Mefloquine: A promising drug 'soldier' in the battle against COVID-19
Early 2020 saw the world break into what has been described as a "war-like situation": a pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the likes of which majority of the living generations across most of the planet have not ever seen. This pandemic has downed economies and resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.
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Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines prime T cells to fight SARS-CoV-2 variants
Researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have found that T cells from people who have recovered from COVID-19 or received the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are still able to recognize several concerning SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Their new study, published online on July 1, 2021 in Cell Reports Medicine, shows that both CD4+ "helper" T cells and CD8+ "killer" T cells can still recognize mutated forms of the virus.
COVID-19 vaccine reduces severity, length, viral load for those who still get infected
Individuals who contract COVID-19 even after vaccination are likely to have a lower viral load, experience a shorter infection time and have milder symptoms than people who are unvaccinated, according to research that includes data from ongoing University of Arizona Health Sciences studies.
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COVID-19 vaccines have prevented 7.2 million infections and 27,000 deaths in England alone
Latest modelling analysis from Public Health England (PHE) and the University of Cambridge’s MRC Biostatistics Unit suggests that the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme has so far prevented an estimated 7.2 million infections and 27,000 deaths in England alone.
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Virus that causes COVID-19 can find alternate route to infect cells
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists identified how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, gets inside cells to cause infection. All current COVID-19 vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics were designed to disrupt this route into cells, which requires a receptor called ACE2.
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COVID-19 dual-antibody therapies effective against variants in animal study
COVID-19 therapies made from antibodies often are given to patients who are at high risk of severe illness and hospitalization. However, there have been nagging questions about whether such antibody therapies retain their effectiveness as worrisome new virus variants arise.
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Cancer cells fight for their footing by using an ageing gene
Researchers at the University of Helsinki and the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow have discovered how mutated cells promote their chances to form cancer. Typically, the accumulation of harmful cells is prevented by active competition between multiple stem cells in intestinal glands, called crypts.
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