Research
Alpha, Beta, Gamma: Coronavirus variants have new names
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that variants of SARS-CoV-2 will have a new nomenclature.Until now, in common parlance, variant names had been associated with the countries in which they were initially detected: an understandable attitude, in a moment when new data are continually...
Research
Fighting against HIV: are we well underway?
World AIDS Day is celebrated every December 1st. The choice of this day was established in 1988 by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the occasion of the World Summit of Health Ministers on AIDS prevention programs, and was then adopted by governments, international organizations and...
Research
Spring, allergies and the Covid-19 vaccine
Sneezing, watery eyes, coughing, itching, breathing difficulties: every year the spring season inaugurates a series of annoying symptoms that unfortunately allergy sufferers know well. Allergic rhinitis alone is estimated to affect on average 23% of the European population.
Research
SARS-CoV-2 and its variants: an overview
Viruses, especially RNA viruses such as Coronaviruses, constantly evolve through mutations in their genome. Indeed, mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been observed around the world since the pandemic has started, although news of the virus variants has only recently found space in national and...
Research
Covid-19 vaccine for children: what prospects?
To date, numerous Covid-19 vaccine trials are underway in adulthood, which have reached different stages, whereas the pediatric age, for which dedicated trials are necessary, has so far been excluded.
Why do children and adolescents need specific studies? What is the current situation? What future...
Research
Anti-Covid-19 vaccines: where do we stand?
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the international scientific community immediately worked for the preparation of one or more safe and effective vaccines to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the possible clinical evolution into the serious disease known as Covid-19.
Research
CRISPR/Cas9, the revolutionary Nobel-winning “genetic scissors”
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier for their fundamental contribution to the discovery of an effective method of genetic editing, i.e. a precision intervention that allows the introduction of desired modifications within DNA in simple,...
Research
RNA polymerase, the SARS-CoV-2 “sloppy photocopier”
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced the scientific community to devote itself to the research and development of various strategies to fight SARS-CoV-2 infection. The only informed way to identify new antivirals is through the knowledge of the three-dimensional structure, literally the...
Research
Strategies for vaccine development: an overview
A vaccine is an immunization strategy against pathogens or their toxins, administered in order to prevent one or more infectious diseases through the exposure of the immune system to their components,
Research
Structural biology for SARS-CoV-2: the Spike protein
The ongoing COVID-19 epidemic has forced the scientific community to devote itself to the research and development of various strategies to fight SARS-CoV-2 infection. The only informed way to identify new antivirals is through the knowledge of the three-dimensional structure, literally the shape,...