Research

Cancer cells eat themselves to survive

It is the membrane of cancer cells that is at the focus of the new research now showing a completely new way in which cancer cells can repair the damage that can otherwise kill them.

In both normal cells and cancer cells, the cell membrane acts as the skin of the cells. And damage to the membrane can be life threatening. The interior of cells is fluid, and if a hole is made in the membrane, the cell simply floats out and dies - a bit like a hole in a water balloon.

Researchers find potential path to a broadly protective COVID-19 vaccine using T cells

Gaurav Gaiha, MD, DPhil, a member of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, studies HIV, one of the fastest-mutating viruses known to humankind. But HIV's ability to mutate isn't unique among RNA viruses - most viruses develop mutations, or changes in their genetic code, over time. If a virus is disease-causing, the right mutation can allow the virus to escape the immune response by changing the viral pieces the immune system uses to recognize the virus as a threat, pieces scientists call epitopes.

Mefloquine: A promising drug 'soldier' in the battle against COVID-19

Early 2020 saw the world break into what has been described as a "war-like situation": a pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the likes of which majority of the living generations across most of the planet have not ever seen. This pandemic has downed economies and resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines prime T cells to fight SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have found that T cells from people who have recovered from COVID-19 or received the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are still able to recognize several concerning SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Their new study, published online on July 1, 2021 in Cell Reports Medicine, shows that both CD4+ "helper" T cells and CD8+ "killer" T cells can still recognize mutated forms of the virus.

COVID-19 vaccine reduces severity, length, viral load for those who still get infected

Individuals who contract COVID-19 even after vaccination are likely to have a lower viral load, experience a shorter infection time and have milder symptoms than people who are unvaccinated, according to research that includes data from ongoing University of Arizona Health Sciences studies.

Virus that causes COVID-19 can find alternate route to infect cells

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists identified how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, gets inside cells to cause infection. All current COVID-19 vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics were designed to disrupt this route into cells, which requires a receptor called ACE2.

COVID-19 dual-antibody therapies effective against variants in animal study

COVID-19 therapies made from antibodies often are given to patients who are at high risk of severe illness and hospitalization. However, there have been nagging questions about whether such antibody therapies retain their effectiveness as worrisome new virus variants arise.

Research & Development

Cancer cells eat themselves to survive

Researchers find potential path to a broadly protective COVID-19 vaccine using T cells

Mefloquine: A promising drug 'soldier' in the battle against COVID-19

Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines prime T cells to fight SARS-CoV-2 variants

COVID-19 vaccine reduces severity, length, viral load for those who still get infected

Virus that causes COVID-19 can find alternate route to infect cells

COVID-19 dual-antibody therapies effective against variants in animal study

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