Rice University researchers in Houston used the foundation of CRISPR/Cas9 technology to develop “drive-and-process” arrays, or DAP for short. The name may be simple, but the technology is complex and could be as groundbreaking as its predecessor. DAP is a mechanism that enables the editing of multiple DNA sites – rather than one at a time – to comprehensively reverse polygenic diseases resulting from multiple genetic predispositions.
Shanghai set out plans on May 16 for the end of a painful COVID-19 lockdown that has lasted more than six weeks, heavily bruising China’s economy, and for the return of more normal life from June 1.
Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been increased interest in developing a universal antiviral that would stop a pandemic in its tracks.
President Joe Biden on May 12 commemorated the death of 1 million people in the United States from COVID-19, marking what he called “a tragic milestone” and urging Americans to “remain vigilant” amid the ongoing pandemic.
North Korea reported the country’s first COVID-19 outbreak on May 12, calling it the “gravest national emergency” and ordering a national lockdown, with state media saying an Omicron variant had been detected in the capital, Pyongyang.
Shanghai is tightening an already strict COVID-19 lockdown in a fresh push to eliminate infections outside quarantined areas of China’s biggest city by late this month, people familiar with the matter said.
China’s commercial capital of Shanghai was dealt a blow on May 2 as authorities reported 58 new COVID-19 cases outside areas under strict lockdown, while Beijing pressed on with testing millions of people on a May Day holiday few were celebrating.
The Rockefeller Foundation announced the launch of the Global Vaccination Initiative, a $55 million investment over two years to support country-led efforts to fully vaccinate 90% of the most at-risk populations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
Moderna plans to submit an application to the U.S. health regulator for emergency use authorization (EUA) of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine among kids between the ages of six months to five years by the end of the month, a company spokesperson said.
Although research is being conducted on Long COVID or Long COVID-19, whose symptoms continue for weeks and months after initial infection, there are very few ongoing clinical trials on treatments. Anecdotally, there has been what appears to be a successful treatment for Long Covid using Pfizer’s antiviral regimen Paxlovid.
Reuters