Neural networks have been taught to quickly read the surfaces of proteins — molecules critical to many biological processes. The advance is already being used to create defenses for the virus responsible for COVID-19.
Understanding the prebiotic origins of the nucleic acids is a long-standing challenge. The latest experiments support the idea that the first nucleic acid encoded information using a mixed ‘alphabet’ of RNA and DNA subunits. RNA and DNA nucleosides might have emerged together on prebiotic Earth.
In a paper published in the journal Thorax, a team of Australia researchers described the first instance of complete COVID-19 testing of all passengers and crew on an isolated cruise ship during the current pandemic: of the 217 passengers and crew on board, 128 tested positive for COVID-19 on reverse transcription-PCR; of the COVID-19-positive patients, only 24 (19%) were symptomatic.
Scientists have successfully transplanted functional miniature livers into rats, after growing the bioengineered organs in the lab from reprogrammed human skin cells.
The experiment, which gave the animals working liver organs, could lay the groundwork for future treatments to address terminal liver failure – a disease that claims the lives of over 40,000 people in the US every year.
While there’s still a lot of work to be done before the technique can directly aid human patients, the researchers say their proof of concept may help underpin a future alternative to liver transplants, which are often incredibly expensive procedures to perform, in addition to being strictly limited by donor supply.
Although promising, convalescent plasma has not yet been shown to be safe and effective as a treatment for COVID-19. Therefore, it is important to study the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma in clinical trials.
Pathways for use of investigational COVID-19 convalescent plasma
The following pathways are available for administering or studying the use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma:
Immortalists magazine issue no. 5 is out smile
It is predicted that a pandemic of psychological and societal injuries is to come as we face financial and emotional crises across the globe.
“That’s very early,” Anna Durbin, a vaccine researcher at Johns Hopkins University, told STAT. “We don’t know if those antibodies are durable.”
The Moderna press release also indicated that the antibody levels observed were equal to or greater in the 100 ug dose than was seen in patients who recovered from COVID-19. There’s not much context here, because studies on recovered COVID-19 patients have shown a range that is potentially influenced by the severity of the disease. For example, John “Jack” Rose, a Yale University vaccine researcher told STAT about a study in China demonstrating that in 175 recovered COVID-19 patients, 10 had no detectable neutralizing antibodies, while others had very high antibody levels.
Of the Phase III trial, Fauci indicated that the majority of trial participants will be between the ages of 18 and 55, but will include elderly Americans that are most at risk of serious illness from COVID-19.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Phone, keys, wallet…ultraviolet light device. Just in case you wanted yet another item to carry around all day, researchers say that portable, handheld COVID-19 killing ultraviolet light devices may be a reality in the future. These gadgets would emit high-intensity ultraviolet light and quickly disinfect targeted areas.
There are two main ways to clean and remove bacteria and viruses from a given surface: chemicals and ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure. UV radiation between 200 and 300 nanometers can effectively kill a virus and stop it from replicating itself. Obviously, devices emitting UV rays would come in handy these days due to COVID-19, but as of now such devices require an expensive, bulky mercury-containing gas discharge lamp with a short battery life.
The study’s authors, however, believe that much more portable, longer lasting, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly UV light emitting diodes can be developed. The necessary LEDs already exist, but the process has been complicated by the fact that electrode materials must also be transparent.
As the pandemic’s economic toll grows around the world, some experts fear it could harm science for decades by putting many thousands of researchers out of work and forcing nations to slash funding as they rebuild societies. Others say the pandemic could highlight the importance of science and spur long-term support, especially for basic research, much as the Second World War did.
Financial crises could spell trouble for science budgets but spending could surge in some countries: part 2 in a series on science after the pandemic.
