The key to a powerful antibiotic's formation now clear
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A powerful class of antibiotics called carbapenems can circumvent antibiotic resistance thanks to a particular chain of atoms in their structure. Now, a team of researchers from Penn State and Johns Hopkins University have imaged an enzyme involved in the creation of this chain to better understand how it forms - and perhaps replicate the process to improve future antibiotics. A paper describing the process appears in the journal Nature.
Compound in the herb rosemary may be useful against COVID-19 and other inflammatory diseases
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A team co-led by scientists at Scripps Research has found evidence that a compound contained in the medicinal and culinary herb rosemary could be a two-pronged weapon against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The scientists, in experiments described in a paper published January 6, 2022 in the journal Antioxidants, found that the compound, carnosic acid, can block the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 outer "spike" protein and the receptor protein, ACE2, which the virus uses to gain entry to cells.
Current COVID-19 vaccines induce robust cellular immunity against Omicron variant
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A highly mutated version of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the Omicron variant has been shown to cause breakthrough infections among the vaccinated thanks to its ability to evade the virus-killing neutralizing antibodies that the body makes in response to getting vaccinated.
Parental vaccination against coronavirus offers substantial protection to children as well
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The Clalit Research Institute, in collaboration with researchers from Harvard University and Tel-Aviv University, analyzed one of the world’s largest integrated health record databases to examine the indirect protection provided to unvaccinated children through parental vaccination with the BNT162b2 (Pfizer) vaccine.
Delta variant, waning immunity reduced Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness against household transmission
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A new study by Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) researchers suggests that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was more than 91% effective at reducing transmission of coronavirus in Israeli households before the emergence of the delta variant. However, the combined effect of the new variant and waning vaccine-induced immunity considerably reduced the vaccine's effectiveness against transmission over time.
New study suggests two paths toward ‘super immunity’ to COVID-19
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New laboratory research from Oregon Health & Science University reveals more than one path toward robust immunity from COVID-19.
A new study finds that two forms of immunity - breakthrough infections following vaccination or natural infection followed by vaccination - provide roughly equal levels of enhanced immune protection.
The cellular response that protects pigs from COVID-19
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- Category: Research
Iowa State University scientists may have uncovered an important clue that sheds light on why pigs don’t get sick when exposed to the coronavirus.
Studies since the start of the pandemic have noted that pigs can be infected by the virus if exposed to high doses, but the infection is self-limited and pigs don’t show clinical signs of disease nor do they transmit the virus to other animals.
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- COVID-19 - Omicron: resistant to most monoclonal antibodies but neutralized by a booster dose
- COVID-19 can trigger self-attacking antibodies
- Treatments in weeks, not months: Scientists develop ambitious pandemic response plan