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Background: Negative geotaxis (NG) is an important parameter, commonly used in study of different CNS diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders. Neurobehavioural change following brain injury was easily identified by negative geotaxis. Purpose: Although NG is evaluated in the settings of ASD, most of the studies are conducted for short duration (1-3 day) and the overall trend of acquisition of NG is not evaluated. In this context, we wanted to evaluate the trend of acquisition of negative geotaxis as a behavioural marker of autism in Valproic acid (VPA) model of ASD. Methods: Dams in the VPA group were treated with intraperitoneal injections of VPA 600 mg/kg single dose on gestational day 12.5, while the control animals received normal saline of similar volume. Developmental parameters {body weight (PND 8, 10 & 12), body length (PND 4, 5, 6 8, 10), eye opening (PND 10, 12, 14, 15 and 16) and motor development (grid walking test on PND 20)} were monitored. Negative geotaxis test was performed at PND 6, 10, 15 and 17. Results: The results of the present experiments demonstrate that VPA exposed rats exhibited delayed developmental parameters, aberration of the pattern of acquisition of negative geotaxis, enhanced negative geotaxis in early postnatal period (PND 6) and enhanced negative geotaxis in absence of visual clues (PND 17). Conclusion: NG can be a valuable biomarker in early detection of autistic behavior and in absence of visual clues. The abberant negative geotaxis developmental pattern can serve as a marker to detect ASD. Thus NG can serve as an important early age biomarker of ASD. Further studies are required to validate this finding.

A severe pandemic of Coronavirus Disease (COVID‐19) has been sweeping the globe since 2019, and this time, it did not stop, with frequent mutations transforming into virulent strains, for instance, B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and B.1.427. In recent months, a fungal infection, mucormycosis has emerged with more fatal responses and significantly increased mortality rate. To measure the severity and potential alternative approaches against black fungus coinfection in COVID‐19 patients, PubMed, Google Scholar, World Health Organization (WHO) newsletters, and other online resources, based on the cases reported and retrospective observational analysis were searched from the years 2015–2021. The studies reporting mucormycosis with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) coinfection and/or demonstrating potential risk factors, such as a history of diabetes mellitus or suppressed immune system were included, and reports published in non‐English language were excluded. More than 20 case reports and observational studies on black fungus coinfection in COVID‐19 patients were eligible for inclusion. The results indicated that diabetes mellitus, hyperglycemic, and immunocompromised COVID‐19 patients with mucormycosis were at a higher risk. We found that it was prudent to assess the potential risk factors and severity of invasive mycosis via standardized diagnostic and clinical settings. Large‐scale studies need to be conducted to identify early biomarkers and optimization of diagnostic methods has to be established per population and geographical variation. This will not only help clinicians around the world to detect the coinfection in time but also will prepare them for future outbreaks of other potential pandemics.

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The year 2020 started with the emergence of novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), which causes COVID‐19 infection. Soon after the first evidence was reported in Wuhan, China, the World Health Organization declared global public health emergency and imminent need to understand the pathogenicity of the virus was required in limited time. Once the genome sequence of the virus was delineated, scientists across the world started working on the development of vaccines. Although, some laboratories have been using previously developed vaccine platforms from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS) and middle east respiratory syndrome‐related coronavirus and apply them in COVID‐19 vaccines due to genetic similarities between coronaviruses. We have conducted a literature review to assess the background and current status of COVID‐19 vaccines. The worldwide implementation and strategies for COVID‐19 vaccine development are summarized from studies reported in years 2015–2020. While discussing the vaccine candidates, we have also explained interpretative immune responses of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. There are several vaccine candidates at preclinical and clinical stages; however, only 42 vaccines are under clinical trials. Therefore, more industry collaborations and financial supports to COVID‐19 studies are needed for mass‐scale vaccine development. To develop effective vaccine platforms against SARS‐CoV‐2, the genetic resemblance with other coronaviruses are being evaluated which may further promote fast‐track trials on previously developed SARS‐CoV vaccines.