Australian medical researchers have developed genetically supercharged cells that allow them to test the effect of SARS-CoV-2 faster than other means.
The team, from the Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity in Society at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), unveiled the research on Wednesday.
They said the cells would enable medical experts to quickly understand the dynamics of different variants of the virus and test their ability to evade vaccines.
Research leader Associate Professor Stuart Turville said viruses in the genetically developed cells replicate four times faster than through any other technique. This means we quickly understand a number of things about the virus from a single swab, including potency (the potential of the virus to transmit), how the virus reacts to different treatments or whether the virus is changing in a way we don t expect it to, Turville said.
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ARC Training Centre in Data Analytics for Resources and Environments
A new Research Training Centre will develop data science skills and tools and provide post-doctoral training for the next generation of data analysts for natural resources.
Australian Research Council (ARC) Chief Executive Officer, Professor Sue Thomas, has welcomed the launch of the ARC Training Centre in Data Analytics for Resources and Environments (DARE), officially opened today at The University of Sydney. The Training Centre is receiving $3.9 million in funding from the ARC over five years to deliver data analytics skills and tools to aid Australia’s resource industries in making the best possible evidence-based decisions for our natural resources.
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Research to examine whether ‘strong as steel’ spider silk can be replicated for manufacturing
UNSW Sydney has been awarded a grant to assess mimicking spider silk for use in clothing, medical devices and prosthetics.
UNSW Sydney researchers will examine whether spider silk can be replicated to be used in military and sports clothing, and medical devices and prosthetics as part of an international study funded by the PLuS Alliance.
The project, led by Dr Sean Blamires from the Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, UNSW Science, was selected after a call for submissions from researchers at King’s College London (KCL), UNSW Sydney and Arizona State University (ASU).
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Contact tracing delays affected eight local authorities in England in April and May
In parts of England, delays in tracing those who had contact with people who tested positive for the coronavirus may have contributed to the spread of the B.1.617.2 variant of the virus, according to local public health reports.
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The reports, seen by the BBC, suggest that failures in England’s NHS Test and Trace system in April and May affected eight local authorities in England, including Blackburn with Darwen, which has seen a recent surge in cases linked to the variant. The BBC reported that, although it is thought that people tested for the virus received their results, local authority staff weren’t provided with contact-tracing information through the central system. Other areas affected by this were Blackpool, York, Bath, North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.