by Jacqueline Mitchell, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Omicron Subvariant Mutations and Neutralizing Antibody Responses. Panel A shows the lineage of mutations that have been identified in the omicron BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, and BA.4 or BA.5 subvariants of SARS-CoV-2, as compared with the reference WA1/2020 isolate. BA.4 and BA.5 have identical sequences of the spike protein...
by Steinar Brandslet, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Flu season can be tough, but effective hand washing can still prevent infection. This year, getting vaccinated against the flu is more important than ever. Credit: Shutterstock, NTB The flu season is upon us. Influenza usually kills approximately 1000 people every year in Norway. This is more...
by Li Yuan, Chinese Academy of Sciences Fig. 1. TIPE2 expression correlates with NK cell maturation in both mice and humans.(A) TIPE2 expression of purified splenic NK cells from 2-, 4-, 6-, or 10-week-old wild-type mice was examined by Western blot. (B) UMAP of splenic NK cells from Tipe2WT/WT mice. Cells are color coded according to...
by Bob Yirka , Medical Xpress Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID A large team of researchers affiliated with a host of institutions in the U.K. and Brazil has partially solved the mystery of why some people...
Share on Pinterest New research compares the immunity from having contracted SARS-CoV-2 once with the immunity conferred by a vaccine. Ian Forsyth/Stringer/Getty Images Many questions persist about immunity against SARS-CoV-2, especially the Delta variant. Researchers in Israel have compared the natural immunity acquired from infection and vaccination-acquired immunity. Natural immunity plus one dose of vaccine...
You caught a case of COVID-19 and then you got your first dose of a vaccine. Maybe you now think you are protected from coronavirus infections in the future. Think again: New research shows that prior COVID-19 infection alone doesn’t guarantee a high level of antibodies against the coronavirus or a strong response after just one dose...
By Ratan-NM, M. Pharm. Reviewed by Sophia Coveney, B.Sc. Adequate sleep is vital for good health; unfortunately, not many people relate to this feeling. Amidst the growing workload and late-night culture, the importance of proper sleep is often side-lined. This issue is much relevant in the current pandemic when people are working from home. Image...
EINDHOVEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY IMAGE: ILLUSTRATION OF THE NANOBIOLOGIC-BASED TRAINED IMMUNITY PROCESS ELIMINATING TUMOROUS CELLS. Until recently, it was believed that the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense, lacked the ability to remember pathogens like the adaptive immune system. A ground-breaking study involving researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology, as well as multiple institutes...
Vaccines are the most effective means available for preventing infectious diseases. However, vaccine-induced immune responses are highly variable between individuals and between populations in different regions of the world. Understanding the basis of this variation is, thus, of fundamental importance to human health. Although the factors that are associated with intra- and inter-population variation in...
On January 10, Chinese researchers posted the novel coronavirus’ RNA sequence on a preprint server. Immediately, scientists who study genetic vaccines turned their efforts to the emerging pathogen that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). They knew that rapid response genetic platforms could shave precious weeks to months off development, crucial during a pandemic. They were...
