Researchers have developed a family of adeno-associated viral vectors (AAVs) that are able to cross the blood-brain barrier to deliver gene therapies directly to the brain.
More than 51% of new COVID cases in NYC are variants; Here’s what experts say this means for Massachusetts
Updated Mar 11, 2021;
When New York City became the epicenter of the COVID pandemic in the spring, experts were quick to point out that the outbreak in the Big Apple would have regional consequences.
And it did. Neighboring Massachusetts and New Jersey saw a concurring rise in infections. At one point, the Bay State trailed only New York and New Jersey in new cases.
New York officials now say that the U.K. COVID variant and the so-called New York variant now make up more than half of new cases reported there, according to data published this week raising concern about the extend of existing and future spread of COVID mutations in Massachusetts.
Less than 1% of COVID-positive cases in Massachusetts are sequenced for variants as concern grows
Updated Feb 27, 2021;
With COVID cases declining nationwide and the vaccination effort well underway, it seems as though the U.S. is on the verge of turning the corner away from pandemic restrictions and toward some sense of normalcy.
But experts continue to warn about the spread of more infectious COVID variants, pushing for more sequencing capabilities to identify mutant and potentially vaccine-resistant versions of the virus that threaten to reignite the pandemic.
“More genomic surveillance is urgently needed for COVID, regionally and nationwide,” said Karen Zusi, a spokeswoman for the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, a regional leader on the sequencing effort. “This is why Broad Institute is further scaling up our efforts to support this need.”
First Massachusetts Case of South African Variant Detected in Cambridge | News thecrimson.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thecrimson.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
At least 26 Harvard affiliates received positive Covid-19 test results between Jan. 25 and Feb. 5 â forcing at least some into isolation housing â that were later invalidated after the testing lab adjusted the threshold required to determine a positive result.
Two affected undergraduates told The Crimson that, after being moved into isolation rooms at the Harvard Square Hotel, they were initially refused additional testing despite suspecting that their tests were âfalse positives.â
Students living on campus self-administer three Covid-19 tests per week using kits designed by Color Genomics. The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard then processes the tests, allowing Color to notify students of their results, often within a day. If an undergraduate tests positive, they enter isolation and move to a University-designated location. Their close contacts must quarantine in their rooms at the direction of Harvard University Health Services.