A British historian, an Italian archaeologist and an American preschool teacher have never met in person, but they share a prominent pandemic bond. Plagued by eerily similar symptoms, the three women are credited with describing, naming and helping bring long COVID into the public’s consciousness in early 2020. Rachel Pope, of Liverpool, took to Twitter … Read more
In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers described a messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-lipid nanoparticle mpox vaccine encoding four conserved mpox virus surface proteins which induced mpox virus-specific immunity and elicited heterologous protection when challenged with lethal vaccinia virus. Study: A monkeypox mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccine targeting virus binding, entry, and transmission drives … Read more
In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers examined the pathological impacts of the structural components of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on human periodontal cells and tissue to understand the association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and deteriorating oral health. Study: SARS-CoV-2 causes periodontal fibrosis by deregulating mitochondrial β-oxidation. … Read more
In a recent study posted to bioRxiv*, researchers developed a measles virus (MeV)-vectored vaccine capable of inducing high neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Study: Surface-modified measles vaccines encoding oligomeric, fusion-stabilized SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoproteins bypass measles seropositivity, boosting neutralizing antibody responses to omicron and historical variants. Image Credit: Kateryna … Read more
Cryo-electron microscopy by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers has exposed the structure of a bacterial virus with unprecedented detail. This is the first structure of a virus able to infect Staphylococcus epidermidis, and high-resolution knowledge of structure is a key link between viral biology and potential therapeutic use of the virus to quell bacterial … Read more
In a recent study posted to bioRxiv*, researchers developed a screening platform and identified molecules with anti-coronavirus (anti-CoV) activity. Study: A screen for modulation of nucleocapsid protein condensation identifies small molecules with anti-coronavirus activity. Image Credit: jijomathaidesigners/Shutterstock Background Biomolecular condensates are membrane-less organelles formed by liquid-liquid phase separation of proteins or ribonucleic acids (RNAs). The … Read more
Fatty foods harm our health. Prior research has established a link between the consumption of dietary fats and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which subsequently leads to inflammation and tumor formation in the liver. However, the precise effects of dietary fat composition on liver tumorigenesis remain elusive. A new study shows that dietary saturated/trans fats, but … Read more
In a recent study published in PLOS pathogensresearchers illustrated a novel strategy likely employed by viruses to promote infection. Study: Targeting Nup358/RanBP2 by a viral protein disrupting stress granule formation. Image credit: Rost9/Shutterstock Background Viruses likely inhibit a host cell stress response by blocking the accumulation of stress granules (SGs). SGs are ‘sinks’ or ribonucleic … Read more
Scientists have discovered why some coronaviruses are more likely to cause severe disease, which has remained a mystery until now. Researchers of the University of Bristol-led study, published in Science advances today [23 November], say their findings could lead to the development of a pan-coronavirus treatment to defeat all coronaviruses-; from the 2002 SARS-CoV outbreak … Read more
With the continuous emergence of new variants and the risk of new strains of the virus, the development of innovative therapies against SARS-CoV-2 remains a major public health challenge. Currently, the proteins that are on the surface of the virus and/or are involved in its replication are the preferred therapeutic targets, such as the spike … Read more