The United States recently secured 1.7 million doses of a compound that could help to treat COVID-19 patients. In preliminary studies, Molnupiravir reduced the transmission of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen and the Julius Maximilians University Würzburg have now elucidated the underlying molecular mechanism. The antiviral agent incorporates RNA-like building blocks into the RNA genome of the virus.

The research found that those with more severe COVID-19 symptoms scored lower on an online series of tests, with performance on reasoning and problem-solving tasks being most affected. Further analysis of the data indicated that those who received mechanical ventilation to help them breathe whilst in hospital had the greatest impairment on cognitive tasks.

Even as several safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are being administered to people worldwide, scientists are still hard at work developing different vaccine strategies that could provide even stronger or longer-lasting immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have immunized mice with nanoparticles that mimic SARS-CoV-2 by displaying multiple copies of the receptor binding domain (RBD) antigen, showing that the vaccine triggers robust antibody and T cell responses.

Research by Lancaster University scientists to create a COVID-19 vaccine which can be administered through the nose has taken a significant step forward.

The pre-clinical animal trials of the intranasal vaccine showed a reduction in both the impact of the disease itself and transmission of the virus.

The levels of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein remain stable, or even increase, seven months after infection, according to a follow-up study in a cohort of healthcare workers coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa" Foundation, in collaboration with the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. The results, published in Nature Communications, also support the idea that pre-existing antibodies against common cold coronaviruses could protect against COVID-19.

Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for several cancers including head & neck (mouth, pharynx, larynx), oesophageal and bowel cancer - as well as the more widely known links to breast and liver cancer - according to a new study funded by World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)(1), and published this week in Nature Communications. The study also found increased coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of developing liver cancer and basal cell carcinoma of the skin.

Researchers have created a new open-access database of information on drug candidates and how they are metabolised by the body, which could help speed up the repurposing of old drugs as new treatments.

There is an urgent need for more effective treatments for many conditions, including COVID-19, cancer and malaria. But the process of developing new drugs is costly, can take decades, and often leads to failed treatments.