Press monitoring
Vaccine 2.0: Moderna and other companies plan tweaks that would protect against new coronavirus mutations
1.2.2021 | Press monitoring
News from U.S. manufacturer Moderna that its COVID-19 vaccine is still “expected to be protective” against a virus variant first detected in South Africa came as a relief to scientists and the public. But the 25 January announcement included a caveat: Antibodies triggered by the vaccine appear to be a little less potent against the new variant,...
Gorilla treated with antibodies recovering from COVID, says US zoo
29.1.2021 | Press monitoring
An elderly gorilla was recovering from a serious case of COVID-19 after he was treated with cutting-edge synthetic antibodies, the San Diego Zoo said Monday. Veterinarians are now identifying which animals to inject with the zoo's limited supply of vaccines. Winston, 48, was one of several gorillas among the San Diego Zoo Safari Park's troop...
Using machine learning to identify ancient RNA viruses in the human genome
27.1.2021 | Press monitoring
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Japan has used machine learning algorithms to help them identify ancient RNA virus remnants in the human genome. Prior research has shown that when a person (or other animal) is infected with a virus, that virus can sometimes change the host's DNA by adding some of its own RNA. Other...
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3D-printed bone-replacement gel contains live bone cells
25.1.2021 | Press monitoring
Presently, if a patient is missing a section of bone due to accident or disease, it has to be replaced with bone harvested from elsewhere in their body. A new cell-containing gel, however, could one day be 3D printed right into the injury, where it would then harden. Scientists at Australia's University of New South Wales-Sydney have created a...
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The Future of Organ Transplants: Bioprinting, Stem Cells and More
22.1.2021 | Press monitoring
In the United States alone, over 100,000 people are on the organ transplant list. Around 17 of these people will die per day without having received the transplant. It’s clear that organs from human donors will never be adequate for everyone looking for a transplant. Thus, scientists have been researching alternatives, such as using organs made...
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Compound from medicinal herb kills brain-eating amoebae in lab studies
20.1.2021 | Press monitoring
Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), a deadly disease caused by the "brain-eating amoeba" Naegleria fowleri, is becoming more common in some areas of the world, and it has no effective treatment. Amphotericin B is the most common therapy given to those with the infection. It can kill N. fowleri in the lab, but it isn't very effective...
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Designer protein helps paralyzed mice walk again in breakthrough study
18.1.2021 | Press monitoring
In a new study, German scientists have restored the ability to walk in mice that had been paralyzed after a complete spinal cord injury. The team created a “designer” signaling protein and injected it into the animals’ brains, stimulating their nerve cells to regenerate and share the recipe to make the protein. Spinal cord injuries are among the...
Researchers develop oral insulin nanoparticles that could be an alternative to jabs
15.1.2021 | Press monitoring
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed insulin nanoparticles that may one day become the basis for an oral medicine, and an alternative to insulin injections for diabetic patients. In a pre-clinical study, the NTU Singapore team fed insulin-containing nanoparticles to rats and found that insulin...
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Phage viruses can make superbugs susceptible to antibiotics again
13.1.2021 | Press monitoring
Viruses firmly hold the world’s attention at the moment, but we shouldn’t ignore the rising health threat that bacteria pose, too. The crafty critters are fast evolving resistance to antibiotics, meaning our best drugs could soon stop working entirely. Now researchers in Australia have found a way to bypass drug resistance in these so-called...
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Producing milk from yeast that looks and tastes like cows milk
11.1.2021 | Press monitoring
Might a new technological development of researchers from Tel Aviv University soon revolutionize the dairy products we consume? The initiators of the development believe that in the not-too-distant future we will be able to buy dairy products in the supermarket that are identical in taste and color to the ordinary dairy products that we consume...
