Reverse genetics has been an indispensable tool revolutionising insights into viral pathogenesis and vaccine development. Large RNA virus genomes, such as from Coronaviruses, are cumbersome to clone and manipulate in E. coli due to size and occasional instability1–3. Therefore, an alternative rapid and robust reverse genetics platform for RNA viruses would benefit the research community. Here we show the full functionality of a yeast-based synthetic genomics platform to genetically recons...

Now, as the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic surges, researchers are scrambling to uncover as much as possible about the biology of the latest coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2. A profile of the killer is already emerging. Scientists are learning that the virus has evolved an array of adaptations that make it much more lethal than the other coronaviruses humanity has met so far. Unlike close relatives, SARS-CoV-2 can readily attack human cells at multiple points, with the lungs and the throa...

A Finnovaregio Foundation iniciative to identify innovative ideas and projects which can help in our fight against COVID-19, other virus and other similar sanitary problems.

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A Finnovaregio Foundation iniciative to identify innovative ideas and projects which can help in our fight against COVID-19, other virus and other similar sanitary problems.

Click here to access website

The virus severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can cause coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an influenza-like disease that is primarily thought to infect the lungs with transmission via the respiratory route. However, clinical evidence suggests that the intestine may present another viral target organ. Indeed, the SARS-CoV-2 receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is highly expressed on differentiated enterocytes. In human small intestinal organoids (hSIOs), ...

Formlabs has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to 3D print adapters designed to convert bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machines into ventilators. What makes the adapter so significant, as discussed in our interview with the team behind the adapter at Northwell Health, is its simplicity. The T-shaped part makes it possible to connect endotracheal tubes to BiPAP machines, which can then be used ventilator systems, thus incre...

The emergence of the betacoronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, represents a significant threat to global human health. Vaccine development is focused on the principal target of the humoral immune response, the spike (S) glycoprotein, which mediates cell entry and membrane fusion. SARS-CoV-2 S gene encodes 22 N-linked glycan sequons per protomer, which likely play a role in protein folding and immune evasion. Here, using a site-specific mass spectrometric approach, the scie...

Nvidia Chief Scientist Bill Dally has released an open-source ventilator hardware design he developed in order to address the shortage resulting from the global coronavirus pandemic. The mechanical ventilator design developed by Dally can be assembled quickly, using off-the-shelf parts with a total cost of around $400 — making it an accessible and affordable alternative to traditional, dedicated ventilators, which can cost $20,000 or more.

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Nvidia Chief Scientist Bill Dally has released an open-source ventilator hardware design he developed in order to address the shortage resulting from the global coronavirus pandemic. The mechanical ventilator design developed by Dally can be assembled quickly, using off-the-shelf parts with a total cost of around $400 — making it an accessible and affordable alternative to traditional, dedicated ventilators, which can cost $20,000 or more.

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Both drugs are FDA-approved for other illnesses.

Korean researchers have screened 48 FDA-approved drugs against SARS-CoV-2, and found that two, that are already FDA-approved for other illnesses, seem promising. The FDA approval for other uses would greatly reduce the time needed to gain FDA approval of use in COVID-19. The research is published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

The coronavirus pandemic may have slowed down in many parts of the country because of social distancing efforts but don't plan your parties, vacations or trips to the office just yet. Experts say the virus won't be a thing of the past any time soon.

A second round of Covid-19 cases is "inevitable" come fall, the nation's top infectious disease doctor said, as people increasingly try to resume regular life and more states ease or lift their stay-at-home orders.

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Man found to have had virus a month before government confirmed first cases.

A French hospital that retested old samples from pneumonia patients has discovered that it treated a man with the coronavirus as early as 27 December, nearly a month before the French government confirmed its first cases.

Dr Yves Cohen, head of resuscitation at the Avicenne and Jean Verdier hospitals in the northern suburbs of Paris, told BFM TV that scientists had retested samples from 24 patients trea...