spike protein, immunology

A sugar that’s less abundant in the blood of people with diabetes binds to SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein and disrupts the virus’s ability to fuse with cells.  

Using a novel lab technique, researchers identified a mutation that allows the virus to insert more genetic material into host cells.

A treatment of two monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 is ninefold less effective in the lab against the B.1.351 variant than against the dominant version of the virus.

Variant B.1.1.7, though likely more contagious than other strains, does not appear to be more deadly.

The significance of the variant remains unclear, but experts remain confident that it will not evade the protection offered by a COVID-19 vaccine.

Half a year after infection, people who had recovered from COVID-19 had robust antibodies, along with traces of the virus in their gut, which may drive long-lasting immunity.

Adenovirus vectors deliver the genetic instructions for SARS-CoV-2 antigens directly into patients’ cells, provoking a robust immune response. But will pre-existing immunity from common colds take them down?

In a small study of patients hospitalized due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, researchers report distinct early differences between the antibody responses of patients who recovered and those who died, possibly paving the way for a tool to predict disease prognosis.

In record time, scientists have gone from harvesting antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 from survivors of coronavirus infections to testing the antibodies’ safety as a drug in humans.

There is no evidence that any of the coronavirus vaccines in development worsen a coronavirus infection rather than confer immunity to it, but the phenomenon is something scientists are closely monitoring.

A clinical trial of the shot in eight volunteers suggests that it is safe and that it generates antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2, but further testing is needed, scientists say.