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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,937

A group of tiny RNA that should attack the virus causing COVID-19 when it tries to infect the body are diminished with age and chronic health problems, a decrease that likely helps explain why older individuals and those with preexisting medical conditions are vulnerable populations, investigators report.

MicroRNAs play a big role in our body in controlling gene expression, and also are a front line when viruses invade, latching onto and cutting the RNA, the genetic material of the , says Dr. Sadanand Fulzele, aging researcher in the Department of Medicine and Center for Healthy Aging at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

But with age and some chronic medical conditions, the attacking microRNA numbers dwindle, reducing our ability to respond to viruses, says Dr. Carlos M. Isales, co-director of the MCG Center for Healthy Aging and chief of the MCG Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.

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Detailed analysis from the epicentre of the Italian COVID-19 outbreak describes increase in cases of rare Kawasaki-like disease in young children, adding to reports of similar cases from New York, USA and South East England, UK. Syndrome is rare and experts stress that children remain minimally affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection overall.

Doctors in the Bergamo province of Italy have described a series of ten cases of young children with symptoms similar to a called Kawasaki Disease appearing since the COVID-19 pandemic arose in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy, in a report published today in The Lancet.

Only 19 children had been diagnosed with the condition in that area in the five years up to the middle of February 2020, but there were 10 cases between 18 February and 20 April 2020. The latest reports could represent a 30-fold increase in the number of cases, although researchers caution that it is difficult to draw firm conclusions with such small numbers.

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Writing in the journal NanoResearch, a team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst reports this week that they have developed bioelectronic ammonia gas sensors that are among the most sensitive ever made.

The sensor uses electric-charge-conducting protein derived from the bacterium Geobacter to provide biomaterials for electrical devices. More than 30 years ago, senior author and microbiologist Derek Lovley discovered Geobacter in river mud. The microbes grow hair-like protein filaments that work as nanoscale “wires” to transfer charges for their nourishment and to communicate with other bacteria.

First author and doctoral student Alexander Smith, with his advisor Jun Yao and Lovley, say they designed this first sensor to measure ammonia because that gas is important to agriculture, the environment and biomedicine. For example, in humans, ammonia on the breath may signal disease, while in poultry farming, the gas must be closely monitored and controlled for bird health and comfort and to avoid feed imbalances and production losses.

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An NC State researcher has developed a new way to get CRISPR/Cas9 into plant cells without inserting foreign DNA. This allows for precise genetic deletions or replacements, without inserting foreign DNA. Therefore, the end product is not a genetically modified organism, or GMO.

CRISPR/Cas9 is a tool that can be used to precisely cut and remove or replace a specific genetic sequence. The Cas9 serves as a pair of molecular scissors, guided to the specific genetic target by an easily swapped RNA guide. Basically, it seeks out a specific genetic sequence and, when it finds that sequence, cuts it out. Once the target DNA is snipped, it can be deleted or replaced.

The CRISPR/Cas9 system has tremendous potential for improving crops by changing their genetic code. That does not necessarily mean inserting foreign DNA, but the systems used to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 into a plant’s cells often do, which means the relevant crop is a GMOs undergo through a rigorous evaluation process and many consumers prefer non-GMO products.

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The coronavirus pandemic has forced economists, financiers, executives, and policymakers to jettison or dramatically revise their forecasts for 2020. But what will the future look like on the other side of the crisis? We asked a variety of leaders from around the world for their best guess on how our lives will be fundamentally changed.

Economists, investors, and CEOs on how the coronavirus has forever changed the world.

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Masks, gowns, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) are essential for protecting healthcare workers. However, the textiles and materials used in such items can absorb and carry viruses and bacteria, inadvertently spreading the disease the wearer sought to contain.

When the coronavirus spread amongst and left PPE in short supply, finding a way to provide better protection while allowing for the safe reuse of these items became paramount.

Research from the LAMP Lab at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering may have a solution. The lab has created a textile coating that can not only repel liquids like blood and saliva but can also prevent viruses from adhering to the surface. The work was recently published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.

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On April 7, Karin Shetler awoke in the middle of the night to a toe that was throbbing violently. She threw back the covers to reveal her purple-colored middle toe.

“I wondered whether I had somehow broken my toe,” said Shetler. “I iced it, not understanding what it was, and called my physician sister in New Orleans the next morning.”

She asked if it might be gout. It wasn’t.

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Hypothetical COVID-19 Treatments.

The virus causes clotting everywhere and widespread epithelial damage. One is tempted to treat it like stroke prophylaxis. Patients clot rather than bleed, almost always. The same thing happens in influenza, also.

The pro-clotting effects of corticosteroids may be a reason why they have not stood out yet. The profound anticlotting treatment necessary to treat patients with ECMO extracorporial oxygenation in COVID-19, might have its own therapeutic value (it’s not just the artificial lung but the heparin they need to put you on it!). The lungs of COVID-19 patients in trouble are not only full of fluid, but macro and micro-emboli. Low molecular weight heparin, given in all ICUs, looks like a good gamble.

Aspirin if not contraindicated. Also even Plavix (clopidagrel) for patients with D-dimer showing.

The w-3 fatty acids in fish oil are anti-inflammatory in ways that inhibit clotting, and have been used against shock lung and other inflammatory lung pathologies. Work on COVID-19 is continuing but all are in the hypothetical pipeline.

Drugs which in theory modulate inflammation and clotting in the right direction would be Ca-blockers (particularly verapamil) and ACE-1 inhibitors (particularly lisinopril). The anticlotting antiinflammatory pentoxiphylline (Trental) looks interesting. Trental decreases inflammasomes along with azithromycin (do not exceed recommended dose!), long of interest in COVID-19. Doxycycline and minocycline have specific antiinflammatory activity synergistic with azithromycin.

Continue reading “Functional Role of Dietary Intervention to Improve the Outcome of COVID-19: A Hypothesis of Work” | >