News & HighlightsNews
West Nile infections are spiking. Here’s why the percentage of severe cases is so small
...Interestingly, it isn’t the first time they’ve uncovered a link between severe symptoms and the presence of these autoantibodies; they’ve previously documented the phenomenon in cases of severe COVID and flu pneumonia. We spoke to Casanova, a researcher with the university’s Stavros Nia...
Surprising reason that B cells benefit from booster shots
Certain infectious diseases, such as COVID or the flu, evolve constantly, shapeshifting just enough to outmaneuver our immune systems and reinfect us repeatedly. But subsequent reinfections often don’t lead to the most severe outcomes—for very good reason. Upon first exposure to a pathogen...
COVID-19 immunology study reveals universally effective antibodies
...A study of 149 people who have recovered from COVID-19 shows that although the amount of antibodies they generated varies widely, most individuals had generated at least some that were intrinsically capable of neutralizing the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The findings are published June 18 in the ...
Natural infection versus vaccination: Differences in COVID antibody responses emerge
...Hope for a future without fear of COVID-19 comes down to circulating antibodies and memory B cells. Unlike circulating antibodies, which peak soon after vaccination or infection only to fade a few months later, memory B cells can stick around to prevent severe disease for decades. And t...
Rockefeller saliva test for COVID-19 outperforms commercial swab tests
In the early days of the pandemic, with commercial COVID tests in short supply, Rockefeller’s Robert B. Darnell developed an in-house assay to identify positive cases within the Rockefeller community. It turned out to be easier and safer to administer than the tests available at the time, ...
COVID-19 vaccines may need regular updates for emerging variants
...Soon after the world’s first COVID-19 vaccination campaigns kicked off, news emerged about new, more contagious SARS-CoV-2 variants crisscrossing the planet. The discovery of such strains in Britain, Brazil, and South Africa has raised a pressing concern: Will current vaccines be effect...
Intriguing science discoveries of 2022
For the past three years, the COVID pandemic altered virtually every aspect of our lives. But we’ve been in a transitional phase in 2022, shifting towards the new normal. Science at Rockefeller has been in transition, too. Deeper insights into the nuances of COVID infection emerged,...
This technique for studying cell receptors could have sweeping implications for drug development
...While this work is the culmination of a team effort over a long period of time, Kotliar made herculean efforts to drag it across the finish line—shuttling samples and scarce reagents back and forth from Sweden in rare travel windows during COVID. It paid off. The results provide a handf...
Waddling water bears, grandmother neurons, and other memorable science stories of 2021
...Basic biomedical research went on, unabated, through the second year of New York City's touch-and-go battle with COVID. Investigations into the nature of the novel coronavirus and its intractable variants intensified, demanding the attention of more than 25 Rockefeller laboratories, all...
Rogue enzymes cause numerous diseases. A new method could help design drugs to treat them.
...The paper, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, describes how researchers used this innovative new platform to design molecules that take aim at helicases involved in COVID and certain cancers. "High-resolution structural and biochemical data alone are not sufficie...
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