Culture
Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle have shown that a potent antibody from a COVID-19 survivor interferes with a key feature on the surface of the coronavirus's distinctive spikes and induces critical pieces of those spikes to break off in the process.
The antibody -- a tiny, Y-shaped protein that is one of the body's premier weapons against pathogens including viruses -- was isolated by the Fred Hutch team from a blood sample received from a Washington state patient in the early days of the pandemic.
In the world of rare genetic diseases, exome and genome sequencing are two powerful tools used to make a diagnosis. A recent addition to the toolkit, RNA sequencing, has been demonstrated to help researchers narrow down disease candidate variants identified first on exome and genome sequencing. A new study from Baylor College of Medicine finds that starting genetic analysis with RNA sequencing can increase diagnostic yield even further. The results are published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Genetic factors that reduce the placenta's capacity to protect the fetus from the zika virus are described by Brazilian researchers in an article published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. According to the authors, the findings help explain why only some babies whose mothers are infected by zika virus during pregnancy are born with some kind of anomaly.
Throughout the pandemic, healthcare workers have seen more than just the lungs affected by COVID-19. Doctors have reported neurological complications including stroke, headache and seizures, but the information is limited to a number of individual reports that are not reflective of a larger population.
Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh have gathered more than 80 studies, reviewed the data, and identified commonalities that are helping to paint a broader picture of how COVID-19 affects the brain.
Researchers at UPF, the National Centre for Cardiovascular Research, ICREA and Ciberned have identified a physiological mechanism that maintains the regenerative capacity of muscle stem cells, and surprisingly resists the passage of time far more than expected, until geriatric age. This study presents the results of more than seven years of research and collaborations with several laboratories in Europe and the US.
The body's immune system defeats diseases by sensing foreign invaders, like bacteria or viruses, and then mounting a response against them.
But just how immune cell receptors work together to sense multiple molecules and make these decisions remained a mystery. Now, researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago have discovered a general property for understanding how these cells sense and respond to microbial signals.
To better understand how the novel coronavirus behaves and how it can be stopped, scientists have completed a three-dimensional map that reveals the location of every atom in an enzyme molecule critical to SARS-CoV-2 reproduction.
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory used neutron scattering to identify key information to improve the effectiveness of drug inhibitors designed to block the virus's replication mechanism. The research is published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Cucurbit downy mildew is a devastating disease for the United States cucurbit industry, which includes cucumbers, watermelon, squash, and pumpkin. The disease has caused major losses in North Carolina, which has significant cucumber and watermelon acreage. To help growers better manage this disease, a group of plant pathologists at North Carolina State University sought to better understand the biology of the pathogen that causes downy mildew.
Four in 10 people with advanced multiple sclerosis, or MS, are emotionally abused by someone responsible for caring for them, reports a study led by the University of California, Riverside.
Further, the study finds one quarter are financially exploited, one in six are neglected, one in nine are battered, and one in 12 are sexually assaulted by a caregiver.
NEW YORK, NY (Oct. 27, 2020)--Coronaviruses are adept at imitating human immune proteins that have been implicated in severe COVID-19 disease, a study from researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has found.
The study was published online ahead of print in Cell Systems.
Many plants and animals use the art of mimicry to trick their prey or predators. Viruses employ a similar strategy: Viral proteins can mimic the three-dimensional shapes of their host's proteins to trick the host into helping the virus complete its life cycle.
WASHINGTON--Over 80 percent of 200 COVID-19 patients in a hospital in Spain have vitamin D deficiency, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
A new tool for analyzing tissue damage seen on MRI brain scans can detect with more than 70 percent accuracy early signs of cognitive decline, new research shows.
The findings by imaging specialists at NYU Grossman School of Medicine center on small bright spots on scans called white matter hyperintensities. Increased numbers and size of the intense-white spots seen on the mostly gray images of the brain have long been linked to memory loss and emotional problems, especially as people age.
A new paper in Behavioral Ecology, published by Oxford University Press, finds that wild vampire bats that are sick spend less time near others from their community, which slows how quickly a disease will spread. The research team had previously seen this behavior in the lab, and used a field experiment to confirm it in the wild.
Cerebrospinal fluid as liquid biopsy for the precise characterization and policing of medulloblastoma
Results from a proof-of-concept study led by Joan Seoane show the promise of
cerebrospinal fluid as liquid biopsy for the more precise characterization and real time tracking of medulloblastoma.
Circulating tumor DNA from cerebrospinal fluid reveals genomic alterations during disease evolution -even prior to surgery- to more precisely guide treatment decision making.
A National Institutes of Health study of 5,000 women has found that approximately 1 in 4 experienced high levels of depressive symptoms at some point in the three years after giving birth. The rest of the women experienced low levels of depression throughout the three-year span. The study was conducted by researchers at NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). It appears in the journal Pediatrics.