Safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, GLB-COV2-043, in preclinical animal models.

Several COVID-19 vaccines, some more efficacious than others, are now available and deployed, including multiple mRNA- and viral vector-based vaccines. With the focus on creating cost-effective solutions that can reach the low- and medium- income world, GreenLight Biosciences has developed an mRNA vaccine candidate, GLB-COV2-043, encoding for the full-length SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan wild-type spike protein. In pre-clinical studies in mice, GLB-COV2-043 induced robust antigen-specific binding and virus-neutralizing antibody responses targeting homologous and heterologous SARS-CoV-2 variants and a T1-biased immune response.

Role of respiratory terminal oxidases in the extracellular electron transfer ability of cyanobacteria.

Cyanobacteria are used as anode catalysts in photo-bioelectrochemical cells to generate electricity in a sustainable, economic, and environmental friendly manner using only water and sunlight. Though cyanobacteria (CB) possess unique advantage for solar energy conversion by virtue of its robust photosynthesis, they cannot efficiently perform extracellular electron transfer (EET). The reasons being, unlike dissimilatory metal reducing bacteria (that are usually exploited in microbial fuel cells to generate electricity), (1) CB do not possess any special features on their outer membrane to carry out EET and, (2) the electrons generated in photosynthetic electron transport chain are channeled into competing respiratory pathways rather than to the anode.

Electricity generation by Pyrococcus furiosus in microbial fuel cells operated at 90°C.

Hyperthermophiles are microorganisms that thrive in extremely hot environments with temperatures near and even above 100°C. They are the most deeply rooted microorganisms on phylogenetic trees suggesting they may have evolved to survive in the early hostile earth. The simple respiratory systems of some of these hyperthermophiles make them potential candidates to develop microbial fuel cells (MFC) that can generate power at temperatures approaching the boiling point.

Detection of methyl salicylate using bi-enzyme electrochemical sensor consisting salicylate hydroxylase and tyrosinase.

Volatile organic compounds have been recognized as important marker chemicals to detect plant diseases caused by pathogens. Methyl salicylate has been identified as one of the most important volatile organic compounds released by plants during a biotic stress event such as fungal pathogen infection. Advanced detection of these marker chemicals could help in early identification of plant diseases and has huge significance for agricultural industry.

Enhanced photo-bioelectrochemical energy conversion by genetically engineered cyanobacteria.

Photosynthetic energy conversion using natural systems is increasingly being investigated in the recent years. Photosynthetic microorganisms, such as cyanobacteria, exhibit light-dependent electrogenic characteristics in photo-bioelectrochemical cells (PBEC) that generate substantial photocurrents, yet the current densities are lower than their photovoltaic counterparts. Recently, we demonstrated that a cyanobacterium named Nostoc sp.

Photocurrent generation by immobilized cyanobacteria via direct electron transport in photo-bioelectrochemical cells.

Cyanobacteria possess unique and exciting features among photosynthetic microorganisms for energy conversion applications. This study focuses on production of direct electricity using a cyanobacterium called Nostoc sp. (NOS) as a photo-biocatalyst immobilized on carbon nanotubes on the anode of photo-bioelectrochemical cells.