Chang Gung Memorial Hospital yesterday said that it has collaborated with other institutes to isolate 22 new strains of SARS-CoV-2 and complete the full genome sequencing of the virus, which causes COVID-19.
A team of researchers has also found 25 strains of antibodies in beta-cells collected from three COVID-19 patients, said Huang Kuan-ying (黃冠穎), a doctor at the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the hospital’s Linkou branch.
The hospital found that a monoclonal antibody combined with the coronavirus’ spike protein could help inhibit angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) and prevent the virus entering the body.
Photo courtesy of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
ACE2 is an enzyme attached to the membranes of lung, artery, heart, kidney and intestine cells, and is the main entry point for coronaviruses.
Chang Gung University Research Center for Emerging Viral Infections head Shih Shin-ru (施信如) said the antibody could be used to prevent the virus from replicating itself in the human body.
If the antibody proves effective in human trials, it could be used as a treatment for COVID-19 or used in prevention, she said.
The antibody, which originates from the human body, would be much safer to use than antibodies originating from animals, she added.
She suggested that the strains of antibodies be used in permutations for rapid test kits, as it would increase test kit sensitivity and specificity toward SARS-CoV-2.
The hospital also said that it would work with the team to develop a test kit and conduct human trials, adding that it would also reach out to the local pharmaceutical industry to help develop a treatment.
The hospital’s collaborators include Academia Sinica, the National Defense Medical Center’s Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and a team from the University of Oxford.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
RSS