Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/05/14
By: Yang Shu-min and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, May 14 (CNA) A research team comprising scientists from Taiwan and the

Photo courtesy of Academia Sinica

United States may have found an effective vaccine for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a highly lethal emerging disease with a mortality rate of over 34 percent.

Scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), National Taiwan University (NTU) and Academia Sinica have developed a novel nanoparticle vaccine that mimics the morphology of MERS-CoV and has been found to protect against the infectious pathogen, Academia Sinica told the press in Taipei Tuesday.

Using nanotechnology, the team created capsid-like polymeric nanoshells before coating them with a protein corona to mimic coronavirus. It then loaded these nanoparticles with a potent immunologic stimulant to make the vaccine, according to the top academic research institution in Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]