COVID 19
Advanced Photon Source: How SARS-CoV-2 RNA Evades Host Immune Responses (Gupta Lab)
August 26, 2020
As we all know too well, the virus SARS-CoV-2 causes severe respiratory illness COVID-19. In parallel with the critical search for a cure, scientists are working diligently to develop effective treatments that can help lower the morbidity of this deadly virus. To develop these therapeutics, we must understand how the virus is able to invade […]
Alexander Pertsemlidis, PhD Co-Awarded National Science Foundation Grant.
August 20, 2020
PI: Leonidas Bleris, PhD Co-PI: Alexander Pertsemlidis, PhD (UT Dallas) (UT Health San Antonio) PROJECT SUMMARY Collaborative Research: Unraveling extracellular microRNA communication Overview: […]
Health 24: How the coronavirus infects: It can make itself unrecognisable to cells in the body
August 5, 2020
Like a thief in the night, Covid-19 can disguise itself to easily enter and infect cells in the human body. A new research study details what cells are more susceptible to the coronavirus. SARS-CoV-2 can mimic the proteins of a human cell to evade detection by the immune system. Once inside the cell, it can […]
Gupta Lab: COVID19 Press Clippings Archive
July 30, 2020
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL – Researchers identify enzyme that helps COVID-19 evade immune system (Gupta Lab)
July 30, 2020
Researchers announced Friday that they have discovered an enzyme that helps COVID-19 enter cells in the human body, allowing the infection to grow. Called non-structural protein 16, or nsp16, the enzyme is produced by the new coronavirus and acts as a “camouflage,” tricking human cells into thinking that the virus is “part of its own code and […]
The Ladders: Scientists just uncovered the sneaky way COVID-19 spreads so fast in cells
July 28, 2020
SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, has been labeled with a variety of different adjectives over the past few months. Deadly, awful, and evil, just to name a few. Now, according to a new study from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, another descriptor can be added to the coronavirus’ modus operandi: deceitful.
NEWS 4 WOAI: Decoding Coronavirus Structure Could Lead to New Antiviral Drugs (Gupta lab)
July 28, 2020
SOURCE: WOAI Broadcast Date: July 27, 2020 A new discovery by researchers right here in San Antonio is giving doctors a better idea about how the coronavirus works. “I’m still not 100 percent,” said Rudy Palacios, a man who battled COVID-19 in a hospital for 16 days. “I actually was released from the hospital on […]
Times Now News: Indian origin scientist leads team of researchers on way to anti-COVID drugs
July 28, 2020
A team of scientists, including those of Indian origin, has resolved the structure of an enzyme called nsp16, which the novel coronavirus produces and then uses to fool the body’s cells, a significant discovery that may lead to the development of new antiviral drugs for COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The study […]
Ahmedabad Mirror: Scientists decode how coronavirus molecules ‘camouflage’ in host cell; may lead to drug development
July 26, 2020
Scientists, including those of Indian-origin, have resolved the structure of a molecule which the novel coronavirus uses to make its genetic sequence seem like a part of the host’s own, an advance that may lead to the development of new antiviral drugs against Covid-19. According to the study, published in the journal Nature Communications, the […]
Nature Communications: Structural basis of RNA cap modification by SARS-CoV-2
July 24, 2020
Thiruselvam Viswanathan, Shailee Arya, Siu-Hong Chan, Shan Qi, Nan Dai, Anurag Misra, Jun-Gyu Park, Fatai Oladunni, Dmytro Kovalskyy, Robert A. Hromas, Luis Martinez-Sobrido & Yogesh K. Gupta Nature Communications volume 11, Article number: 3718 (2020) Abstract The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19 illness, has caused millions of infections worldwide. In […]