The COVID-19 Pandemic – News and Features

Multidisciplinary AI- and physics-driven modeling of the viral fusion process has enabled the discovery of an orally available drug inhibiting infection with multiple coronaviruses.

UConn researchers have demonstrated that a novel protein-based nanoparticle can make mRNA vaccines more effective in tackling a troublesome pathogen in chickens.

New research has found that adding IL-12, a cytokine produced by various immune cells, to mRNA vaccines improves T-cell responses. This could make the benefits of vaccines last longer.

Inspired by the way viruses attach to cells, scientists have developed a method for engineering ultra-selective aptamers. These synthetic molecules bind to specific targets like viral spike proteins, making them useful for diagnostics and treatments.

Integrating blood vessels into organoids could allow them to surpass current size limits while making them more useful as biological models.

A new AI model developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Duke University has demonstrated improved performance in predicting the spread of infectious diseases.

The researchers say their findings mean we need better, more detailed models to predict how heatwaves and climate change will affect different diseases.

A global study, covering more than 230 million people, sheds light on the relationship between Guillain-Barré syndrome after certain Covid vaccines or SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Researchers have identified two antiviral drug candidates effective against a wide range of viruses. The study demonstrates how combining computer-aided modeling with laboratory validation can speed up the development of new antiviral drugs.

A new type of mRNA vaccine is more scalable and adaptable to continuously evolving viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H5N1, according to a study.