Several FDA-approved drugs - including for type 2 diabetes, hepatitis C and HIV - significantly reduce the ability of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 to replicate in human cells, according to new research led by scientists at Penn State. Specifically, the team found that these drugs inhibit certain viral enzymes, called proteases, that are essential for SARS-CoV-2 replication in infected human cells.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have uncovered a new role of a chromatin-modulatory enzyme, termed EZH2, during cancer development. They then developed a new therapeutic approach with a potent small-molecule inhibitor of this enzyme.

Autoimmune diseases are triggered when the immune system malfunctions and attacks the body's own structures. Although there is not, as yet, any cure for such diseases, their progression can be slowed down by therapeutic measures. Researchers at MedUni Vienna's Center for Physiology and Pharmacology have now discovered a central signaling pathway in immune cells that may help in the development of a new therapeutic approach.

Little has been known to date about how the immune system's natural killer (NK) cells detect which cells have been infected with SARS-CoV-2. An international team of scientist led by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now shows that NK cells respond to a certain peptide on the surface of infected cells.

A study published by The BMJ finds that COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk of mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, substance use, and sleep disorders, up to one year after initial infection.

The findings suggest that tackling mental health disorders among survivors of COVID-19 should be a priority.

Although fractures normally heal, bone will not regenerate under several circumstances. When bone does not regenerate, major clinical problems could result, including amputation.

To enhance the regeneration of bone, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2, or BMP-2. However, it is expensive and only moderately effective. It also produces side effects - some severe.

Getting vaccinated for COVID-19 measurably improved the psychological well-being of participants in the Understanding Coronavirus in America study, a large longitudinal look at the impact of the pandemic on individuals in the United States. Vaccination was associated with declines in distress and perceived risks of infection, hospitalization, and death.