Researchers saw signs of an unreported Zika virus outbreak in Cuba in 2017, well after the documented decline in new cases in Brazil and other parts of the world.
Group K said that the partners are developing a RT-LAMP system for use at the point of care in resource-limited areas where real-time RT-PCR is not available.
The company has initial financing of $35 million, and has licensed its foundational SHERLOCK and INSPECTR technologies from the Broad and Harvard, respectively.
The test is designed to identify and differentiate between Zika, dengue, and chikungunya in serum samples, even in the presence of more than one target.
With long-read sequencing, mapping, and other approaches, researchers assembled a high-quality genome for Aedes aegypti, a notorious infectious disease vector.
Researchers trained a machine-learning model to predict animal reservoirs or insect vectors for dozens of "orphan" viruses with unknown natural sources.
Using biorepository strains, researchers from the J. Craig Venter Institute and elsewhere profiled Zika virus consensus sequences, variant patterns, and phylogenetics.
In a point-counterpoint in the Boston Globe, researchers discuss the potential of gene editing to prevent Lyme disease, but also the pitfalls of doing so.
