When the coronavirus copies itself, there is a chance its RNA will mutate. But new variants must jump from one host to another, and the more infections there are, the better chance this will happen.
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of governments, funding agencies, academia, biotech and pharmaceutical companies, large-scale manufacturing of mRNA drug products is becoming a reality.
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest public health threats in the world. New research, however, may have found a way to keep up with rapidly evolving bacteria.
Shang Gao, University of Illinois Chicago and Jalees Rehman, University of Illinois Chicago
Machine learning is great at finding patterns but doesn’t know what those patterns mean. Combine it with knowledge gained from genetic research and you have a powerful view into the workings of cells.
The first full human genome was sequenced 20 years ago. Now, a project is underway to sequence 1 million genomes to better understand the complex relationship between genetics, diversity and disease.
In the spotlight for its role in COVID-19 vaccines – and a Nobel Prize – mRNA is not a new invention. It’s a crucial messenger molecule at work every day in every cell in your body.
With COVID-19 cases soaring across the US and worldwide, the need for a vaccine could not be greater. Here’s where we stand on vaccine development, including positive results from Pfizer’s trial.
Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier have been awarded the Nobel prize in Chemistry for their revolutionary work on ‘gene scissors’ that can edit DNA.
Miniaturized laboratory equipment is making it easier to identify airborne pathogens in the field, but there’s still work ahead to be able to instantly determine if a room is safe or contaminated.
COVID-19 tests rely on a process developed at a biotech company co-founded by a Canadian. Canada’s current testing expertise needs to be channelled to prepare for the next wave, and the next pandemic.
Testing for coronavirus has been a fiasco in the US. But now companies are developing super fast tests, including ones that might eventually be as simple as at home pregnancy tests.