Comprehensive Global COVID-19 Variant Database Launched
By Malorye Allison Branca
—The most detailed database of COVID-19 variants available has been launched and will likely play a critical role in the coming months, as the focus shifts from just vaccinating as many people as possible to making certain they are protected against all the most common variants of the disease.
Some COVID-19 Vaccines More Effective Against New Strains Than Others
Recent results suggest that the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has good efficacy against the new UK and South African variants. But the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine appears less effective against the South African variant, a trend emerging for several approved or near-approved vaccines.
Thousands of Lynch Syndrome-Causing Variants Uncovered via Deep Mutational Scanning
The researchers hope that their work will improve diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer, by reducing the number of variants of unknown significance, and can be used as a model for further functional assessment and classification of variants in other diseases.
Comprehensive Global COVID-19 Variant Database Launched
By Malorye Allison Branca
—The most detailed database of COVID-19 variants available has been launched and will likely play a critical role in the coming months, as the focus shifts from just vaccinating as many people as possible to making certain they are protected against all the most common variants of the disease.
University of Miami Study Supports Use of Stem Cells to Treat Severe COVID-19
Although the main purpose of the study was to assess safety, the researchers also found that the treatment significantly improved survival with 91% of the stem-cell treated patients surviving until 31 days after admission versus 42% of the control group.
Antiparasitic Drug Could Help Treat Mild COVID-19 Cases
While this study requires validation in a bigger patient group, the initial results suggest that one dose of ivermectin given to mild COVID-19 patients reduced viral load and the duration of symptoms such as cough and loss of smell and taste.
SARS-CoV-2 May Gain Brain Entry via the Nose
Autopsies have shown the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and protein in anatomically distinct regions of the nasopharynx and brain, suggesting it enters the brain through the nose, and may inform diagnosis and measures to prevent infection.
Gut Microbiome Changes Potentially Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease
The study is also the first to demonstrate a relationship between changes in the gut microbiome and epigenetic changes in neural tissue in the hippocampus, an area of the brain affected in Alzheimer’s.
NIH Launches Latest Round of Alzheimer’s Disease Therapeutic Research Program
Because the prevalence of AD is greater among black and Latino Americans than among whites, AMP AD 2.0 will expand the molecular characterization of Alzheimer’s in brain, blood, and spinal fluid samples collected from diverse populations.
Robotic Sequencing Platform Can Test Thousands of Samples at Once for COVID-19
A robot-driven platform allows small sections of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to be sequenced quickly and in conjunction with other samples, allowing for cheap and accurate high throughput COVID-19 sampling.
Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Testing
LAMP and antigen COVID-19 tests promise inexpensive, accurate, and fast results to help manage the pandemic.
Human Genome Project at 20
Despite advances in understanding the genetic underpinning of many diseases, roadblocks to therapeutic development remain.
The Age of Patient Big Data
When the pandemic heated up early last year, the UK Biobank set out to urgently gather data on COVID-19 diagnostic tests, deaths, and hospitals...
COVID Control American Style
The United States is spiraling. Seven-day averages for positive COVID-19 cases have exceeded 250,000 per day, having risen sharply after the Thanksgiving holiday and...