Are human challenge studies effective?
Are human studies more challenging than clinical trials, and what are the benefits in a country where the burden of infectious diseases is high?
Read More
COVID-19
Novel host-directed molecules blunt SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus
Virus can develop resistance against antivirals, while drugs that target the host cells to prevent virus infection can remain effective even when the virus evolves
Read More
Wastewater study detects a large, silent wave in Bengaluru
The XBB.1.16 Omicron recombinant first detected in India on December 25, 2022 has become the dominant variant in the country.
Read More
Omicron variants evolve strategies to evade T cell immunity
The cellular mechanisms and consequences of enhanced MHC I inhibition by Omicron variants on infection and disease remain to be determined
Read More
SARS-CoV-2 virus not found in animal samples from Huanan seafood market, says study
The absence of the virus in samples collected from raccoon dogs and the inability of the study to establish the origin of the virus is in complete variance to the conclusions of a team led by evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey
Read More
GISAID temporarily lifts ban on authors of Zenodo report on the origin of COVID-19 pandemic
GISAID says it reversed its stand and lifted the temporary access restrictions as a ‘show of goodwill’ and did so after it received a reply from the authors on March 21
Read More
No cause for alarm: On the Omicron recombinant XBB.1.16 in India
More than three years after the pandemic began, newer variants, an uptick in cases, hospitalisations, and even deaths are being reported from
Read More
WHO has not abandoned COVID-19 origin investigation
Two years after the WHO’s visit to China to investigate the origin of COVID-19, the WHO has “abandoned” the second phase of the investigation
Read More
Why India has not witnessed any surge in COVID-19 cases for months
Daily COVID-19 cases in India are low despite the newer Omicron subvariants, recombinants possessing greater immune escape and transmissibility The
Read More
Is Omicron variant XBB.1.5’s superior binding causing higher transmissibility?
XBB.1.5 is the most transmissible variant that has been detected yet, and it has already spread to over 29 countries so far
Read More
Sooner or later, India has to develop Omicron-based boosters
Vaccines based on Omicron variants are better than the ones based on the ancestral strain, but the older vaccines are still effective
Read More
Scaling up the pace of COVID-19 genome sequencing
Three years after strict enforcement of its Zero-COVID strategy, China abandoned it abruptly, leading to a jump in cases each
Read More
More vaccine choices: On Bharat Biotech’s intranasal COVID-19 vaccine
Nearly three months after Bharat Biotech’s intranasal COVID-19 vaccine was granted emergency use approval for primary vaccination of adults, the vaccine has now
Read More