Tag: mutation

Scientists launch clinical trial of CRISPR gene correction therapy in patients with sickle cell disease

Scientists at UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley and UCLA have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to jointly launch an early phase, first-in-human clinical trial of a CRISPR gene correction therapy in patients with sickle cell disease using the patient's own blood-forming stem cells. The trial will combine CRISPR technology developed at Innovative Genomics

Researchers examine the evolutionary race between SARS-CoV-2 and human defenses

Analysis indicated the number of mutations in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor-binding domain (RBD) doubles every 72 days. As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues infecting more people, SARS-CoV-2 is also evolving. Several new variants of the virus have now been discovered, some more infectious than the original strains. This

Natural virus-induced immunity protective against UK and South African SARS-CoV-2 variants in hamster study

As new variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continue to emerge, fueling the continued spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a new study offers encouragement. Released as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, the study reports the protection offered by antibodies elicited by natural infection against the newer variants

New coronavirus variant in NYC has vaccine-evading mutation

A new coronavirus variant with concerning mutations is on the rise in New York City, according to news reports. This latest coronavirus variant, dubbed B.1.526, first emerged in New York in November 2020, and it now accounts for about 25% of coronavirus genomes that were sequenced from New York in February and posted to a

Current monoclonal antibodies less potent against SARS-CoV-2 variants

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to wreak havoc across the globe. Scientists are racing to develop effective therapeutic regimens to combat the infection. One of therapy currently used to stimulate a robust immune response against the virus is monoclonal antibodies, a treatment used for

Detection of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant in New York

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena have developed a software tool called "Variant Database" that has detected an emerging lineage of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) isolates in New York. The novel SARS-CoV-2 virus is the agent responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to sweep the globe

SARS-CoV-2 evolves antibody resistance in immunocompromised patient

Researchers in the United States who tracked the evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in an immunocompromised patient found that convalescent plasma therapy was associated with the emergence of viral variants that were less susceptible to neutralizing antibodies. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is the agent responsible for the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that

Subgenomic RNAs could help identify asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection

With new variants emerging, often showing increased transmissibility and virulence, governments and health organizations do not appear to be within striking distance of effectively containing the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), this condition presents with a wide spectrum of severity, ranging from asymptomatic infection

Researchers link cases of ALS and FTD to a Huntington’s disease-associated mutation

A study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health has made a surprising connection between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), two disorders of the nervous system, and the genetic mutation normally understood to cause Huntington’s disease. This large, international project, which included a collaboration between the National Institute of Neurological

Gene mutation enhances cognitive flexibility in mice, study suggests

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered in mice what they believe is the first known genetic mutation to improve cognitive flexibility—the ability to adapt to changing situations. The gene, KCND2, codes for a protein that regulates potassium channels, which control electrical signals that travel along neurons. The electrical signals stimulate chemical messengers

TGFB1 Mutation Ups Radiation-Induced Breast Fibrosis Risk

THURSDAY, Aug. 2, 2018 — The C-509T allele in the promoter region of transforming growth factor β (TGFB1) is associated with radiation-induced breast fibrosis risk among patients with early-stage breast cancer, according to study published online July 19 in JAMA Oncology. Aaron J. Grossberg, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Overestimated mutation rate

At the start of the epidemic in West Africa, the Ebola virus did not change as rapidly as thought at the time. ETH researchers explain why scientists misjudged it at the time. Scientific evidence at the start of the last major Ebola epidemic in West Africa that suggested the virus would change exceptionally rapidly was