The Covid-2019 epidemic has long crossed China's borders, infecting over 5000 people in more than 40 countries. Italy is the third country in the world by number of infected, and even deaths continue to increase, but only among elderly people with already compromised clinical conditions.

A natural cellular mechanism could help to overcome one of the biggest challenges for gene therapy. This is thanks to exosomes, vesicles filled with liquid secreted by cells to communicate and exchange information with other cells. 

After the bats, snakes and minks, now the pangolin is under accusation: it could have been responsible for the transmission of the Chinese coronavirus to humans. Research published on the Guangzhou University website shows that the genetic sequences of the virus isolated from the pangolin are 99% similar to those of the virus that is circulating among people. The hypothesis is still to be confirmed, but Nature defines it at least "plausible".

Crispr-Cas9, the molecular scissor that allows cutting and sewing DNA with unprecedented precision, is also a promising weapon in the fight against cancer. For the first time in the United States a clinical trial has yielded satisfactory preliminary results.

While concern about the new Chinese coronavirus is growing in the world, the race for the vaccine has already begun. And Italian research is also ready to make its contribution: the biotech company Takis, located in the science park of Castel Romano near Rome, has announced its effort to develop a genetic vaccine against 2019-nCov.

The melting of glaciers could favor the spread of diseases among marine mammals of the Arctic region. This is the conclusion of a study by the University of California, which shows a correlation between the rise in temperature and the recent "measles" epidemic that has hit sea otters in the northern Pacific.

New human antibodies produced in laboratory can help fight diphtheria and represent a cruelty free alternative to the current ones, isolated from horses. The study was funded by an animal welfare consortium. 

Traveling is good, even for the immune system. Small migratory birds know it very well, as they could boast immune defenses even better than ours and those of other mammals. The reason? As they travel long distances and stop in places that are always different, they come into contact with a broad spectrum of pathogens: they must then develop adequate defenses if they want to survive.