Researchers urgently want to know how long the current crop of effective COVID-19 vaccines protect against infection and also would like a quicker and more efficient way to test the efficacy of new vaccines. They are trying to check both of those boxes by studying antibody levels in people already exposed to the new coronavirus. A study at Oxford University is deliberately exposing previously infected healthy young volunteers to the coronavirus again, using blood tests to learn what level of antibodies will protect people against getting sick again. "It may be not possible to reinfect with an antibody level above a certain amount," lead investigator Helen McShane told NPR News. When researchers find that level of antibodies — or antibody cutoff titer — they can develop blood tests to determine how long vaccines are effective. A separate study involving the U.S. government's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the Fred Hutchinson
Study implies a likely rise of future SARS-CoV-2 recombinants
A recent astonishing feat by US researchers revealed that recombination is not only widespread in the evolutionary history of SARS-like coronaviruses, but it can also increase fitness traits of seasonal coronaviruses. Their paper is currently available on the
bioRxiv preprint server and sets the stage for phylogenetic tracking of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Since its emergence, genetic sequence data has been used to study the evolution and spread of SARS-CoV-2, a causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Consequently, the research community quickly embraced phylogenetic and phylodynamic methods as essential tools to study this RNA virus.
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Computer image of the eOD-GT8 immune-stimulating protein.Image courtesy of Joseph Jardine, Sergey Menis, and William Schief of Scripps Research and IAVI.
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The four-decade quest for an HIV vaccine yields new hope
While the reality is far more nuanced than recent hype suggests, a breakthrough strategy is finally offering fresh tools for battling this devastating virus.
ByEmily Sohn
Email
When virologist José Esparza began working with the World Health Organization to combat the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, he and many of his colleagues were convinced that a vaccine would be the solution and that it would come quickly.
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Partnering up with Abiraterone Acetate – Potentials for a Harmonious Relationship
Published 03 May 2021
Abiraterone acetate has demonstrated benefit across the metastatic prostate cancer spectrum when combined or layered on conventional androgen deprivation therapy. Whether it be metastatic castration-sensitive (mCSPC) or metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in either the pre-or the post-docetaxel setting, the overall survival benefit is certain.
1-4 Attempts to advance to the next level with additional agents added to abiraterone acetate, in the first-line mCRPC setting, have been met with mixed results. At this time, other than the continuing foundation of androgen deprivation therapy, there is no therapeutic agent regulatory approved for combination with abiraterone acetate.