The Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up a snippet of genetic material from another virus – possibly one that causes the common cold – present in the same infected cells, according to researchers.
A protein called CD47 that helps damaged cells avoid destruction by the immune system may be contributing to severe cases of Covid-19, researchers suggested in a report. In other news, Gilead Sciences Inc.’s intravenous antiviral drug remdesivir helped keep high-risk Covid-19 patients out of the hospital in a randomized trial.
Los Angeles-based biopharmaceutical firm Enochian BioSciences received a green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for feedback on a possible cure for infections caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV).
A review of recently published scientific studies includes a detailed imaging analysis to determine how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, reprograms infected cells.
In a Reuters roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for Covid-19, common cold antibodies yield clues to Covid-19 behavior.
A lower supply of a certain type of immune cell in older people that is critical to fighting foreign invaders may help explain their vulnerability to severe Covid-19, scientists say. An antiseptic nasal spray containing povidone-iodine may help curb transmission of the new coronavirus, preliminary research suggests.
