Day: June 27, 2024
Trump says ‘more people died’ from COVID under Biden Washington Times
The post Trump says ‘more people died’ from COVID under Biden – Washington Times first appeared on The CoronaVirus Alerts – The News And Times.
Understanding the zoonotic risks posed by bat coronaviruses (CoVs) is critical for pandemic preparedness. Herein, we generated recombinant vesicular stomatitis viruses (rVSVs) bearing spikes from divergent bat CoVs to investigate their cell entry mechanisms. Unexpectedly, the successful recovery of rVSVs bearing the spike from SHC014, a SARS-like bat CoV, was associated with the acquisition of a novel substitution in the S2 fusion peptide-proximal region (FPPR). This substitution enhanced viral entry in both VSV and coronavirus contexts by increasing the availability of the spike receptor-binding domain to recognize its cellular receptor, ACE2. A second substitution in the spike N-terminal domain, uncovered through forward-genetic selection, interacted epistatically with the FPPR substitution to synergistically enhance spike:ACE2 interaction and viral entry. Our findings identify genetic pathways for adaptation by bat CoVs during spillover and host-to-host transmission, fitness trade-offs inherent to these pathways, and potential Achilles’ heels that could be targeted with countermeasures.
The post Epistasis between N-terminal and receptor-binding domains drives cell entry in a bat coronavirus spike first appeared on The CoronaVirus Alerts – The News And Times.
Russia boosts disinformation campaign targeting US, Ukraine Polygraph.info
The post Russia boosts disinformation campaign targeting US, Ukraine – Polygraph.info first appeared on The Russian World.
Busy with Ukraine war, Russia ignoring growing Islamist terror threat, experts say Voice of America – VOA News
The post Busy with Ukraine war, Russia ignoring growing Islamist terror threat, experts say – Voice of America – VOA News first appeared on The Russian World.
Newly-secured U.S. military assistance flows into Ukraine amid Russian advance KNAU Arizona Public Radio
The post Newly-secured U.S. military assistance flows into Ukraine amid Russian advance – KNAU Arizona Public Radio first appeared on The Russian World.