Day: June 27, 2024

Destruction of unusable COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to cost WA government close to $4 million  ABC News

Trump says ‘more people died’ from COVID under Biden  Washington Times

Is the US facing a surge in COVID-19 cases? Symptoms, variants, vaccines and other details  The Economic 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.

As COVID-19 ticks up in some places, US advisers recommend a fall vaccination campaign  WJXT News4JAX

Russia boosts disinformation campaign targeting US, Ukraine  Polygraph.info

Busy with Ukraine war, Russia ignoring growing Islamist terror threat, experts say  Voice of America – VOA News

Newly-secured U.S. military assistance flows into Ukraine amid Russian advance  KNAU Arizona Public Radio

US Announces Charges, Reward for Russian National Behind Wiper Attacks on Ukraine  SecurityWeek

U.S. ambassador calls China’s tech support for Russia during Ukraine invasion a ‘major mistake’ | The Asahi Shimbun …  朝日新聞デジタル