Topic Editor Dr. Balakumar Chandrasekaran holds patents relating to N-substituted isatin hydrazones as antimycobacterial and antimicrobial agents, and Pharmaceutical Compounds. Topic Editor Dr. Munir Al-Zeer holds a patent relating to Method for the Preparation of an Influenza Virus. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic there have been remarkable research and innovation efforts to fight the SARS-COV-2 virus and the related disease. This patent landscape report provides early observations on the patenting activity which took place in the field of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, and compares results with clinical trial data for related candidate vaccines and drugs.

Massive experimental, computational, and clinical studies have been performed worldwide, and are still ongoing, to understand and characterize Covid-19 molecular basis and transmission mechanisms, to develop diagnostics and vaccines, and to search for small chemical drug candidates and therapeutic proteins and peptides. Impressive results have been obtained for transmission control and vaccines so far, but what is the status of the other therapeutic options? The crisis has exposed different types of weaknesses in biomedical research in many countries. What can we learn from this crisis in the field of drug discovery and development so as to emerge stronger? The Covid-19 crisis has revealed the strengths of modern drug discovery and vaccine development but also exposed different types of weaknesses that would need to be addressed to be better prepared for a possible next global health crisis. These challenges/weaknesses/obstacles are of very different nature and as such hard to tackle. For instance, in addition to the inherent challenging nature of the scientific discovery, some scientists have mentioned insufficient local/national coordination and observed a fragmented drug discovery research, others have underlined a lack of coordination between the academic system and the private sector, an inadequate international global coordination and cooperation, others highlighted insufficient infrastructures, inappropriate financial supports, limited discussions between the scientific community performing the research and the public health authorities, decision makers and the society, while some remarked insufficient education/training about drug discovery and development leading to confusion… The crisis also raised important scientific questions about the technologies that would need to be used during an emergency situation, combined, integrated, or developed so as to accelerate the identification of small molecule drug candidates and of therapeutic peptides/proteins.

Safety, quality, and prolonged shelf life of food products are the three most important aspects of the food industry. To ensure a satisfactory scale, both traditional and modern preservatives are widely used. However, as eating habits have upgraded with a focus on what is popularly termed "a healthy diet," there has been a growing demand for food with natural additives over synthetic ingredients. As a result, there have been major developments in the field of food preservation, which are presented in this book. The book provides detailed information on the range of natural food preservatives with their applications in different product sectors. It delves into microbiological food spoilage and discusses natural food preservatives as well as natural antioxidants and antimicrobials as food ingredients. It reviews prevalent preservation technologies, the chemistry behind them, and new nonconventional preservatives. It focuses on innovative technologies, including biological antimicrobial systems such as LABs or their metabolites, bacteriophages, and bacteriophage-encoded enzymes. It provides knowledge about preservatives, such as bacteriocins and ε-polylysine, as well as their usage in achieving the right balance of safety, quality, and shelf-life for specific products. The book is a collection of the research and experiences of an international team of experts and is a valuable tool for all those who are related to the advancements and production of safe and healthy foods. It is a significant reference book for professionals who teach food microbiology courses, conduct research and epidemiologic investigations, analyze food samples, and craft food safety policies.

Volume I.B An outbreak of a respiratory disease first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and the causative agent was discovered in January 2020 to be a novel betacoronovirus of the same subgenus as SARS-CoV and named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly disseminated worldwide, with clinical manifestations ranging from mild respiratory symptoms to severe pneumonia and a fatality rate estimated around 2%. Person to person transmission is occurring both in the community and healthcare settings. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared the COVID-19 epidemic a public health emergency of international concern. The ongoing outbreak presents many clinical and public health management challenges due to limited understanding of viral pathogenesis, risk factors for infection, natural history of disease including clinical presentation and outcomes, prognostic factors for severe illness, period of infectivity, modes and extent of virus inter-human transmission, as well as effective preventive measures and public health response and containment interventions. There are no antiviral treatment nor vaccine available but fast track research and development efforts including clinical therapeutic trials are ongoing across the world. Managing this serious epidemic requires the appropriate deployment of limited human resources across all cadres of health care and public health staff, including clinical, laboratory, managerial and epidemiological data analysis and risk assessment experts. It presents challenges around public communication and messaging around risk, with the potential for misinformation and disinformation. Therefore, integrated operational research and intervention, learning from experiences across different fields and settings should contribute towards better understanding and managing COVID-19. This Research Topic aims to highlight interdisciplinary research approaches deployed during the COVID-19 epidemic, addressing knowledge gaps and generating evidence for its improved management and control. It will incorporate critical, theoretically informed and empirically grounded original research contributions using diverse approaches, experimental, observational and intervention studies, conceptual framing, expert opinions and reviews from across the world. The Research Topic proposes a multi-dimensional approach to improving the management of COVID-19 with scientific contributions from all areas of virology, immunology, clinical microbiology, epidemiology, therapeutics, communications as well as infection prevention and public health risk assessment and management studies.

RNA Therapeutics, Part A, Volume 203 presents the latest on a new class of medication based on RNA molecules. The book includes timely chapters that focus on An introduction to RNA therapeutics and potentials, The development and technologies of RNA therapeutics, Types of RNA therapeutics, Molecular mechanisms of RNA therapeutics, IT, and AI applications in RNA therapeutics, The application of data sciences and bioinformatics in RNA therapeutics, RNA therapeutics history and future perspectives, Recent applications of RNA therapeutic in clinics, Advantages and disadvantages of RNA therapeutics, RNA therapeutics for neurological disease, RNA therapeutics for metabolic disorders, and RNA therapeutics for metabolic disorders. - Discusses the history of RNA therapeutics, along with future perspectives - Presents the processes of RNA therapeutical developments - Covers recent applications of RNA therapeutics in clinics - Provides the advantages and disadvantages of RNA therapeutics

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire world in an unprecedented way since 2019. However, novel and innovative applications of various omics, computational, and smart technologies have helped manage the pandemic of the 21st century in a very effective manner. Omics approaches and technologies in COVID-19 presents up-to-date knowledge on omics, genetic engineering, mathematical and computational approaches, and advanced technologies in the diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, and management of COVID-19. This book contains 26 chapters written by academic and industry experts from more than 15 countries. Split into three sections (Omics; Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics; and Smart and Emerging Technologies), it brings an overview of novel technologies under omics such as, genomic, metagenomic, pangenomic, metabolomics and proteomics in COVID-19. In addition, it discusses hostpathogen interactions and interactomics, management options, application of genetic engineering, mathematical modeling andsimulations, systems biology, and bioinformatics approaches in COVID-19 drug discovery and vaccine development. This is a valuable resource for students, biotechnologists, bioinformaticians, virologists, clinicians, and pharmaceutical, biomedical, and healthcare industry people who want to understand the promising omics and other technologies used in combating COVID-19 from various aspects. Provides novel technologies for rapid diagnostics, drug discovery, vaccine development, monitoring, prediction of future waves, etc. Describes various omics applications including genomics, metagenomics, epigenomics, nutrigenomics, transcriptomics,miRNAomics, proteomics, metabolomics, phenomics, multiomics, etc., in COVID-19 Presents applications of genetic engineering, CRISPR, artificial intelligence, mathematical and in silico modeling, systems biology,and other computational approaches in COVID-19 Discusses emerging, digital, and smart technologies for the monitoring and management of COVID-19

Biotechnology in Healthcare presents up-to-date knowledge on the emerging field of biotechnology as applied to the healthcare industry. Biotechnology has revolutionized healthcare in the last two decades by developing and introducing novel diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventive measures; whether it is noncommunicable or communicable disease, primary or secondary care, or public health, it has shown its immense potential to provide a solution to the healthcare providers, physicians, and allied health care professionals.The second volume, Applications and Initiatives, contains 19 chapters focused on the applications of biotechnology related to public healthcare, hospital management, oncology, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases, regenerative medicine, IVF, clinical trials, precision food, FMGCs, PPCPs, pharmaceuticals, and smart technologies to monitor pandemic. Further, this volume also presents government initiatives and entrepreneurship challenges in healthcare biotechnology sector.This is a valuable resource for students, biotechnologists, bioinformaticians, clinicians, and members of biomedical and healthcare fields who need to understand more about the promising developments of the emerging field of biotechnology in healthcare. - Describes various applications of novel biotechnology approaches in healthcare - Presents applications of biotechnology in primary and secondary healthcare and in public health - Discusses government initiatives, challenges and opportunities, and entrepreneurship development in the area of healthcare biotechnology