Lifeboat Foundation

Radboudumc and UMC Utrecht will investigate whether health care workers are better protected against the coronavirus after a vaccination against tuberculosis (BCG vaccine). This vaccine does not directly protect against the coronavirus, but provides a boost to the immune system, which may lead to improved protection against the coronavirus and a milder infection.

19 March 2020.

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Old human cells return to a more youthful and vigorous state after being induced to briefly express a panel of proteins involved in embryonic development, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The researchers also found that elderly mice regained youthful strength after their existing muscle stem cells were subjected to the rejuvenating protein treatment and transplanted back into their bodies.

The proteins, known as Yamanaka factors, are commonly used to transform an adult cell into what are known as induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells can become nearly any type of cell in the body, regardless of the cell from which they originated. They’ve become important in regenerative medicine and drug discovery.

Researchers at Stanford University report that they can rejuvenate human cells by reprogramming them back to a youthful state. They hope that the technique will help in the treatment of diseases, such as osteoarthritis and muscle wasting, that are caused by the aging of tissue cells.

A major cause of aging is thought to be the errors that accumulate in the epigenome, the system of proteins that packages the DNA and controls access to its genes. The Stanford team, led by Tapash Jay Sarkar, Dr. Thomas A. Rando and Vittorio Sebastiano, say their method, designed to reverse these errors and walk back the cells to their youthful state, does indeed restore the cells’ vigor and eliminate signs of aging.

In their report, published on Tuesday in Nature Communications, they described their technique as “a significant step toward the goal of reversing cellular aging” and could produce therapies “for aging and aging-related diseases.”

SARS-CoV-2 uses the SARS-CoV receptor ACE2 for host cell entry.

The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 is primed by TMPRSS2.

Antibodies against SARS-CoV spike may offer some protection against SARS-CoV-2.

Continue reading “SARS-CoV-2 Cell Entry Depends on ACE2 and TMPRSS2 and Is Blocked by a Clinically Proven Protease Inhibitor” »

Microsoft’s new Windows leader, Panos Panay, is getting ready for a new era of Windows. The first change is a new Windows Insider leader, and we expect to see lots of small and steady improvements to Windows in the coming months.

A team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, has developed a new photosynthetic protein system enabling an enhanced and more sustainable approach to solar-powered technological devices.

The initiative is part of a broader effort in the field of synthetic biology to use proteins in place of man-made materials which are often scarce, expensive and can be harmful to the environment when the device becomes obsolete.

The aim of the study, published today in Nature Communications, was the development of “chimera” photosynthetic complexes that display poly-chromatic solar energy harvesting.

Company is growing to meet demand, taking extra measures to protect workforce and won’t raise prices, CEO says.

The FDA gave doctors the OK to begin using convalescent plasma donated by COVID-19 survivors to treat critically ill coronavirus patients.