New kind of CRISPR technology to target RNA, including RNA viruses like coronavirus
CRISPR-based genetic screens have helped scientists identify genes that are key players in sickle-cell anemia, cancer immunotherapy, lung cancer metastasis, and many other diseases. However, these genetic screens are limited in scope: They can only edit or target DNA. For many regions of the human genome, targeting DNA may not be effective, and other organisms, such as RNA viruses like coronavirus or flu, cannot be targeted at all with existing DNA-targeting CRISPR screens.
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A world premiere from Erasmus MC and Utrecht University: they found an antibody against COVID-19
Since Thursday evening, the article by a team of ten scientists has been online on BioRxiv - a website where biologists can publish their research before it will be assessed by the prestigious journal Nature. In the summary, the scientists describe an antibody to SARS2, the coronavirus causing the current pandemic (COVID-19). The antibody can help detect and prevent this type of corona infection.
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Statins starve cancer cells to death
More than 35 million Americans take statin drugs daily to lower their blood cholesterol levels. Now, in experiments with human cells in the laboratory, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have added to growing evidence that the ubiquitous drug may kill cancer cells and have uncovered clues to how they do it.
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Special report highlights potential therapeutic agents, vaccines for COVID-19
Since the first reports of a new coronavirus disease in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, COVID-19 has spread rapidly across the globe, threatening a pandemic. Now, researchers from CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society specializing in scientific information solutions, have issued a special report in ACS Central Science.
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Low-dose aspirin linked to reduced liver cancer risk
Among adults at high risk of liver cancer, those who took low-dose aspirin were less likely to develop the disease or to die from liver-related causes. The findings come from an analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine and conducted by a team led by investigators at the Karolinska Institutet, in Sweden, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).
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Immune cells against Alzheimer's?
Scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) Munich and Denali Therapeutics (South San Francisco, CA, USA) have developed an approach to stimulate immune cells of the brain in such a way that they might possibly provide better protection against Alzheimer's disease. Their report has been published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.
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Gut bacteria can penetrate tumors and aid cancer therapy
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and University of Chicago have discovered that bacteria that usually live in the gut can accumulate in tumors and improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy in mice. The study, which will be published March 6 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), suggests that
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