Tag: RNA

A new study published in the journal Science Immunology analyzed lung epithelial cells from patients infected with COVID-19 and found the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induces the complement system as a dangerous weapon for viral infection. The complement system is an extension of the innate immune system to recognize pathogens and remove

A team of scientists from Brazil recently explored the abilities of the UK, South African, and Brazilian variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to evade host CD8+ T cell responses induced by natural infection or vaccination. The findings reveal reduced antigenic coverage for the P.2 Brazilian lineage, indicating its ability to evade

Scientists at The Wistar Institute identified a new function of ADAR1, a protein responsible for RNA editing, discovering that the ADAR1p110 isoform regulates genome stability at chromosome ends and is required for continued proliferation of cancer cells. These findings, reported in Nature Communications, reveal an additional oncogenic function of ADAR1 and reaffirm its potential as

A few weeks ago, a group of Philadelphia scientists reported that they had injected mice with genetic instructions in the form of RNA, prompting the animals’ cells to produce customized proteins. If that seems like no big deal at this point, now that millions have undergone a similar process in being vaccinated against COVID-19, guess

A safe, fast and cheap testing method that uses magnetic nanoparticles to detect viruses in both clinical and wastewater samples has been developed by KAUST researchers. The centrifuge-free approach is compatible with magnetic bead-based automated systems that are already used to process hundreds of samples. Our silica magnetic nanoparticle-based workflow can be assembled from scratch

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has claimed well over 2.4 million lives, but its long-term sequelae are still being identified. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) produces an infection that may be associated with a wide spectrum of disease, from asymptomatic to critical or terminal respiratory failure or multi-organ dysfunction. A new

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

University of Birmingham researchers have invented a COVID-19 test that reduces testing time from 30 minutes to under five, and delivers accurate results. The method is described in a preprint paper (yet to be peer-reviewed) published on MedRxiv, where the researchers also demonstrate the rapidity and sensitivity of their method using patient sample RNA provided

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for rapid and accurate nucleic acid detection at the point of care. To meet this need, scientists from the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology have developed a novel amplification-free rapid SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection platform based on hybrid capture fluorescence immunoassay (HC-FIA). The use of the

The move toward targeted anti-cancer treatments has produced better outcomes with fewer side-effects for many breast cancer patients. But so far, advances in precision medicine haven’t reached people diagnosed with so-called triple-negative breast cancer. An innovative compound developed in the lab of Scripps Research chemist Matthew D. Disney, Ph.D., offers a new potential route to

A team from Scripps Research has found a molecular cause of a group of rare autoimmune disorders in which the immune system attacks the body’s own healthy cells. The discovery, published Dec. 18 in Nature Communications, improves understanding of a protein’s role in several autoimmune disorders, including Singleton-Merten syndrome (SMS), Aicardi-Goutières syndrome, familial chilblain lupus,

Single-cell sequencing technologies are filling in fine details in the catalog of life. Researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center (UConn Health) and The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) have identified 40 subtypes of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) along with the genetic markers and transcription factors that differentiate them. Thanks to recent advances in droplet-based single-cell

It’s the critical first step in treating everything from strokes to cancer: a timely and accurate diagnosis. Today, doctors often rely on biomarkers, such as cardiac troponin, the protein that appears in the blood after a heart attack, to help them figure out what’s going on with patients. But the information the biomarkers provide can

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have identified a therapeutic RNA molecule that corrects the error in genetic processing that leads to familial dysautonomia, a rare inherited neurodegenerative disorder. The experiments, conducted in cells sampled from patients and in a mouse model of the disease, provide proof of the team’s therapeutic concept. Familial dysautonomia,

If there is one thing all cancers have in common, it is they have nothing in common. A multi-center study led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has shed light on why proteins, the seedlings that serve as the incubator for many cancers, can vary from cancer to cancer and even patient