Media briefing on COVID-19 with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Dr Mike Ryan and Dr Maria Van Kerkhove.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 2,099
Swans & Dolphins Return To Italy, As Air, Water Quality Improves During Lockdown
The increasing number of coronavirus cases in Italy has brought the entire country to a standstill. According to the Live Tracking Dashboard, there are 27,980 confirmed cases as of now and 2,158 people have succumbed to the infection. However, a total of 2,749 people have also recovered from the illness.
Since people are socially distancing themselves to avoid the virus from spreading, a lot of them are also losing business with every passing minute. There’s panic and tension all around. However, there is a piece of good news that’s become the silver lining at this time of misery.
Venice, one of Italy’s biggest tourist attractions, sees a lot of visitors throughout the year. However, ever since the country was put under lockdown, the streets are deserted and there is very less boat traffic on the city’s canals where people often enjoy the gondola rides. But surprisingly, the lockdown has helped in clearing the city’s canals. As reported By CNN, the locals have noticed a huge difference in the clarity of the water. The air quality has improved in the city.
COVID-19: the immune system can fight back
Hope on the horizon:
1. Researcher make a breakthrough: Professor Katherine Kedzierska leads research at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity that discovers how the human body overcomes coronavirus.
Melbourne researchers have mapped immune responses from one of Australia’s first novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, showing the body’s ability to fight the virus and recover from the infection.
Lead researcher Professor Kedzierska (Microbiology and Immunology) said the antibodies released by the human immune system to overcome coronavirus are very similar to those it uses to combat influenza — despite it never having being exposed to the disease.
First Report of Human Monoclonal Antibody That Blocks SARS-CoV-2
A preprint of a study conducted by researchers from Utrecht University, in collaboration with Erasmus MC and Harbor BioMed, outlines the first report of a human monoclonal antibody that can block SARS-CoV-2.
Understanding antibodies: Terms and definitions
Antibodies are proteins that are produced by certain cells of the immune system known as B cells. They are able to bind to “foreign” material that tries to invade the body, such as pathogens, and directly neutralize them or trigger an immune response. This is achieved by binding of the antibody to an antigen, a specific molecule present on the pathogen.
New kind of CRISPR technology to target RNA, including RNA viruses like coronavirus
Now, in an important new resource for the scientific community published today in Nature Biotechnology, researchers in the lab of Neville Sanjana, PhD, at the New York Genome Center and New York University have developed a new kind of CRISPR screen technology to target RNA.
The researchers capitalized on a recently characterized CRISPR enzyme called Cas13 that targets RNA instead of DNA. Using Cas13, they engineered an optimized platform for massively-parallel genetic screens at the RNA level in human cells. This screening technology can be used to understand many aspects of RNA regulation and to identify the function of non-coding RNAs, which are RNA molecules that are produced but do not code for proteins.
By targeting thousands of different sites in human RNA transcripts, the researchers developed a machine learning-based predictive model to expedite identification of the most effective Cas13 guide RNAs. The new technology is available to researchers through an interactive website and open-source toolbox to predict guide RNA efficiencies for custom RNA targets and provides pre-designed guide RNAs for all human protein-coding genes.
Jacob James Banas — live
SU COVID-19 summit | day 2
Coronavirus Vaccine Could Be Available in 90 Days
While the CDC has a vaccination in clinical trials Israel claims they could have a COVID-19 vaccination available within 90 days:
Israeli Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis confirmed Thursday that scientists are close to developing the first vaccine against the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.
The vaccine could be ready within a few weeks and available in 90 days if all continues going according to plan, Akunis noted.
“Congratulations to MIGAL [The Galilee Research Institute] on this exciting breakthrough. I am confident there will be further rapid progress, enabling us to provide a needed response to the grave global COVID-19 threat,” Akunis is quoted as saying, the Jerusalem Post reported.
CanSino Biologics has a plan to take its life-saving treatments global
A newly listed Chinese vaccine maker has set its sights on global expansion even as it looks to regain trust in its home market after a scandal last year raised questions about the industry’s quality standards…and guess what. They are currently doing trials on a coronavirus vaccine.
CanSino Biologics jumped 59 per cent in debut trading in Hong Kong on Thursday, reflecting the best first day trading gain in the city since 2017.