News & HighlightsNews
Why scientists and policy experts are trying to map the genomes of every animal, plant and fungal species in the US
...Giulio Formenti: The European pilot started during COVID and really came about because of the European Green Deal. Europe wanted to establish continent-wide policies enhancing sustainability across the board. So, preserving natural resources—including biological and ecosystem resources—...
An immune flaw may cause West Nile virus’s deadliest symptoms
...West Nile virus now joins a small but important group of infectious diseases with a documented link between interferon-neutralizing autoantibodies and cases resulting in the most severe or deadly symptoms, including influenza (5%), COVID (15%), and MERS pneumonia (25%). But with 40% of ...
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...
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 ...
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, ...
What we need to worry about with avian flu—and what we don’t 
...You’d hope after the COVID pandemic that there’d be much more surveillance and screening. Instead, we have significant gaps in information. However, scientists are doing whatever they can. They’ve analyzed the sequence of the virus and calculated when this flu jumped from birds into cow...
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 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,...
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