Every week there are numerous scientific studies published. Heres a look at some of the more interesting ones.
The Unusual Way the COVID-19 Virus Infects Other Cells
Researchers with the University of California, San Francisco found that when the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects a human cells, the infected cell grows multi-pronged tentacles that are studded with viral particles. These filaments, called filopodia, reach out to still-healthy neighboring cells, which then bore into the cells bodies and infect the healthy cells with virus. The research was published in the journal Cell.
Scientists previously believed the SARS-CoV-2 virus infected cells in a typical way, which is by finding receptors on the surface of cells in a persons mouth, nose, respiratory tract, lungs or blood vessels, and replicating and invading larger cells. Other viruses, such as smallpox, HIV and some influenza viruses also used filopodia to improve their ability to infect cells.
By conducting a systematic analysis of the changes in phosphorylation when SARS-CoV-2 infects a cell, we identified several key factors that will inform not only the next areas of biological study, but also treatments that may be repurposed to treat patients with COVID-19, said one of the studys authors, Nevan Krogan, professor, Department of Cellular Molecular Pharmacology at the UCSF School of Medicine.
They also tested 87 drugs and molecules by mapping global phosphorylation profiles to dysregulated kinases and pathways that have the potential for treating COVID-19. They then narrowed the list down to kinase inhibitors.
We narrowed in on about a dozen, Krogan told ABC News, and we highlighted about six or seven that look particularly potent in a laboratory setting. And were very excited now to try and take these into clinical trials.
Three of those drugs include Senhwa Biosciences silmitasertib, which is in clinical trials for bile duct cancer and other malignancies; Eli Lillys ralimetinib, a cancer drug being evaluated for ovarian cancer; and Astellas gilteritinib, which is used to treat acute myeloid leukemia and marketed under the brand name Xospata.
Predicting Which Babies Will Develop Type 1 Diabetes
Researchers at the University of Exeter with colleagues at seven international locations followed 7,798 children at high risk of developing type 1 diabetes from birth, over nine years. The TEDDY Study data was then used to develop an algorithm by combining multiple factors to determine if a child is likely to develop type 1 diabetes. The combined risk score melds genetics, family history, and islet autoantibody counts. It appeared to double current programs to screen newborns to prevent ketoacidosis, a potentially deadly consequence of type 1 diabetes.
COVID-19 Does Not Directly Damage Taste Buds
A common early symptom of COVID-19 is the loss of taste and smell. It was generally believed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus damaged the cells involved in taste and smell, which was the reason for this loss. Recent research suggests 20-25% of patients report a loss of taste. New research from the Regenerative Bioscience Center at the University of Georgia, however, suggests the damage is not caused directly by the virus, but indirectly by events induced during COVID-19 inflammation. The research found that taste bud cells are not vulnerable to the viral infection, because most do not express ACE2, the cell receptor that the virus uses to enter cells.
New Treatment for Osteoarthritis Shows Promise in Regrowing Cartilage
Researchers at NYU Langone Health/NYU School of Medicine conducted a study where they injected adenosine into the joints of rodents whose limbs had been damaged by inflammation caused by either traumatic injury or massive weight gain. The biological damage was similar to that seen in human osteoarthritis. Adenosine is typically used to store energy and plays a central role in metabolism. In the rodents, the eight weekly injections stimulated regrowth rates of cartilage tissue between 35% and 50%.
Llama-Inspired Nanobodies to Treat COVID-19
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have synthesized a molecule inspired by llama antibodies called nanobodies against SARS-CoV-2. They are approximately 25% of the size of human antibodies and from other animals, and they appear to be the most potent anti-coronavirus compound that has been tested in the laboratory so far. In addition, the nanobodies are extremely stable, which means they can be turned into a dry powder and aerosolized, which would make them much easier to administer than the human monoclonal antibodies being developed by companies such as Sorrento Therapeutics, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly.
Why People Have Different Responses to COVID-19
Researchers at McMaster University and the University of Waterloo discovered that ACE2 receptors exist in very low levels in human lung tissue. This challenges the generally accepted belief that the SARS-CoV-2 virus enters cells via ACE2, at least in the lungs. They published their research in the European Respiratory Journal and their findings were independently confirmed by other researchers and published in Molecular Systems Biology.
Our finding is somewhat controversial, as it suggests that there must be other ways, other receptors for the virus, that regulate its infection of the lungs, said Jeremy Hirota, co-lead scientist from the Research Institute of St. Joes Hamilton and an assistant professor of Medicine at McMaster. We were surprised that the fundamental characterization of the candidate receptors in human lung tissue had not yet been done in a systematic way with modern technologies.
Finding such low levels of ACE2 in lung tissue has important implications for how we think about this virus, said co-lead Andrew Doxey, professor of Biology at the University of Waterloo. ACE2 is not the full story and may be more relevant in other tissues such as the vascular system.
They are now exploring alternate additional infection pathways and why there are different patient responses to infection. To do so, they are using nasal swabs that were collected during COVID-19 diagnoses, which lets them analyze the genes expressed by the patients cells. They will correlate positive and negative COVID-19 cases with clinical outcomes and hope to develop predictive algorithms associated with morbidity and mortality.
It is clear that some individuals respond better than others to the same SARS-CoV-2 virus, said Hirota. The differential response to the same virus suggests that each individual patient, with their unique characteristics, heavily influences COVID-19 disease severity. We think it is the lung immune system that differs between COVID-19 patients, and by understanding which patients lung immune systems are helpful and which are harmful, we may be able to help physicians proactively manage the most at-risk patients.
Read more:
Research Roundup: How the COVID-19 Virus Infects Other Cells and More - BioSpace
- Vascular Cell and Molecular Biology | Center for Vascular Biology | Weill Cornell ... - April 13th, 2018 [April 13th, 2018]
- APVBO-Asia Pacific Vascular Biology Organization Conference - April 18th, 2018 [April 18th, 2018]
- Vascular Biology Conferences | Vascular Surgery ... - May 5th, 2018 [May 5th, 2018]
- Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine - May 7th, 2018 [May 7th, 2018]
- 2019 Vascular Cell Biology Conference GRC - May 26th, 2018 [May 26th, 2018]
- Biology 211: Taxonomy of Flowering Plants - June 7th, 2018 [June 7th, 2018]
- esm-evbo2019.org - Menu - July 27th, 2018 [July 27th, 2018]
- Vascular Biology | Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical ... - November 16th, 2018 [November 16th, 2018]
- Lower vascular plant | biology | Britannica.com - November 18th, 2018 [November 18th, 2018]
- Vascular Biology - NAVBO - November 20th, 2018 [November 20th, 2018]
- 2019 Cerebral Vascular Biology Conference - cvent.com - November 21st, 2018 [November 21st, 2018]
- PPARs and Their Emerging Role in Vascular Biology ... - November 26th, 2018 [November 26th, 2018]
- Vascular Biology Chicago Medicine - November 30th, 2018 [November 30th, 2018]
- Vascular Biology | Society for Vascular Surgery - November 30th, 2018 [November 30th, 2018]
- Vascular Biology 2018 - NAVBO - December 19th, 2018 [December 19th, 2018]
- Vascular Biology 2019 - NAVBO - December 20th, 2018 [December 20th, 2018]
- Vascular Biology - January 22nd, 2019 [January 22nd, 2019]
- pvb2019.org Plant Vascular Biology Conference 2019 - January 31st, 2019 [January 31st, 2019]
- Plant Physiology | Basic Biology - March 12th, 2019 [March 12th, 2019]
- Awards - esm-evbo2019.org - April 23rd, 2019 [April 23rd, 2019]
- Medication and Exercise to Prevent Muscle Loss - Next Avenue - September 24th, 2019 [September 24th, 2019]
- A Snail as Fast as a Bullet, and Other Darwin-Defying Marvels - Discovery Institute - September 24th, 2019 [September 24th, 2019]
- Nature up close: Life in the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve - CBS News - September 24th, 2019 [September 24th, 2019]
- Oklahoma new hires and promotions announced - Oklahoman.com - September 24th, 2019 [September 24th, 2019]
- Quinn Capers IV, MD - TCTMD - September 24th, 2019 [September 24th, 2019]
- Cardiovascular Repair And Reconstruction Devices Market Global Industry Insights by Top Vendors, Growth, Revenue and Forecast Outlook 2019-2025 -... - September 26th, 2019 [September 26th, 2019]
- Four health projects at Boston Childrens Hospital that could help adults - The Boston Globe - September 30th, 2019 [September 30th, 2019]
- Research Officer/ Postdoctoral Researcher - The Conversation AU - October 16th, 2019 [October 16th, 2019]
- UNSW skin cancer researcher Levon Khachigian hit with string of retractions - ABC News - October 16th, 2019 [October 16th, 2019]
- Michal Wszola: We Expect to Transplant the Bioprinted Bionic Pancreas in Three to Five Years - 3DPrint.com - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- 'The Blob': This mysterious 'smart' slime can solve puzzles and make decisions - CNBC - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- University of Maryland and DOD collaborate to study Tick-borne Infections using 3-D models of human blood vessels - Outbreak News Today - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- Submerged Vegetation Mirrors Coast's Health - Coastal Review Online - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- Another health warning for e-cigarette users that has nothing to do with lung disease - MarketWatch - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- E-Cigarettes Take a Dangerous Toll on Heart Health - DocWire News - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- Vascular biology Department of Surgery College of ... - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- US Nobel laureates tell us what they think about cancer research, moonshots, the dark side, funding, meritocracy, herd mentality, Trump, and joy - The... - November 21st, 2019 [November 21st, 2019]
- Growing Organs in the Lab: One Step Closer to Reality - BioSpace - November 21st, 2019 [November 21st, 2019]
- Inotrem Announces Enrollment of First Patient in its Phase IIb ASTONISH Trial for Nangibotide in the Treatment of Septic Shock - Business Wire - November 21st, 2019 [November 21st, 2019]
- Another Study Suggests E-cigarettes Hurt Heart Health More Than Regular Cigarettes - Science Times - November 21st, 2019 [November 21st, 2019]
- Cleveland Clinic awarded $12 million by NIH to study the link between gut microbes and heart disease - Crain's Cleveland Business - November 21st, 2019 [November 21st, 2019]
- JanOne Acquires Worldwide, Exclusive License for Promising Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) - Yahoo Finance - November 27th, 2019 [November 27th, 2019]
- Germ-free lungs of newborn mice are partially protected against hyperoxia - The Mix - November 27th, 2019 [November 27th, 2019]
- Bethesda Health Physician Group Welcomes Fellowship-Trained Endocrine Surgeon Jessica L. Buicko, MD, to Its Team - The Boca Raton Tribune - November 27th, 2019 [November 27th, 2019]
- 9 Harvard researchers named AAAS Fellows Harvard - Harvard Gazette - November 27th, 2019 [November 27th, 2019]
- Top Technical Advances of 2019 - The Scientist - December 29th, 2019 [December 29th, 2019]
- Growing up Tyrannosaurus rex: Osteohistology refutes the pygmy Nanotyrannus and supports ontogenetic niche partitioning in juvenile Tyrannosaurus -... - January 2nd, 2020 [January 2nd, 2020]
- UCC currently taking applicants for 21 jobs with some incredible pay - Cork Beo - January 2nd, 2020 [January 2nd, 2020]
- Vascular Biology | Surgery Research | Michigan Medicine ... - January 2nd, 2020 [January 2nd, 2020]
- Sandy Bottom wetlands to receive protection for 'national ecological significance' - Citizen Times - January 14th, 2020 [January 14th, 2020]
- Why biotech is a boon for patients and investors - Spear's WMS - January 14th, 2020 [January 14th, 2020]
- Exonate Announces Collaboration With Janssen to Develop a New Eye Drop for the Treatment of Retinal Vascular Diseases Including Wet Age-related... - January 14th, 2020 [January 14th, 2020]
- G-protein Coupled Receptor Market Competitive Research And Precise Outlook 2019 To 2025 Dagoretti News - Dagoretti News - January 18th, 2020 [January 18th, 2020]
- Scientists revealed the oldest known scorpion on Earth - Tech Explorist - January 18th, 2020 [January 18th, 2020]
- How biology creates networks that are cheap, robust, and efficient - Penn: Office of University Communications - January 18th, 2020 [January 18th, 2020]
- Genome editing heralds new era of disease research, therapy - The Augusta Chronicle - January 18th, 2020 [January 18th, 2020]
- Research Fellow in Vascular Stem Cell Biology job with QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST | 195527 - Times Higher Education (THE) - February 10th, 2020 [February 10th, 2020]
- More than skin deep: the latest innovation in 3D printing - Med-Tech Innovation - February 10th, 2020 [February 10th, 2020]
- Examining the link between menopause and heart disease risk - Medical News Bulletin - February 10th, 2020 [February 10th, 2020]
- Women Face an Increased Risk of Heart Disease With AgeRunning Can Help - runnersworld.com - February 12th, 2020 [February 12th, 2020]
- G-protein Coupled Receptor Market Competitive Research And Precise Outlook 2019 To 2025 - Galus Australis - February 15th, 2020 [February 15th, 2020]
- Valentine's Day Matters of the Heart, Biopharma-Style - BioSpace - February 15th, 2020 [February 15th, 2020]
- The Addicted Gardener: Environmental tidbits from around the world - Wicked Local Sharon - February 22nd, 2020 [February 22nd, 2020]
- UI at 150 & Beyond: 'The Quad was the best no matter what the weather' - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette - February 22nd, 2020 [February 22nd, 2020]
- The Addicted Gardener: Environmental tidbits from around the world - Wicked Local Dedham - February 23rd, 2020 [February 23rd, 2020]
- THE ADDICTED GARDENER: Environmental tidbits from around the world - Wicked Local Wareham - March 22nd, 2020 [March 22nd, 2020]
- 'Little Foot' skull reveals how this more than 3 million year old human ancestor lived - HeritageDaily - March 22nd, 2020 [March 22nd, 2020]
- It's Not Only About Neurons - The Good Men Project - March 22nd, 2020 [March 22nd, 2020]
- Who is Sir Patrick Vallance and what is his role in government during coronavirus outbreak? - The Scottish Sun - March 22nd, 2020 [March 22nd, 2020]
- University of Washington Pathology Professor Dies of COVID-19 - The Scientist - March 22nd, 2020 [March 22nd, 2020]
- THE ADDICTED GARDENER: Environmental tidbits from around the world - Wicked Local Rochester - March 23rd, 2020 [March 23rd, 2020]
- Ancient human ancestor 'Little Foot' probably lived in trees, new research finds - WBAP News/Talk - March 23rd, 2020 [March 23rd, 2020]
- Study shows similarity in anti-VEGF injection intervals for wet AMD - Ophthalmology Times - March 25th, 2020 [March 25th, 2020]
- aTyr Pharma and its Hong Kong Subsidiary, Pangu BioPharma, Announce Government Grant to Fund Bispecific Antibody Development Platform - BioSpace - March 25th, 2020 [March 25th, 2020]
- Health researchers find solution to life-threatening side effect - Mirage News - March 25th, 2020 [March 25th, 2020]
- European Vascular Biology Organisation | Advancing human ... - March 25th, 2020 [March 25th, 2020]
- Vascular Biology Program | Boston Children's Hospital - March 25th, 2020 [March 25th, 2020]
- Vascular Biology Research Program | Johns Hopkins ... - March 25th, 2020 [March 25th, 2020]
- Anatomy of a heatwave: how Antarctica recorded a 20.75C day last month - The Conversation AU - April 1st, 2020 [April 1st, 2020]
- Who is Sir Patrick Vallance and is he speaking at todays government coronavirus press briefing? - The Sun - April 1st, 2020 [April 1st, 2020]