The common cold virus could offer some level of protection against COVID-19 infection, according to a new study. The research – published in Journal of Infectious Diseases and led by scientists at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) – found that human rhinovirus (the virus that causes the common cold) triggers an innate immune response that seems to block SARS-CoV-2...
Download this free infographic from Thermo Fisher Scientific to learn about SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication, disease progression and spread of COVID-19, and the importance and types of COVID-19 testing. There are different types of technologies used to test for SARS-CoV-2. The two tests that are most often used are PCR and antigen. PCR is 99% accurate and detects viral ....
When every moment matters, laboratories are asked to rapidly convey test results enabling prompt reactions. Acura®electro micropipettes bring fast and reliable results with excellent ergonomics. During the past year, research activities were mainly focused on COVID-19 related topics to better understand and monitor the current pandemic....
IONTAS Limited (IONTAS) and FairJourney Biologics S.A (FJB)., leaders in the discovery and optimisation of fully human antibodies, have announced the identification of neutralizing antibodies, which bind to multiple emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. The results, generated from a combination of phage display technology and B-cell receptor repertoire sequencing of hospitalized COVID-19 patients....
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has a wide range of effects on laboratories around the world. This includes not only the current high volume of requests for PCR tests for the novel coronavirus. It has challenged laboratories worldwide with respect to quickly adopting digital technologies to cope with the new norms of social distancing, remote work away from laboratory benches...
Excalibur Healthcare Services (“Excalibur”) announce it has created an innovative ‘freedom passport’ which can pave the way for people to mix safely in public and travel securely in large numbers without spreading Covid infection. The ‘passport’ has been developed through a pioneering partnership between Excalibur, led by Professor Sir Chris Evans, OBE, and his lateral flow diagnostics team in Cambridge, and Sensyne Health plc...
La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), one of the leading research organizations dedicated to studying the immune system announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with Leinco Technologies, Inc., a premier developer and manufacturer of leading-edge recombinant proteins, antibodies, and conjugates...
Increased pollen concentrations correlate with higher SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. When airborne pollen levels are higher, increased SARS-CoV-2 infection rates can be observed. These results were determined by a large-scale study conducted by an international team headed by researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Helmholtz Zentrum München...
The partnership will work towards CE marking of Aptamer Group’s AptaDx SARS-CoV-2 lateral flow rapid antigen test for professional use, to detect the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antigen in anterior nasal swabs. Initial test analysis with laboratory samples has demonstrated excellent sensitivity being able to detect as little as 1000 virus particles per mL...
Beckman Coulter has announced that it has expanded claims for its CE-marked Access Interleukin-6 (IL-6) assay. The Access IL-6 assay is an in-vitro diagnostic test for the quantitative determination of IL-6 levels in human serum and plasma (heparin). The fully-automated assay helps physicians identify a severe inflammatory response in COVID-19 patients, often referred to as cytokine storm, and determine the risk of intubation with mechanical ventilation, in conjunction with clinical findings and the results of other laboratory testing....
Abbott has announced the formation of the Abbott Pandemic Defence Coalition, a first-of-its-kind global scientific and public health partnership dedicated to the early detection of, and rapid response to, future pandemic threats. By connecting global centres of excellence in laboratory testing, genetic sequencing and public health research, the program will identify new pathogens, analyse potential risk level, rapidly develop and deploy new diagnostic testing and assess public health impact in real time...
PCR Biosystems, the UK-based specialists in DNA and RNA analysis, have launched a range of IsoFast™ Bst Polymerase reagents for rapid, robust and sensitive DNA and RNA amplification. Through its nucleic acid strand displacement capabilities, Bst polymerase eliminates the need for the high temperature denaturation step associated with traditional Taq enzymes. This enables faster time to result and facilitates DNA and RNA amplification in the field without specialised thermocycling equipment....
Atik Cameras, a specialist designer and manufacturer of advanced scientific imaging solutions, has further expanded its collaboration with leading global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) DNA amplifiers, securing multiple new contracts to supply high-performing cameras for reliable COVID-19 testing...
CN Bio, a leading developer of single and multi-organ microphysiological systems (MPS), otherwise known as organ-on-a-chip, has announced it has received a grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, to develop human-relevant MPS to advance investigations into SARS-CoV-2 infection. The funding will be used to develop and test advanced cell culture models that represent different regions of the lung ...
PerkinElmer, Inc. has announced the launch of two Research Use Only (RUO) solutions, PKamp™ VariantDetect™ SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay and Next Generation Sequencing-based NEXTFLEX® Variant-Seq™ SARS-CoV-2 Kit. Using nucleic acid extracted from samples that previously tested positive, laboratories can use these assays to identify genomic mutations reported in relation to SARS-CoV-2 variants....
Promega Corporation has released XpressAmp™ Direct Amplification Reagents that facilitate RNA extraction-free sample preparation that is automation-friendly. With this innovation, laboratories testing for COVID-19 have a new tool that enables them to skip the potentially bottlenecked RNA extraction step of the workflow and move directly to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification....
Nonacus, a provider of genetic testing products for precision medicine and liquid biopsy, has announced the commercial launch of a new service for Whole Genome Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2, developed to enable the UK government’s Test-To-Release scheme. Assay development for the new service was funded by a grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency...
Avacta Group plc, the developer of innovative cancer therapies and diagnostics based on its proprietary Affimer® and pre|CISION™ platforms, announces that the AffiDX® SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen lateral flow test detects the dominant new variants of the coronavirus, known as the B117, or ‘Kent’, variant, and the D614G variant, as well as the original strain....
A new UK study will seek to understand the immune response to COVID-19 vaccinations in patients with certain immunosuppressed conditions, including cancer. The OCTAVE trial, which is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), is a collaborative research project involving groups in the Universities of Glasgow, Birmingham, Oxford, Liverpool, Imperial College London and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust....
Teknova—a leading manufacturer of cell culture media and supplements, purification buffers, and molecular biology reagents—has expanded the production capacity for its range of viral transport media. This strategy enables the company to not only continue supplying these important products in periods of high demand, but also to offer the best pricing available for products of this type....
Agilent Technologies Inc. has announced the launch of the Agilent Dako SARS-CoV-2 IgG Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit intended for the qualitative detection of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in human serum or plasma. The kit, which marks Agilent’s entrance into SARS-CoV-2 testing in the US...
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., a global leader of life science research and clinical diagnostic products, today announced the launch of the Bio-Plex Pro Human IgG SARS-CoV-2 N/RBD/S1/S2 4-Plex Panel, for research use only (RUO). The Qualitative Multiplex Immunoassay Panel Provides Precise, Specific, and Sensitive Detection of IgG Antibodies Against Four SARS-CoV-2 Antigens...