Traditional or conventional vaccines exploit two approaches: either the introduction of live attenuated infectious agents that replicate within the host without causing disease or the introduction of specific antigens that trigger an immune response. Recently, a revolutionary strategy based on gene-based vaccines −either DNA- or RNA-based− has been proposed. This strategy involves the direct introduction of a DNA or RNA sequence encoding the antigen or antigens against which an immune response is sought, and relies on the in situ production of the target antigen (1). This means that the cell’s machinery uses the instructions contained in the introduced genetic material to make virus antigens that the immune system reacts to.
Coronavirus
5 posts
Vaccines are considered one of the greatest successes of public health, as they have guarded many people of deadly or crippling diseases throughout the years. They have a very long history, with old methods describing the inoculation of smallpox as early as 1000 CE.
Alexandra Nothnagel,Vice-President of the YEBN A pan-European hackathon was hosted by the European Commission and led by the European Innovation Council in close collaboration with the EU member states. A hackathon (a portmanteau of hacking marathon with “hack” in the sense of exploratory programming, not as a reference to computer […]
Most of us are aware about the evolution of COVID-19 pandemic in European countries. However, there is less information about the situation in Sub-Saharan African, where the low availability of resources and the weakened health systems make even more difficult to face the pandemic. We have spoken with Suleiman Oshioke […]
by Laura Moro, Ph.D. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to escalate worldwide, with Europe and the USA being the current epicentres of the pandemic. As of April 22, there are around 2,471,000 declared cases and over 169,000 deaths globally, with many countries undergoing community transmission. The situation in Europe is […]