What is Gain-of-Function Research?

Gain-of-function research refers to the serial passaging of microorganisms to increase their transmissibility, virulence, immunogenicity, and host tropism by applying selective pressure to a culture. Image Credit: vchal/Shutterstock.com This is performed in a research context to understand the way in which a pathogen adapts to environmental pressures, allowing disease control measures to be better planned, and potential vaccines and therapies […]

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Taiwan reports first case of new SARS-like virus

Taiwan on Tuesday reported its first confirmed case of the new SARS-like coronavirus as the government warned the public against travelling to Chinese city where it emerged. The patient is a Taiwanese woman in her fifties, living in Wuhan, who returned to the island on Monday with symptoms including fever, coughing and a sore throat. Asian countries have ramped up […]

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US begins airport screenings as SARS-linked virus kills 2 in China

The US will begin screening passengers Friday arriving from a Chinese city at the heart of a mysterious SARS-linked virus, officials said, after an outbreak that has stricken dozens claimed a second life. Three confirmed cases meanwhile have now been reported outside China—two in Thailand and one in Japan—even as health authorities around the world sought to assure the public […]

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Trials promise good news for countries with dengue and Zika virus

An international team of scientists have reported an effective and environmentally sustainable way to block the transmission of mosquito-borne dengue virus, in trials carried out in Malaysia. The breakthrough has major implications for countries with hot climates such as island nations in the South Pacific to Saudi Arabia, Africa and South America, all of which experience dengue, Zika, yellow fever […]

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Zika virus can cause immune and brain abnormalities in asymptomatic pig offspring

Zika virus infection in the womb produces altered immune responses and sex-specific brain abnormalities in apparently healthy pig offspring, according to a study published november 14 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Uladzimir Karniychuk of the University of Saskatchewan, and colleagues. As noted by the authors, the findings could point to new strategies to prevent and alleviate the long-term […]

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How maternal Zika virus infection results in newborn microcephaly

A new study led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine revealed how in utero Zika virus infection can lead to microcephaly in newborns. The team discovered that the Zika virus protein NS4A disrupts brain growth by hijacking a pathway that regulates the generation of new neurons. The findings point at the possibility of developing therapeutic strategies to prevent microcephaly […]

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