In a cohort study of over 10,000 participants with and without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, a handful of routine clinical laboratory tests were unable to provide a reliable biomarker of SARS-CoV-2 infection’s post-acute sequelae (PASC), also known as “long COVID.” The researchers also showed that all 25 tests failed to provide…

Researchers at the University of California (UC), Riverside have developed a novel vaccine that leverages existing immunity to the influenza virus to speed the development of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.  In the study, published this week in the Journal of Virology, they note that the same…

Researchers from the University College London (UCL), in the U.K. have unveiled critical insights into the evolving strategies of the latest SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as BA.4 and BA.5, shedding light on their ability to overcome humans’ innate immunity, marking a crucial turning point in the ongoing battle against the COVID-19…

An analysis of the recently emerged Omicron subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, BA.2.86, shows it has relatively low infectivity and is susceptible to bivalent vaccines, but is able to infect the lungs more thoroughly than earlier Omicron variants. The BA.2.86 Omicron sub-variant of the COVID-causing virus emerged in the summer of 2023…

The antiviral drug molnupiravir, used extensively to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection, induces genetic mutations in the virus that could lead to new variants emerging, according to new research led by the Francis Crick Institute in London. So far there is no direct evidence of molnupiravir use leading to a new and…

In a groundbreaking collaborative effort, scientists from the University of California, San Francisco’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute (UCSF QBI), University College London (UCL), and the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine have unveiled crucial insights into the shared molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 variants that enable the virus to thrive even in…

Researchers at Yale University, the University of Florida, and the Connecticut Department of Correction have published new findings in Nature Communications that shows high levels of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 may reduce protection from COVID-19 vaccines and prior infection of the virus. The study suggests that in crowded environments, that methods…

Researchers have used heart and lung stem cells infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to better understand how the disease impacts different organs. Responses varied significantly depending on the cell type, allowing the team to identify effective antiviral drugs to treat infection in these organs specifically, thus paving…

A team of researchers in the Netherlands reports today in the journal Microbiology Spectrum that the compound honokiol, that is found in the bark of multiple species of magnolia trees, inhibits replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in several types of cells. Their research showed that in these cells, honokiol caused…

The gene CIART is a major factor in the establishment of a COVID-19 infection, according to a new study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine. In the study, which appears this week in Nature Cell Biology, the researchers used multiple organoids to…

Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 work better if they target two sites on the virus’s Spike protein, according to a new study led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI). The new findings, published in Cell Reports, suggest bivalent antibodies retain efficacy against both early SARS-CoV-2 variants and later Omicron…

Hybrid immunity against omicron BA.5 lasts about eight months after a breakthrough COVID-19 infection, according to a small study in Portugal. While it was established that infection after vaccination provides an immune boost, the length of that boost was not known until now. “The protection afforded by hybrid immunity is…

Researchers have found how a specific protein in SARS-CoV-2 damages heart tissue in lab models. The group then used the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) to reverse the protein’s toxic effects on the heart. The team is from the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Center for Precision Disease Modeling. Their…

A pan-variant and ultra-potent neutralizing antibody, named S2X324, which is effective against Omicron variants has been identified. The international team looked at several aspects of exposure to earlier forms of the SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen—or immune-provoking protein—on the immune system’s reaction to the Omicron variants. Their findings appear in Science. The…

Levels of SARS-CoV-2 antigen in the blood of hospitalized COVID-19 patients tracks with illness severity and other clinical outcomes, according to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The authors suggest that SARS-CoV-2 antigen levels hold promise as a biomarker to predict which COVID patients hospitalized have a…