Rhesus macaques that are vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 are protected from severe disease and probably transmit very little virus when infected with SARS-CoV-2 one year later.
Influenza B viruses, unlike influenza A viruses, do not cause pandemics. There are many non-human animal reservoirs of influenza A viruses which provide gene segments that go towards making reassortant viruses that can infect humans. Influenza B viruses do not appear to have an animal reservoir other than humans – they have been isolated from …
Molnupiravir might be the first highly effective antiviral drug given emergency use authorization for treatment of COVID-19. Should we be concerned about the results of a recent study which show that the drug is mutagenic in cells? Molnupiravir is an orally available pro-drug of the nucleoside analog N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC). The latter is a nucleoside analogue …
Molnupiravir, a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug, is mutagenic in cells Read More »
Most people associate viruses with illness and suffering, however, considering that the vast majority of viruses cause no illness and are actually beneficial to humans and the planet as a whole, this sentiment is largely misplaced.
Another excellent example of gain of function research is modification of a viral vector to make it more useful for human gene therapy. Adenovirus associated virus (AAV) is the most commonly used vector for a variety of gene therapy applications, including gene replacement and gene editing. These small viruses, which comprise a single-stranded DNA genome …
Gain of function to build therapeutically useful viral vectors Read More »
Various SARS-CoV-2 like viruses have been isolated from bats in China, Thailand, and Japan, but none have a spike protein that can bind ACE2 and allow entry into human cells. Sampling of bats in Laos has now revealed the presence of such viruses. The genome of a virus called RaTG13, from Rhinolophus affinis bats in …
