All omicron articles
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NewsScientists assess efficacy of clinical drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2 main protease
A critical player in the virus’s life cycle is the main protease (Mpro), also known as NSP5 or 3CL protease, which plays a crucial role in the cleavage and maturation of SARS-CoV-2 proteins within the host cells.
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NewsNovel antibody platform tackles viral mutations
Scientists have developed an innovative antibody platform aimed at tackling one of the greatest challenges in treating rapidly evolving viruses like SARS-CoV-2: their ability to mutate and evade existing vaccines and therapies.
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NewsAmid Covid-19 summer wave, new WHO/Europe study confirms the lifesaving impact of vaccines
From the time of their introduction in December 2020 through to March 2023, COVID-19 vaccines reduced deaths due to the pandemic by at least 59%, saving more than 1.6 million lives in the WHO European Region.
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NewsResearchers create new treatment and vaccine for flu and various coronaviruses
A team of researchers has discovered two new ways of preventing and treating respiratory viruses using nasal sprays.
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NewsInter-variant recombination, genomic perspectives and pathogenicity of emerging sub-variants of Omicron
A review highlights recent updates on newly identified Omicron sub-variants, focusing on their genomic alterations, infectivity patterns, and pathogenic manifestations.
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NewsMini lungs make major COVID-19 discoveries possible
Scientists infect miniature lung organoids with the virus responsible for COVID-19, revealing new ways in which the infection spreads and suggesting potential treatments.
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NewsMutations of the spike gene do not predict the severity of variants of SARS-CoV-2
The two recent and prevalent strains of the virus that cause COVID-19 are not significantly better than their predecessor Omicron at evading immune responses and causing infections despite having a higher number of mutations.
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NewsScientists uncover risk factors for long Covid
A study has found that people with a milder Covid-19 infection—including those who were vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and those who were infected with an Omicron variant—were more likely to recover quickly.
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NewsPathway into cell influences the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection
The protein TMPRSS2 acts as a helper to bring the virus into the cell via the receptor ACE2. This TMPRSS2-mediated uptake significantly alters the immune response of the host cells and drives the evolution of the virus, a new study shows.
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NewsEffectiveness of updated COVID-19 vaccines wanes moderately over time, is lower against currently circulating variants
New research shows boosters targeting omicron subvariants of SARS-CoV-2 are still providing reasonably durable protection against infection, hospitalization and death from COVID-19, but are less protective against the JN.1 strain.
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NewsWearing face masks did not reduce risk of COVID infection after first Omicron wave, research shows
A study has found that wearing face masks did not lower the risk of Covid infection following the initial surge of the Omicron variant. Overseas travel was not associated with increased risk prior to February 2022, but then became a significant risk.
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NewsSmall is beautiful when it comes to genomics analysis
Choice of alignment algorithms can make a huge difference to the outcome when you’re examining SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences, researchers will tell the Letters in Applied Microbiology ECS Research Symposium.
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NewsLongest known SARS-CoV-2 infection of 613 days led to unique highly mutated variant
New research to be presented at next week’s ESCMID Global Congress highlights the risk of new immune-evasive SARS-CoV-2 variants emerging in immunocompromised patients.
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NewsVaccine monitoring crucial as SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to evolve
Researchers compared the newer monovalent COVID vaccine, which specifically targets the XBB variant of Omicron, with older bivalent vaccines containing a mix of an Omicron variant and the original strain of COVID-19.
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NewsCOVID vaccine during pregnancy improves neonatal outcomes
A study has found that neonates of booster-vaccinated mothers had less risk of being infected with COVID-19 compared to those of unvaccinated mothers. Neonates of unvaccinated mothers died twice as frequently as those of vaccinated mothers.
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NewsHuman immune system evolves in the post-Omicron era
New research suggests that human immune responses are changing in order to combat the never-ending emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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NewsPirola variant of Covid rediscovers entry pathway into lung cells
Researchers have discovered that the Pirola variant enters lung cells with high efficiency and uses the cellular enzyme TMPRSS2 for entry, thereby exhibiting parallels to variants Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta.
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NewsCOVID-19 vaccine strongly effective for children and adolescents during delta and omicron
Children and adolescents who received one of the main COVID-19 vaccines were significantly protected and showed no increased signs of cardiac complications compared to young people who were not vaccinated.
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NewsSARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 less resistant to vaccine, but may be a problem in the lung
New research shows that the recently emerged BA.2.86 omicron subvariant of the virus that causes COVID-19 can be neutralized by bivalent mRNA vaccine-induced antibodies in the blood.
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NewsOmicron induces cellular senescence in human lung, study finds
Researchers investigating the influence of defined altered spike formations have confirmed that the Omicron variant induces cellular senescence in human lungs of COVID-19 patients.
