Lifeboat Foundation

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It’s not yet clear why some people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, get really sick, while others have only mild symptoms. There’s some evidence that chronic health conditions—such as hypertension and diabetes can play a role, and scientists know that people’s genes can influence how their bodies react to other viruses. In a preprint posted to medRxiv on June 2, researchers describe a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of from 1,610 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and 2,205 healthy controls. The authors identified variants in two regions—the locus that encodes blood type and a multi-gene cluster on chromosome 3—that were linked to respiratory failure during SARS-CoV-2 infection.

In a genome-wide association study, variants in both the ABO blood group locus and a cluster of genes on human chromosome 3 are more common among COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure than in the general population.

Continue reading “Two Genetic Regions Linked with Severe COVID-19” »

The first reliable way of isolating sperm stem cells from the testes and growing them outside the body could help infertile men have genetic children of their own.

A few teams have claimed to have isolated sperm stem cells before, but haven’t been able to repeat the results. “The general feeling is that there is no reliable method,” says Miles Wilkinson at the University of California, San Diego.

Thanks to science.

In the U.S. alone, Alzheimer’s affects more than 5.7 million people. Help may soon be on the way in the form of a potential vaccine that’s shown success in mice testing.

In the coronavirus economy, companies are adopting more automation, as they seek to cut costs and increase efficiency. There is debate about which jobs are most at risk and how soon. But climbing up the skills ladder is the best way to stay ahead of the automation wave.

Even groups that regularly disagree on labor issues said there should be significant public investment in programs that can upgrade the skills of American workers.

Gilead Sciences (GILD) could be ready for an upside breakout on the charts. Let’s take a close look at the stock of the company behind the potential Covid-19 treatment remdesivir.

The stock is trading above the 50-day and the 200-day moving averages.

Moderna Inc. surged on Monday, spurred by a positive review from a Jefferies analyst who said the biotechnology company’s experimental vaccine for Covid-19 could generate sales of more than $5 billion a year and the stock’s pending addition to the Nasdaq-100 index.

Regeneron rose as much as 2.4% in the stock market today, touching a record high of 655.93. Shares seesawed in a small range Thursday before ending the day up a small fraction, at 640.63. The peak price topped Regeneron stock’s previous high of 653.53, touched on Tuesday. Regeneron is part of the IBD Biomed/Biotech group, which ranks No. 14 out of 197 industry groups tracked. The group is just off its all-time high, which it hit on June 23.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) jumped to an all-time high Thursday, its second of the week, as analysts remain bullish on Regeneron stock due to its coronavirus treatment and other businesses.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qmkmStZc240

According to a Paris-based photographer, Olivier Grunewald, it is when the sulphuric gases come out of the vents or cracks in the volcano and get in contact with the oxygen-rich atmospheric air that the light is produced. This is the reason behind the blue flame which flows down the slope as burning hot liquid sulphur, after the sulphur gases condense, giving the illusion of lava flowing after a volcanic eruption.

Since Grunewald has been documenting the rare phenomenon for over several years, he reportedly suggests sighting the blue lava during the night or after sunset. German videographer and volcano explorer Marc Szeglat filmed the sight of the eerie blue flames at night which is breathtaking enough to enter the bucket list of travel enthusiasts and photographers whenever the COVID-19 lockdown lifts.

Continue reading “Volcano That Spews Blue Lava? Mesmerising Sight of Indonesia’s Kawah Ijen Volcano at Night Will Leave You in Awe of Nature” »

Cardiff University scientists have devised a new way of making reactions up to 70 times faster by using state-of-the-art equipment to spin chemicals around.

They found that efficient mixing within a chemical reaction could be achieved by spinning chemicals and catalysts around in a small tube, causing the reactions to happen much quicker.

The new findings could have a profound influence on the way that chemicals are made in a wide variety of industries, from drug development to agriculture and fragrances.