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Circa 2017 Bats harbor a large diversity of coronaviruses (CoVs), several of which are related to zoonotic pathogens that cause severe disease in humans. Our screening of bat samples collected in Kenya from 2007 to 2010 not only detected RNA from several novel CoVs but, more significantly, identified sequences that were closely related to human CoVs NL63 and 229E, suggesting that these two human viruses originate from bats. We also demonstrated that human CoV NL63 is a recombinant between NL63-like viruses circulating in Triaenops bats and 229E-like viruses circulating in Hipposideros bats, with the breakpoint located near 5′ and 3′ ends of the spike (S) protein gene. In addition, two further interspecies recombination events involving the S gene were identified, suggesting that this region may represent a recombination “hot spot” in CoV genomes. Finally, using a combination of phylogenetic and distance-based approaches, we showed that the genetic diversity of bat CoVs is primarily structured by host species and subsequently by geographic distances.

bMarie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Find articles by Mang Shi

aDivision of Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Continue reading “Surveillance of Bat Coronaviruses in Kenya Identifies Relatives of Human Coronaviruses NL63 and 229E and Their Recombination History” | >

Uber-flying-car-2020.

Uber aims to prove once again its intention to stay at the crest of innovation with the latest updates of its flying car concept, which it plans to launch by 2020.

In a recent video (watch below), the company depicts passengers ordering flying cabs vie their app and then taking off form a “skyport” on top of an office building.

Continue reading “This awesome Uber flying car concept may become reality by 2020” | >

If you are interested in superlongevity, then I have something that you must read. I have previously recommended a book by Dr. David Sinclair called Lifespan. Here I am recommending a research paper that discusses one of the critical experiments in epigenetic age reversal. Normally I would read a paper first before recommending it. However, I think this is a blockbuster, and it’s over 50 pages, so I can’t wait till my slow eyes finish before passing this on. Here is an excerpt:

Age reversal!

The primary research scientist is Yuancheng Lu.

Here’s a link to the research paper:

Continue reading “Reversal of ageing- and injury-induced vision loss” | >

Surprising findings could springboard the development of new anticancer drugs, or potentially even directly repurpose existing drugs for cancer therapy.

Drugs that are currently used to treat a wide range of conditions such as diabetes, inflammation, alcoholism, and even canine arthritis, can also kill laboratory-grown cancer cells, according to the results of a study by scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Using a molecular barcoding technology called PRISM (profiling relative inhibition simultaneously in mixtures) the researchers were able to screen thousands of existing drug compounds against different types of cancer cell lines. The results identified 49 compounds with previously unrecognized anticancer activity. The researchers say their surprising findings, which highlighted novel anticancer mechanisms and targets, could feasibly be used to springboard the development of new anticancer drugs, or potentially even directly repurpose existing drugs for cancer therapy.

We thought we’d be lucky if we found even a single compound with anticancer properties, but we were surprised to find so many,” said Todd Golub, MD, CSO and director of the cancer program at the Broad, the Charles A. Dana investigator in human cancer genetics at Dana-Farber, and professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Golub and colleagues reported their findings in Nature Cancer, in a paper titled, “Discovering the anticancer potential of non-oncology drugs by systematic viability profiling.”

Continue reading “Anticancer Activity Discovered in Dozens of Existing Noncancer Drugs” | >

A hungry nanoparticle that enters your body and eats away at your insides sounds like a nightmare straight out of a Michael Crichton novel. In fact, it could be a future defense against heart attacks, strokes, and potentially other fatal diseases — as strange as that might initially sound.

Developed by scientists at Michigan State and Stanford universities, the innovative new “Trojan Horse” nanoparticle works by munching away portions of the plaques responsible for heart attacks. In a proof-of-concept demonstration, the researchers recently showed that their specially developed nanoparticle is able to accurately home in on atherosclerotic plaque, which is responsible for atherosclerosis, one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

“What the nanotherapy does is it enters inflammatory monocytes [a type of white blood cell] in the blood, and carries them into the plaque — hence the ‘Trojan Horse’ label — where they become macrophages, and stimulatesthose and other macrophages in plaque to devour cellular debris,” Bryan Smith, associate professor of biomedical engineering at MSU, told Digital Trends. “This ‘taking out the trash’ attribute stabilizes the plaque with minimal side effects.”

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I know it is cute to talk about. But the so deemed Longevity secret of this article being amazingly similar to all other studies (again olive oil and wine) then they go on to declare the ages of the village and they then say some of them have even lived past one hundred??? There are many centenarians (I prefer to call them centurians) in all nations that fly under the radar. Such as in Dallas several times a week they wish some one on channel 4 news that is 100 or greater Happy Birthday. But I believe this is a false alarm looking for a place to go off-sound… You be the Judge??? AEWR.

Researchers studying the inhabitants of Campodimele, Italy, who are known for their longevity.

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