News by Subject Biology

Although two SARS-CoV-2 variants are associated with higher transmission, patients with these variants show no evidence of higher viral loads in their upper respiratory tracts compared to the control group, a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine study found.

Researchers from Yonsei University in South Korea have found that certain commensal bacteria that reside in the human intestine produce compounds that inhibit SARS-CoV-2.

In a new study using variant virus recovered from one of the original travelers, researchers in the US and Japan have found that vaccination with an mRNA vaccine induces antibody responses that would protect humans from infection with the gamma/P.1 variant.

Researchers from the Hospital del Mar and Pompeu Fabra University have confirmed that messenger RNA vaccines pre-prepared in syringes for their administration can be transported by road for up to three hours. The researchers have conducted stress tests on syringes pre-prepared for administering the Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and have found that the vector these vaccines use, the messenger RNA, maintains its integrity despite being subjected to movement.

A new treatment approach focused on fixing cell damage, rather than fighting the virus directly, is effective against SARS-CoV-2 in lab models. Combination of two drugs reduces spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cells by up to 99.5%. If found safe for human use, this anti-viral treatment would make COVID-19 symptoms milder and speed up recovery times.

New study results indicate that different comorbid conditions affecting individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 may impact how long they continue to receive positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results.

A new study using cells, transgenic mouse models, and cultured human lung tissue provides evidence that the ability to trigger programmed cell death (apoptosis) may enable highly pathogenic coronaviruses to spread within their hosts so successfully. Targeting this process may reduce the severity of coronavirus diseases, the study goes on to show.

The University of Ottawa has been awarded four new Canada Research Chairs (CRC) that will strengthen its expertise in artificial intelligence, health and law, plus the renewal of two CRCs that will conduct leading-edge research in quantum communications and photonics.