Category - Latest Science

Latest Science

How a virus packages its genetic material

Simulations by UC Riverside-led team could help design nanocontainers used in drug delivery Each simple RNA virus has a genome, its “native RNA.” This genome dictates how the virus replicates in cells to eventually...

11 March, 2022

3 min read

Latest Science

Influenza and the ‘Holy Grail’ vaccine

The influenza virus caused between 9–41 million illnesses and 12–52,000 deaths in the United States each year between 2010 and 2020. In a “bad” flu year, around 30,000 people die in the UK from flu and pneumonia. A 2018...

10 March, 2022

9 min read

Latest Science

RNA interference as a new approach for the treatment of COVID-19

A research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has successfully used specific enzymes to destroy the genetic information of SARS-CoV-2 directly after the virus penetrates the cell. The findings could...

7 March, 2022

3 min read

Latest Science

New study on meningococcal disease

The Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectology (SLIPE for its acronym in Spanish) is working hard to strengthen the vaccination recommendations as the most effective method to prevent meningococcal disease, a...

4 March, 2022

1 min read

Latest Science

New study identifies African “hotspot” for highly infectious diseases

A regional corner of Africa is a hotspot for cases of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, prompting researchers to call for targeted health support rather than a national response. The new research, published in BMJ Global...

2 March, 2022

2 min read

Latest Science

Climate change and extreme weather will have complex effects on infectious disease transmission

Temperature variation affects pathogens and their hosts in distinct ways, and these organisms are influenced by the type of variation and the average background temperature it is applied to. Temperature fluctuations...

1 March, 2022

3 min read

Latest Science

A promising new vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza

The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, along with the continuous transmission of influenza viruses and other coronaviruses, remains a serious global threat to public health...

28 February, 2022

4 min read

Latest Science

Waning of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness: individual and public health risk

High coverage rates of vaccination against COVID-19 are envisaged to end the pandemic. However, waning of vaccine-induced protection is a growing concern that has been fostered by data on vaccine effectiveness against...

23 February, 2022

2 min read

Latest Science

Rich countries still need to step up on global COVID vaccine access

Among the G20 goals being pursued by the Indonesian chair this year is ‘ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines’. This has become a pressing task, though one that’s part of a bigger picture. Developing country...

22 February, 2022

5 min read

Latest Science

Discovery of protective RNA mechanism informs pursuit to develop anti-viral drugs

In the long-term battle between a herpesvirus and its human host, a University of Massachusetts Amherst virologist and her team of students have identified some human RNA able to resist the viral takeover – and the...

22 February, 2022

3 min read