Dual-action monoclonal antibodies from an original SARS survivor show promise against COVID-19
A recent study, currently available on the
bioRxiv preprint server, indicates that a pair of dual-action monoclonal antibodies derived from an original 2003 SARS survivor could play an important role in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to their broadly neutralizing activity and the engagement of the immune system via effector function capabilities.
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While different vaccines against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have already been authorized and used pervasively, the goal of swiftly reaching herd immunity may be hampered by supply issues, vaccine hesitancy, and the spread of viral variants. Likewise, those with underlying immunodeficiency may be at risk despite vaccination.
The role of nanotechnology in the fight against COVID-19
Nanomedicine is a very powerful tool with the potential to mitigate the burden of disease by providing nanoparticle-based carriers and vaccines. A recent review by a team of interdisciplinary researchers looked at its role in the diagnostics, therapeutics, strategies and future perspectives for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Appearing in the journal
Nanomedicine, the review summarized all the exciting advances made using diverse nanomaterials (polymeric, inorganic self-assembling materials and peptide-based) towards COVID-19 prevention, diagnosis and therapy.
Nidovirales order,
Cornidovirineae suborder and
Coronaviridae family. The main characteristics of the virus include rapid mutation, altered tissue tropism, cross-species transmission and adaptation to various epidemiological conditions.
The coronavirus could still burst out of control
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It feels a lot longer, but it has only been a year or so since we first mixed horror with grim fascination over the likelihood of a virus having leapt upon us from a bat, and that too, with enough virulence to paralyse human life as we knew it. Scientists who placed SARS-CoV-2, the ‘zoonotic’ bug that is responsible for our misery, under examination are now largely settled on its origin. It hopped across from the winged nocturnal mammal suspected all along. Of special interest, however, is the genetic trajectory of the virus as it evolves within another host species (i.e. us), since this plays a major role in how we humans fare against its spread and the illness it causes. A recent study published in the journal PLOS Biology offers a plausible explanation for why covid has proven so contagious. It also cautions us on the possibility of this coronavirus evolving beyond the scope of
Novel Coronavirus Jumped From Bats To Humans With Very Little Change : Scientists
The new study revealed that for the first 11 months of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been very little important genetic change observed in the coronavirus.
Representational Image Outlook Web Bureau 2021-03-14T15:54:44+05:30 Novel Coronavirus Jumped From Bats To Humans With Very Little Change : Scientists outlookindia.com 2021-03-14T16:00:57+05:30
A new study suggests that the ability of the novel coronavirus to spread from one person to another likely evolved in the flying mammal prior to it jumping to its new human host. It analysed that the progenitor of the virus underwent very little change to adapt to humans from bats