Strengthening health systems through responsible AI : an emergent research landscape
by Chaitali SinhaPhenotypic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 spike during the COVID-19 pandemic
by Wilhelm Furnon et al.Estimating Population Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 by Random Sampling from Primary and Secondary Healthcare
by Sam Scott et al.The Global Health Network Reaches 1 Million Members: Fighting Diseases of Poverty and Preventing the Next Global Outbreak
by The Editorial TeamEvaluation of population immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants, EG.5.1, FY.4, BA.2.86, JN.1, JN.1.4, and KP.3.1.1 using samples from two health demographic surveillance systems in Kenya
by Doreen Lugano, Bernadette Kutima, Makobu Kimani, Antipa Sigilai, John Gitonga, Angela Karani,, Donald Akech, Boniface Karia, Abdhalah K. Ziraba, Angela Maina, Arnold Lambisia, Donwilliams Omuoyo, Daisy Mugo, Ruth Lucinde, Sharon Owuor, Gloria Konyino, Joseph Newman, Dalan Bailey,, Eunice Nduati, George Githinji, Charles N. Agoti, Philip Bejon, J. Anthony G. Scott,, Ambrose Agweyu, Wangeci Kagucia, George M. Warimwe, Charles Sande, Lynette I. Ochola-Oyier, James NyagwangeChronogram: an R package for data curation and analysis of infection and vaccination cohort studies
by David Greenwood et al.Open Letter: Southeast Asia initiative to combat SARS-CoV-2 variants (SEACOVARIANTS) consortium
by Le Nguyen Truc Nhu et al.How scientists are racing to understand the new Mpox strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
by Linda GeddesA previously unknown strain of Mpox is spreading near DRC’s border with Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. Linda Geddes spoke to Leandre Murhula Masirika, Jean Claude Udahemuka and Trudie Lang who are working to understand and contain the virus.
Airway-resident T cells from unexposed individuals cross-recognize SARS-CoV-2
by Mariana O Diniz et alHigh SARS-CoV-2 incidence and asymptomatic fraction during Delta and Omicron BA.1 waves in The Gambia
by Sheikh Jarju et al.Clearance of persistent SARS-CoV-2 associates with increased neutralizing antibodies in advanced HIV disease post-ART initiation
by Alex Sigal et alEvolution and neutralization escape of the SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 subvariant
by Alex Sigal et alLessons from Rwanda: Building systems to protect against infectious diseases and biothreats
by World Economic ForumExtending EpiEstim to estimate the transmission advantage of pathogen variants in real-time: SARS-CoV-2 as a case-study
by Sangeeta Bhatia et alNon-pharmaceutical interventions and the emergence of pathogen variants
by Ben Ashby, Cameron A Smith, Robin N ThompsonSample size calculations for pathogen variant surveillance in the presence of biological and systematic biases
by Shirlee Wohl et alStrengthening Pathogen and Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance by Environmental Monitoring in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Stakeholder Survey.
by The Editorial TeamThe role of NSP6 in the biogenesis of the SARS-CoV-2 replication organelle
by Simona Ricciardi et al.SARS-CoV-2, like other coronaviruses, builds a membrane-bound replication organelle (RO) to enable RNA replication1. The SARS-CoV-2 RO is composed of double membrane vesicles (DMVs) tethered to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by thin membrane connectors2, but the viral proteins and the host factors involved are currently unknown. Here we identify the viral non-structural proteins (NSPs) that generate the SARS-CoV-2 RO. NSP3 and NSP4 generate the DMVs while NSP6, through oligomerization and an amphipathic helix, zippers ER membranes and establishes the connectors. The NSP6ΔSGF mutant, which arose independently in the α, β, γ, η, ι, and λ variants of SARS-CoV-2, behaves as a gain-of-function mutant with a higher ER-zippering activity. We identified three main roles for NSP6: to act as a filter in RO-ER communication allowing lipid flow but restricting access of ER luminal proteins to the DMVs, to position and organize DMV clusters, and to mediate contact with lipid droplets (LDs) via the LD-tethering complex DFCP1-Rab18. NSP6 thus acts as an organizer of DMV clusters and can provide a selective track to refurbish them with LD-derived lipids. Importantly, both properly formed NSP6 connectors and LDs are required for SARS-CoV-2 replication. Our findings, uncovering the biological activity of NSP6 of SARS-CoV-2 and of other coronaviruses, have the potential to fuel the search for broad antiviral agents.
Reduced neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617 by vaccine and convalescent serum
by Chang Liu et al.SARS-CoV-2 has undergone progressive change with variants conferring advantage rapidly becoming dominant lineages e.g. B.1.617. With apparent increased transmissibility variant B.1.617.2 has contributed to the current wave of infection ravaging the Indian subcontinent and has been designated a variant of concern in the UK.