Respiratory News and Research

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Genomic research can help combat COVID-19

Next-generation sequencing of the COVID-19 virus is providing powerful metagenomic data, which, combined with clinical data, will inform the search for effective treatments, as reported in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology.

5 Jun 2020

Fate-seq technique shows structural differences between COVID-19 and SARS viruses

Scientists have discovered certain segments of the genetic codes of the SARS and COVID-19 viruses that may support the lifecycle of the viruses.

4 Jun 2020

Study reveals how respiratory syncytial virus breaks into cells to cause infection

New research from University of Alberta microbiologists has shed new light on how the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)--one of the most common viral infections--breaks into our cells to cause infection.

4 Jun 2020

Study identifies potent neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

A joint research team led by Sunney Xie, Director of Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics at Peking University has successfully identified multiple highly potent neutralizing antibodies against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus of the respiratory disease COVID-19, from convalescent plasma by high-throughput single-cell sequencing.

29 May 2020

Returning to the wild to better our immune health

Research has found that revegetation of green spaces within cities can improve soil microbiota diversity towards a more natural, biodiverse state.

28 May 2020

Cross-neutralization of SARS and COVID-19 coronaviruses by an antibody

An antibody first identified in a blood sample from a patient who recovered from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003 inhibits related coronaviruses, including the cause of COVID-19.

19 May 2020

Study shows coronavirus does not induce cross-protective immune antibodies

According to researchers, patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) or SARS-CoV-2 generate antibodies that adhere to the other coronavirus; however, the cross-reactive antibodies are not actually cross-protective, as far as cell-culture experiments are concerned.

19 May 2020

Smokers More Likely To Express ACE2 Protein That SARS-COV-2 Uses

Researchers report that smoking increases the gene expression of ACE2, the protein that binds SARS-CoV-2, which may promote COVID-19 infection.

19 May 2020

Computational methods can help design protein-based vaccines

Vaccines are regarded as an effective intervention to stop the spread of infectious diseases. They produce antibodies by activating the immune system.

18 May 2020

Coronavirus attacking microRNA numbers reduce with age

A group of tiny RNA that should attack the virus causing COVID-19 when it tries to infect the body are diminished with age and chronic health problems, a decrease that likely helps explain why older individuals and those with preexisting medical conditions are vulnerable populations, investigators report.

14 May 2020

Researchers identify missing component of innate immune signaling

How cells recognize pathogens and alert the immune system swiftly is a fundamental process of high importance for the survival of any species, including humans.

14 May 2020

The microbiome regulates our immune system's fitness

Working alongside colleagues in Mainz, Bern, Hannover and Bonn, researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health and the German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin were able to show how the microbiome helps to render the immune system capable of responding to pathogens.

13 May 2020

New type of antigen-presenting immune cell discovered

With a discovery that could rewrite the immunology textbooks, an international group of scientists, including the teams of Bart Lambrecht, Martin Guilliams, Hamida Hammad, and Charlotte Scott (all from the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research) identified a new type of antigen-presenting immune cell.

12 May 2020

Blood Filter May Calm The Cytokine Storm Of COVID-19

COVID-19 is causing organ destruction and death, and physicians are replacing the filter in a kidney dialysis machine to trap these tiny proteins.

5 May 2020

Researchers design novel cell culture model of human intestine to study COVID-19

Scientists have identified that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, known to cause COVID-19, infects intestinal cells and undergo proliferation there.

4 May 2020

New antimicrobial peptide proves more effective in fighting drug-resistant bacteria

Through serendipity, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health considerably reduced the toxicity of a potential antibiotic against the most feared drug-resistant bacteria, while also improving its stability in fighting infections.

4 May 2020