A University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) study, published in Nature Communications, uncovers how enteroviruses—including those causing polio, myocarditis, encephalitis, and the common cold—hijack host cell machinery to replicate. Researchers determined the structure of a cloverleaf-shaped RNA element in the viral genome bound to the viral protein 3CD, which recruits host factors to form the viral replication complex. 3CD also acts as a switch between genome copying and protein synthesis. This highly conserved mechanism across all seven enteroviruses in the study presents a stable target for developing broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that could disrupt this essential interaction and prevent replication.

Simulations of Turin, Milan and Palermo reveal that individual behaviour affects the intensity and timing of epidemics spreading in urban areas.

Previously-discovered compounds to fight Chagas disease could get now life in the fight against strains of the COVID-19 virus that have become less responsive to treatment.

According to a new study, the COVID-19 pause on student loan repayments impacted college graduates — including Latinx millennials — by reducing their stress levels and enabling greater confidence in planning for the future.

In a paper publishing in the Cell Press journal Trends in Immunology on December 4, scientists and doctors highlight the importance of studying long COVID in the context of other post-acute infection syndromes or chronic illnesses. By analyzing historical accounts of other epidemics, they say, researchers can gain important perspective on the profound effects of these chronic illnesses—with the goal of informing more effective interventions for treating them. 

mRNA, widely known from the COVID-19 vaccine, is not actually a “therapeutic agent,” but a technology that delivers the blueprint for functional proteins into the body so that induces therapeutic effects. Recently, its application has expanded to cancer and genetic disease treatments, but mRNA therapeutics have caused serious side effects such as pulmonary embolism, stroke, thrombosis, and autoimmune diseases because proteins are excessively produced all at once immediately after administration. Although technology to control the endogenous protein factory has been continuously needed, there had been no suitable solution.

Scientists at the University of Granada (UGR) have revealed the real impact of human activities on endangered wildlife, taking advantage of the ‘natural experiment’ provided by the COVID lockdown. The research has been published in the journal Biological Conservation.

SARS-CoV-2 evolves rapidly, creating challenges for traditional broad antibody development strategies that rely on conserved epitopes. By surveying 7,116 published receptor-binding domain（RBD）-targeting monoclonal antibodies, we identify three single monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)—SA55, VIR-7229, and BD55-1205—and one broadly neutralizing antibodies (bsAb) Dia-19, that retain ng (in the ng/mL range) neutralization activity even when their binding footprints overlap RBD residues with mutation rates up to 39%. Notably, the three mAbs above carry ~2× more VH somatic hypermutations than the dataset median. Guided by these observations, we outline two complementary strategies: (1) an immune trajectory strategy that prioritizes higher-maturity candidates, and (2) a viral fitness-constraint strategy suited to upgrading lower-maturity antibodies. Together, these provide practical paths for discovering and improving antibodies against fast-evolving SARS-CoV-2.