coronavirus, cell & molecular biology

Researchers find that SARS-CoV-2 variants can evade primer-probe sets and recommend that diagnostic assays include multiple targets for reliability.

Following vaccination, some women claim their periods have changed, leading to rumors about how the shots affect recipients’ reproductive systems, and even others’ by proxy.  

Mix-and-match shots could simplify vaccine rollout and stimulate more-robust immune responses. Ongoing clinical trials will soon give answers.

Sam Wilson discusses a user-friendly set of resources that he and his collaborators developed to aid labs pivoting to study COVID-19.

Stronger interferon production, greater T cell activation, and increased susceptibility to autoimmunity are just some of the ways that females seem to differ from males.

Males and females show differences in gene expression, cell activation, and antibody production in response to some viral infections, but whether these influence COVID-19 outcomes is still unclear.

Death rates among blood cancer patients who contract COVID-19 are higher than for those with other cancers, pointing to impaired immunity that makes it hard to overcome the virus.

Last year’s Top 10 Innovations judges look into their crystal balls.

Neanderthal DNA surprises in modern humans, the first blood test for Alzheimer’s, a discovery of new human salivary glands, and, oh yeah, a pandemic

This year yielded stunning images of transparent human organs, apex predators, and the world’s response to the ongoing pandemic.

An abundance of immunoglobulin antibodies, and a paucity of viral RNA, in breastmilk offer evidence that women can safely continue breastfeeding during the pandemic.

Outcomes in COVID-19 patients may be better in those recently infected with endemic coronaviruses. 

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, taps into human proteases such as furin to enter cells. Temporarily inhibiting those enzymes might stymie infection.

Bat species use different strategies to dampen immune activation in response to viruses.

Researchers detail how viral proteins interact with host RNA to disrupt the cell’s ability to fight back against infection.

Genetically engineered cells that overproduce ACE2, the receptor the novel coronavirus uses to enter cells, neutralize infection in vitro and mop up inflammatory cytokines in mice.

While sick with COVID-19, President Trump is taking an antacid. Doctors have been exploring whether these medicines can treat SARS-CoV-2 infections, and the results are mixed.

Some critically endangered animals are on the list.