Why the use of mRNA in Covid-19 vaccines is exciting for science
If you hadn’t already heard, the world got some good news recently regarding the coronavirus after the interim results from Phase 3 clinical trials showed that two vaccine candidates were more than 90 percent effective. While these vaccines may provide a path towards a world that resembles Read More...
This technology turns vaccines into powdered form to keep them effective
After production, most vaccines must be kept at specific temperatures in order to remain effective. This can be a problem in the developing world, where cold storage of vaccines on a large scale isn’t practical. In fact, as much as 50 percent of vaccines are wasted globally every year, largely Read More...
This nasal spray may help prevent Covid-19 in remote areas
The problem with any potential Covid-19 vaccine is that they are difficult to distribute in low-income and rural areas. Fortunately, researchers from Columbia University may have an effective alternative in the form of a nasal spray. The spray is a lipopeptide (a lipid and peptide combination) Read More...
New agreement significantly lowers the cost of pneumonia vaccine
Pneumonia is the single biggest killer of children under five worldwide, but a new agreement hopes to change this by making the vaccine for the disease much more affordable. A new agreement between UNICEF and the Serum Institute of India will drop the price of the lifesaving drug from $3.50 to Read More...
This bio-film could revolutionize immunization campaigns around the globe
While vaccination rates across the world have been on the rise over the past decade, they are still low — 13.5 million children were not vaccinated in 2018. One of the main challenges posed by global immunization campaigns is keeping the vaccines refrigerated during transportation, which is Read More...
Scientists may have come up with a solution to the vaccine storage problem
Storing vaccines typically requires a ‟cold chain” system – an uninterrupted refrigerated supply chain where they’re stored at temperatures between 2C and 8C at all times. Any screw-ups or delays along the way will break the cold chain, rendering the medicine useless and vulnerable people Read More...
Meet Charles Arntzen, creator of world’s most promising anti-Ebola drug from tobacco plants
Bioengineered plants meet vaccines. It actually is a lot more promising than it may sound. A pioneer in the field is Arizona State University Professor Charles Arntzen. He has been working on nothing less than the world’s most promising anti-Ebola drug. ZMapp is an injectable synthetic serum made Read More...