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Take a look at the largest virus bank in Asia Date：04-06-2018   |   【Print】 【close】 Recently, the National Health Commission of China officially designated the China Center for Virus Culture Collection (CCVCC) in Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) as a "National-Level Culture Collection Center", which is an important milestone in the development of the Center's innovative construction. The species and samples of pathogenic microorganisms are important strategic resources for ensuring national social security, economic security and biological safety. As a national-level culture collection center, the CCVCC will be oriented to national strategic needs and will play an indispensable...

Scientists have identified coronavirus-related strains in Malayan pangolins seized during anti-smuggling operations in southern China. The international team of experts says that the presence of the SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses means that pangolins, a species of scaly anteater, should be viewed as a possible carrier in the ongoing pandemic. In addition to selling fresh meat, fish and produce, wet markets typically sell an array of exotic animals and pangolins have already been eyed as a possible host. The seized Malayan pangolins could shed more light on the potential role of the species in spreading coronavirus. “Metagenomic sequencing identified pangolin-associated coronaviruses that belong...

People with blood type A might be more vulnerable to the coronavirus, while those with type O blood could be more resistant, according to a new preliminary study from China. Researchers studying COVID-19 in its outbreak epicenter, Wuhan, and the city of Shenzhen found the proportion of Type-A patients both infected and killed by the disease to be “significantly” higher than those with the same blood type in the general public.

Beijing, China : The endangered pangolin may be the link that facilitated the spread of the novel coronavirus across China, Chinese scientists said Friday. At least 31,000 people have been infected and 630 killed by the virus, which has spread to two dozen countries. Researchers at the South China Agricultural University have identified the scaly mammal as a "potential intermediate host," the university said in a statement, without providing further details.

In the 1950s, researchers stumbled upon a new class of drugs that provided relief for those suffering from schizophrenia. These drugs were known as antipsychotics and, as the name suggests, they reduced symptoms like hallucinations and delusions — primarily by reducing the levels of dopamine in the brain. This led clinicians and scientists to argue that dopamine was linked to the experiences of psychotic symptoms, and a concerted research effort ensued, seeking to solve the puzzle of why excess dopamine might produce hallucinations. Although it was later shown that increasing dopamine could produce hallucinations, establishing a consistent link between them,...

White-bellied tree pangolins are being hunted illegally in large numbers in West Africa. Photo courtesy of Justin Miller/Pangolin Conservation ========================================================== ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Researchers from Florida and Illinois are leading a global effort to understand and protect the world's most trafficked mammal -- the little-known pangolin. Also called a scaly anteater, the cat-size pangolin is hunted and killed for its scales and meat in Africa and Southeast Asia. New research includes the so-called "Pango-Cam" attached to their backs to provide crucial information about the pangolin diet and territory. Without quick efforts to understand how to breed the...

THE MOST PROFOUND SECRETS OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL TO EVER BE REVEALED The Sistine Chapel is the premier chapel of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, which is the official home residence of the Pope. The following presentation pulls back the curtain of the Sistine Chapel, unveiling secrets with spiritual revelations that have never been discovered and understood until now. (Read More)

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysian wildlife authorities said they had seized 280 live pangolins and arrested three suspects believed to be part of an international smuggling ring trafficking endangered animals to restaurants in China. "The pangolins were in a lorry bound for southern Thailand," said Abdul Jalal Kassim, Wildlife Department head of operations. "The end market for these protected animals would have been Guangzhou, China, where they would be sold for their meat and scales," he told AFP. The live pangolins were discovered late Monday in southern Johor state following a tip-off, he said. "This is part of an international...