Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 1691
May 7, 2020
Health & Aging post COVID-19: Ole | Apollo, Aubrey | SENS, Sonia | 100 Plus Capital, Reason | Repair
Posted by John Davies in categories: biotech/medical, health
Aubrey De Grey and Reason from ’ Fight Aging’:
How can the current public focus on health be leveraged to promote a focus on prevention of disease, and aging as root cause for diseases?
May 7, 2020
She Predicted the Coronavirus. What Does She Foresee Next?
Posted by Lon Anderson in category: biotech/medical
Laurie Garrett, the prophet of this pandemic, expects years of death and “collective rage.”
May 6, 2020
Coronavirus: Professor Bing Liu’s murder fuels wild theories
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in category: biotech/medical
US police say Bing Liu was shot dead by his lover, but conspiracy theorists have other ideas.
May 6, 2020
U.S., U.K. issue warning of cyberattacks on hospitals fighting COVID-19
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: biotech/medical, cybercrime/malcode
Two U.S. officials told NBC News that coronavirus patient information, as well as vaccine research, is sought after by hackers, including those working for China.
May 6, 2020
‘It will not be easy.’ As labs begin to reopen, enormous challenges remain
Posted by Derick Lee in category: biotech/medical
Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on research around the globe, shuttering laboratories, aborting field projects, and costing scientists months—if not years—of work. Even as labs contemplate reopening—if and when federal and local governments ease lockdown restrictions—the challenges will be enormous. Most will have to operate with just a few individuals at a time, working in shifts. All large gatherings, including lab meetings and lectures, are likely to be prohibited. And there will be stark differences in strategy between fields—and sometimes even within the same building. At the same time, many institutions are still trying to figure out how and whether to test employees for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus causing the current pandemic, and what to do if infections resurge.
Institutions struggle with—and differ on—the best way to restart science.
May 6, 2020
Researchers unlock TB vaccine puzzle in findings that could save millions of newborns
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in category: biotech/medical
An international research team has identified the mechanism behind one of science’s most enduring mysteries: what makes the 100-year-old tuberculosis (TB) vaccine so effective at preventing newborn deaths from diseases other than TB?
The ability of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)—one of the oldest, safest and cheapest vaccines available—to provide protection to newborns beyond its intended purpose of fighting off TB has been known since at least the 1940s, but until now no one has been able to explain why or show how it works.
In a new study, published today in Science Translational Medicine, researchers reveal how they identified a dramatic and rapid increase in neutrophils— white blood cells that patrol the body and destroy invading bacterial pathogens—in mice and babies within three days of BCG vaccination.
May 6, 2020
Coronavirus survivors banned from joining the military
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, military
May 6, 2020
Scientists Say Llama Antibodies Could Be Key to Defeating COVID
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: biotech/medical
“Vaccines have to be given a month or two before infection to provide protection,” McLellan said in the statement. “With antibody therapies, you’re directly giving somebody the protective antibodies and so, immediately after treatment, they should be protected.”
“The antibodies could also be used to treat somebody who is already sick to lessen the severity of the disease,” McLellan added.
“There is still a lot of work to do to try to bring this into the clinic,” Xavier Saelens, a molecular virologist at Ghent University in Belgium and co-author, told the Times. “If it works, llama Winter deserves a statue.”
May 6, 2020
14 mutations found in SARS-CoV-2: One strain may be more easily spread
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: biotech/medical, education, genetics
A team of researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS and the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and Department of Surgery has found 14 mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, one of which they suspect might be more easily spread. In the interest of speedy dissemination of findings, the group has uploaded their paper to the bioRxiv preprint server rather than waiting for peer review at another journal.
The work involved analyzing the genomes of the virus found in 6,000 infected people from around the globe. They focused most specifically on the virus genes that are responsible for producing the “spike protein,” which is the mechanism the virus uses to attach to human cells. In so doing, they found 14 mutations, but one they named D614G (also known as G614) stood out because it was found in almost all samples outside of China. It was also particularly notable because it appeared to replace a prior mutation called D614. They also noted that in the original outbreak in China, there were only D614 mutations. It was only after the virus began appearing in Europe that the G614 mutation emerged. They suggest that the fact that the G614 virus took over from the prior mutation could mean it is more easily spread.
