-2 variant in vaccinated individuals with prior infection

A team of researchers in Spain has observed that, of those who have been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, higher titers of neutralizing antibodies for the B.1.1.7 variant (originating in the UK) were present in those who had previously been infected with the virus.

9 Mar 2021

Optimized SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate could be less reactogenic, say researchers

A new study, released as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, reports an optimized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine candidate, which, claim the researchers, may be less likely to produce reactions like fevers. It may also have increased protective potential against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pathogen that causes COVID-19.

9 Mar 2021

Proteomics shows SARS-CoV-2 NSP7 and NSP8 forms stable dimeric unit

A new preprint, released on the bioRxiv* preprint server, describes the structure of part of the dynamic protein-RNA complex known as the replication-transcription complex (RTC), which is crucial in the replication of the large ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome of this virus.

9 Mar 2021

Rapid increase of UK SARS-CoV-2 variant found in sewage in England between October 2020 to January 2021

A new study confirms the utility of wastewater surveillance as an important new tool in this regard by showing the presence of the UK SARS-CoV-2 variant in wastewater samples from London early in November, with increasing frequency thereafter.

9 Mar 2021

Speaking whilst infected with COVID-19 may cause it to spread

News-Medical speaks to Dr. Keiko Ishii about her research efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and how speaking whilst infected can cause the virus to spread, and why wearing masks is so important.

9 Mar 2021

Nursing homes with largest proportions of non-white residents experience more COVID-19 deaths

Nursing homes with the largest proportions of non-White residents experience 3.3 times more COVID-19 deaths than do nursing homes with the largest proportions of White residents, according to a new study from the University of Chicago.

9 Mar 2021

COVID-19 vaccine candidate approved for human clinical testing

A few days from now the first human will be vaccinated with a Danish vaccine candidate against COVID-19.

9 Mar 2021

Study suggests sewer rats immune to SARS-CoV-2

Although the researchers found that the rats tested negative for the virus, they say it is important to continue monitoring animals for the virus as it mutates, making previously resistant species susceptible to infection.

8 Mar 2021

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine induce humoral protection against U.K. and S.A. variants

Researchers at the Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital, Department of Virology, Paris, France determined that in BNT162b2-vaccinated participants who received two doses, their sera harbored at least a neutralizing titer against the three SARS-CoV-2 variants.

8 Mar 2021

Current vaccines and therapies may be less effective at neutralizing new SARS-CoV-2 variants

A new study of the U.K. and South Africa variants of SARS-CoV-2 predicts that current vaccines and certain monoclonal antibodies may be less effective at neutralizing these variants and that the new variants raise the specter that reinfections could be more likely.

8 Mar 2021

Worse problems with SARS-CoV-2 variants may be on the way

Researchers at the Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa, found evidence of a significant change in the selective forces acting on immunologically important SARS-CoV-2 genes, such as N and S. These likely coincided with the emergence of the 501Y lineages.

8 Mar 2021

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Vaccine mRNA not found in breast milk after COVID mRNA vaccination

UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 could be more deadly than previous strains

Buck scientists develop a predictive model to help identify people at risk for severe COVID-19

Human cerebral organoid model to screen drugs for treatment of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

CBD ameliorates cognitive function in experimental model of familial Alzheimer's

Researchers examine susceptibility of raccoons and striped skunks to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers report zoonotic spillover of adapted SARS-CoV-2 from minks to humans

Higher levels of airborne pollen increase SARS-CoV-2 infection rates

SARS-CoV-2's amyloid-driving nucleoprotein could inform future therapeutic research

Greater cross-neutralization against UK SARS-CoV-2 variant in vaccinated individuals with prior infection

Optimized SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate could be less reactogenic, say researchers

Proteomics shows SARS-CoV-2 NSP7 and NSP8 forms stable dimeric unit

Rapid increase of UK SARS-CoV-2 variant found in sewage in England between October 2020 to January 2021

Speaking whilst infected with COVID-19 may cause it to spread

Nursing homes with largest proportions of non-white residents experience more COVID-19 deaths

COVID-19 vaccine candidate approved for human clinical testing

Study suggests sewer rats immune to SARS-CoV-2

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine induce humoral protection against U.K. and S.A. variants

Current vaccines and therapies may be less effective at neutralizing new SARS-CoV-2 variants

Worse problems with SARS-CoV-2 variants may be on the way

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

How can super-resolution technology help study neurotransmission?

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

How can super-resolution technology help study neurotransmission?

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

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