IFF unveils Nurica enzyme that generates GOS fiber and lactose-free dairy products for China
02 Apr 2021 - IFF has launched Nurica enzyme in China, offering a new way for dairy producers to create a premium product to fulfill consumer health needs while increasing profitability. Nurica is IFF’s latest innovation for the Chinese market and is marketed under the Danisco range of food ingredients that are now part of the IFF family.
Consumers in China are increasingly looking for healthier offerings in their dairy products, including products with a higher fiber content to help achieve daily fiber intake and improve overall gut health and digestibility.
Antibodies produced from infection with SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 protect against other variants
As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to claim thousands of lives daily around the world, the pathogen responsible for it, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to undergo mutational changes. A recent paper in the journal
Nature shows that while earlier lineages do not elicit antibodies capable of efficiently neutralizing the newly emerged South African variant, SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 (B.1.351), the converse does occur.
The SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 variant
The constant occurrence of mutations in the various regions of the viral genome has led to the emergence of a multitude of variants, some of which have become global variants of concern (VOCs).
Study estimates impact of amino acid changes on SARS-CoV-2 infection
New research led by Costas D. Maranas from The Pennsylvania State University predicts amino acid changes to the receptor-binding domain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein would negatively impact binding affinity and subsequent infection into human cells.
Their results were derived from a novel two-step procedure called neural network molecular mechanics/Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (NN MM-GBSA) that calculated binding energy from receptor-binding domain variants to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors. The second step would construct a neural network from the findings to predict binding affinity. The team achieved an 82.2% accuracy rate for categorizing amino acid substitutions as helpful or unhelpful in a variant s binding affinity.
Discovery of cryptic pocket in SARS-CoV-2 may lead to pan-coronavirus therapies
Coronaviruses have been around for a long time and have caused several recent deadly outbreaks. The most recent is the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
A new research paper published in the
Biophysical Journal describes a novel binding pocket used by a viral non-structural protein (nsp) to form an activated complex with its partner nsp. In so doing, it may have revealed a common target that may be useful in the development of a broad-spectrum antiviral drug against all coronaviruses.
Researchers in India have gathered and presented a large body of evidence highlight quercetin – a flavonoid molecule found in many common fruits and vegetables – may be developed into drug therapies used to combat COVID-19.