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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 […]

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More new SARS-CoV-2 variants are highly likely

In a recent report posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers from the United Kingdom and Uganda reveal unique protein features of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) relative to other representatives of Sarbecoviruses. The causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), SARS-CoV-2, belongs to the Betacoronavirus genus and Sarbecovirus subgenus of the […]

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Blocking folate metabolism could reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral replication in infected cells

The novel beta-coronavirus virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and coronaviruses, in general, alter the host's cellular metabolism to support massive production of ~30 kB viral genomes and subgenomic viral RNAs. However, how this is achieved is largely unknown. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the Broad Institute […]

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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. Study: Zoonotic spillover of SARS-CoV-2: mink-adapted virus in humans. Image Credit: An inspiration / Shutterstock Even before […]

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Researchers explore how N501Y mutation in SARS-CoV-2 increases viral transmissibility

Researchers at Erasmus University Medical Center in The Netherlands have explored how and why new variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), have exhibited heightened infectivity. Study: Experimental evidence for enhanced receptor binding by rapidly spreading SARS-CoV-2 variants. Image Credit: Design_Cells / Shutterstock They suggest […]

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The origin of SARS-CoV-2 furin cleavage site remains a mystery

The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has largely defied attempts to contain its spread by non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). With the massive loss of life and economic damage, the only way out, in the absence of specific antiviral therapeutics, has been the development of […]