Researchers in the United States have developed a new model for testing mutations in the four structural proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Testing of the proteins for their effects on viral assembly, packaging and host cell entry provided a previously unanticipated explanation […]
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Sophisticated stem cell model reveals potential route of SARS-CoV-2 entry into the brain
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine have produced a stem cell model that demonstrates a potential route of entry of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, into the human brain. The findings are published in the July 9, 2021 online issue of Nature Medicine. […]
Human tissue xenografts in murine models for the study of SARS-CoV-2
Severe COVID-19 is associated with massive dysregulation of the host immune response, resulting in inflammation and the condition known as a cytokine storm. For the most part, however, the virus is barely noticeable or only mild among the young and healthy, suggesting that the route and intensity of an immune response could determine the severity […]
Tackling emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants
An international team of authors has published a special report in The New England Journal of Medicine titled 'SARS-CoV-2 Variants and Vaccines’, which presents global strategies for the possible escape from vaccine-elicited immunity. NEJM Special Report: SARS-CoV-2 Variants and Vaccines. Image Credit: NIAID There is a possibility that dangerous viral variants could appear with resistance […]
South African and Brazilian SARS-CoV-2 variants overtake UK variant in French regions
Researchers have found that the variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that were initially identified in South Africa (B.1.351) and Brazil (P.1) appear to be spreading more quickly in some areas of France than the previously dominant UK variant B.1.1.7. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is the agent responsible for the ongoing coronavirus disease […]
Ventilation is a key element in the fight against airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2
There is a growing body of evidence supporting airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Despite updates from the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada that the virus can be transmitted by short- and long-range aerosols, Canada's public health guidance […]
Vaccination after prior infection elicits broadly neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2
The coronavirus disease (2019) pandemic arose due to the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to the farthest corners of the world, leaving large numbers of deaths in its wake. Vaccination has emerged as a beacon of hope for the human population to escape this high-level threat to global health and […]
SARS-CoV-2 research: Second possible effective mechanism of remdesivir discovered
The virostatic agent remdesivir was developed to disrupt an important step in the propagation of RNA viruses, to which SARS-CoV-2 also belongs: the reproduction of the virus’s own genetic material. This is present as RNA matrices with which the host cell directly produces virus proteins. To accelerate the production of its own proteins, however, RNA […]
Characterization of lab-produced neutralizing antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2
A new study led by Hans-Martin Jäck of the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany engineered clusters of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies using a transgenic mouse model. A unique characteristic for the antibodies was the different ways it bound to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the overall reduction in the viral spread for […]
Study assess prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in England after third national lockdown
The alarmingly high infection rate of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, has had an enormous impact on healthcare in many parts of the world. The surge in the rate of hospitalization, especially intensive care unit admissions, has placed an overwhelming burden on healthcare systems […]