Batteryless Device Detects Covid Droplets In the Air Around You

Calendar December 6, 2022 | Posted by admin

Researchers have developed a unique batteryless and wireless device that can detect within no time coronavirus in the air, if your surroundings contain Covid-19 particles or droplets the moment they enter the vicinity.

The device, which requires no batteries, employs a magnetostrictive clad plate composed of iron, cobalt and nickel, generating power via alternative magnetisation caused by vibration.

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A 1889 “Flu” Similar to SARS-CoV-2 is Now Under Investigation

Calendar March 7, 2022 | Posted by admin

In May 1889, people living in Bukhara, a city that was then part of the Russian Empire, began sickening and dying. The respiratory virus that killed them became known as the Russian flu. It swept the world, overwhelming hospitals and killing the old with special ferocity.

Schools and factories were forced to close because so many students and workers were sick. Some of the infected described an odd symptom: a loss of smell and taste. And some of those who recovered reported a lingering exhaustion. The Russian flu finally ended a few years later, after at least three waves of infection.

Its patterns of infection and symptoms have led some virologists and historians of medicine to now wonder: Might the Russian flu actually have been a pandemic driven by a coronavirus? And could its course give us clues about how our pandemic will play out and wind down?

If a coronavirus caused the Russian flu, some believe that pathogen may still be around, its descendants circulating worldwide as one of the four coronaviruses that cause the common cold. If so, it would be different from flu pandemics whose viruses stick around for a while only to be replaced by new variants years later that cause a new pandemic.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/

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Severe Covid-19 Doubles Risk Of Death In The Year After Illness

Calendar December 7, 2021 | Posted by admin

Survivors of severe Covid-19 are more than twice as likely to die over the following year than those who experienced milder symptoms or remained uninfected, according to new research published in Frontiers in Medicine, suggesting serious infections may cause significant damage to long-term health and underscoring the protection offered by vaccines. The risk following severe infection was particularly noteworthy in patients under 65, who had a 233% increased chance of dying compared to the uninfected, the researchers found. The increased risk of death for under 65s with severe Covid-19 was greater than that for those over the age of 65, the researchers found.

The research, by academics at the University of Florida, was based on an analysis of the electronic health records of 13,638 patients who underwent a PCR test for coronavirus within the University of Florida health system and recovered from the disease. The vast majority of patients—80%—did not die from complications typically associated with Covid-19 like blood clotting or respiratory failure and died long after the initial infection had passed, the researchers said, meaning their deaths may never have been linked to Covid-19 by families or doctors. The findings suggest severe infection damages overall health and leaves patients vulnerable to other health issues, the researchers wrote, highlighting the importance of preventing serious illness through vaccination.

Patients with severe Covid-19 who recovered “were at significantly greater risk of being hospitalized in the subsequent six months” said Arch Mainous, a professor at the University of Florida and the study’s lead author. “We must be especially vigilant in decreasing severe episodes of Covid-19” now we know it comes with a “substantial risk of dying from what would likely be considered to be an unrecognized complication… Taking your chances and hoping for successful treatment in the hospital doesn’t convey the full picture of the impact of Covid-19.”

While not able to prevent all infections, Covid-19 vaccines drastically cut the odds of severe illness and hospitalization in breakthrough cases. The vast majority of deaths from Covid-19 have been among the unvaccinated and hospitals in parts of the country have been pushed to their limits with a deluge of unvaccinated Covid-19 patients. Nearly a year after vaccines became freely and widely available in wealthy countries, leaders still lament the “pandemic of the unvaccinated” amid poor uptake and a resurgence of cases. Placing the immediate risk of Covid-19, this research supports a growing body of evidence outlining the persistent and sometimes new symptoms some coronavirus patients experience for weeks or months after their initial infection. The list of potentially debilitating symptoms for long Covid is long—one study identifies over 200—and covers the entire body, ranging from memory loss and hallucinations to tremors, fatigue and digestive issues. Research suggests that one in five Covid-19 patients will go on to be diagnosed with a mental illness within three months of recovery and conditions affecting the brain and thinking arecommon. Vaccines also appear to slash the risks of developing long Covid, studies suggest, though the precise mechanism of this is not yet understood, aside from preventing infection in the first place.

Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/
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https://www.forbes.com/

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COVID: Valneva Reports Positive Results for their Phase3 Vaccine

Calendar October 19, 2021 | Posted by admin

French-Austrian laboratory Valneva announced their Covid candidate vaccine – currently completing phase 3 of clinical trial – showed “positive ropline results“.

“The trial met its co-primary endpoints“, the press release reads while specifying the vaccine “demonstrated superiority against AZD1222 (AstraZeneca), in terms of geometric mean titer for neutralization antibodies, as well as non-inferiority in terms of seroconversion rates (SCR above 95% in both treatment groups) at two weeks after the second vaccination (i.e. Day 43) in adults aged 30 years and older.”

The phase 3 of the trial has been performed in 4,012 people aged 18+ and the vaccine has been “generally well tolerated“: “The tolerability profile of VLA2001 was significantly more favorable compared to the active comparator vaccine.”

For the record, the vaccine relies on the “inactivated virus” technology, the standard form of vaccines so far, like products developed by Sinovac and Sinopharm. “This is a much more traditional approach to vaccine manufacture than the vaccines so far deployed in the UK, Europe and North America and these results suggest this vaccine candidate is on track to play an important role in overcoming the pandemic“, Adam Finn, Professor of Paediatrics, University of Bristol, Trial Chief Investigator, said.

This new vaccine could be licensured “as quickly as possible” to “propose an alternative vaccine solution for people who have not yet been vaccinated“, Thomas Lingelbach, Chief Executive Officer of Valneva, said. Furthermore, the laboratory announced they have “commenced rolling submission for initial approval with the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency” as well as “preparing to commence rolling submission for conditional approval with the European Medicines Agency“.

Source: https://valneva.com/

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World’s First COVID-19 DNA Vaccine

Calendar September 20, 2021 | Posted by admin

 India‘s drug regulator has granted emergency use approval for Zydus Cadila‘s COVID-19 vaccine, the world’s first DNA shot against the coronavirus, in adults and children aged 12 years and above. The approval gives a boost to India’s vaccination programme, which aims to inoculate all eligible adults by December, and will provide the first shot for those under 18, as the country still struggles to contain the virus spread in some states. The vaccine, ZyCoV-D, uses a section of genetic material from the virus that gives instructions as either DNA or RNA to make the specific protein that the immune system recognises and responds to. Unlike most COVID-19 vaccines, which need two doses or even a single dose, ZyCoV-D is administered in three doses.

The generic drugmaker, listed as Cadila Healthcare Ltd, aims to make 100 million to 120 million doses of ZyCoV-D annually and has already begun stockpiling the vaccine. Zydus Cadila‘s vaccine, developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology, is the second home-grown shot to get emergency authorization in India after Bharat Biotech‘s Covaxin. The drugmaker said in July its COVID-19 vaccine was effective against the new coronavirus mutants, especially the Delta variant, and that the shot is administered using a needle-free applicator as opposed to traditional syringes. The regulatory nod makes ZyCoV-D the sixth vaccine authorized for use in the country where only about 9.18% of the entire population has been fully vaccinated so far, according to Johns Hopkins data.

The firm had applied for the authorization of ZyCoV-D on July 1, based on an efficacy rate of 66.6% in a late-stage trial of over 28,000 volunteers nationwide.

https://www.reuters.com/

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New Disinfectant Protects Against Covid for Up 7 Days

Calendar September 3, 2021 | Posted by admin

An alum and several researchers at the University of Central Florida (UCF) have used nanotechnology to develop the cleaning agent, which protects against seven viruses for up to seven days.

UCF researchers have developed a nanoparticle-based disinfectant that can continuously kill viruses on a surface for up to seven days – a discovery that could be a powerful weapon against COVID-19 and other emerging pathogenic viruses. The findings, by a multidisciplinary team of the university’s virus and engineering experts and the leader of an Orlando technology firm, were published this week in  ACS Nano, a journal of the American Chemical Society.

Christina Drake ’07PhD, founder of Kismet Technologies, was inspired to develop the disinfectant after making a trip to the grocery store in the early days of the pandemic. There she saw a worker spraying disinfectant on a refrigerator handle, then wiping off the spray immediately.

“Initially my thought was to develop a fast-acting disinfectant,” she says, “but we spoke to consumers, such as doctors and dentists, to find out what they really wanted from a disinfectant. What mattered the most to them was something long-lasting that would continue to disinfect high-touch areas like doorhandles and floors long after application.”

Drake partnered with Sudipta Seal, a UCF materials engineer and nanoscience expert, and Griff Parks, a College of Medicine virologist who is also associate dean of research and director of the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. With funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation, Kismet Tech and the Florida High Tech Corridor, the researchers created a nanoparticle-engineered disinfectant.

Its active ingredient is an engineered nanostructure called cerium oxide, which is known for its regenerative antioxidant properties. The cerium oxide nanoparticles are modified with small amounts of silver to make them more potent against pathogens.

“It works both chemically and mechanically,” says Seal, who has been studying nanotechnology for more than 20 years. “The nanoparticles emit electrons that oxidize the virus, rendering it inactive. Mechanically, they also attach themselves to the virus and rupture the surface, almost like popping a balloon.”

Most disinfecting wipes or sprays will disinfect a surface within three to six minutes of application but have no residual effects. This means surfaces need to be wiped down repeatedly to stay clean from a number of viruses, like COVID-19. The nanoparticle formulation maintains its ability to inactivate microbes and continues to disinfect a surface for up to seven days after a single application.

“The disinfectant has shown tremendous antiviral activity against seven different viruses,” says Parks, whose lab was responsible for testing the formulation against “a dictionary” of viruses. “Not only did it show antiviral properties toward coronavirus and rhinovirus, but it also proved effective against a wide range of other viruses with different structures and complexities. We are hopeful that with this amazing range of killing capacity, this disinfectant will also be a highly effective tool against other new emerging viruses. “

The scientists are confident the solution will have a major impact in health care settings in particular, reducing the rate of hospital acquired infections, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Clostridium difficile – which affect more than one in 30 patients admitted to U.S. hospitals. And unlike many commercial disinfectants, the formulation has no harmful chemicals, which indicates it will be safe to use on any surface. Regulatory testing for irritancy on skin and eye cells, as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, showed no harmful effects.

“Many household disinfectants currently available contain chemicals that can be harmful to the body with repeated exposure,” Drake says. “Our nanoparticle-based product will have a high safety rating will play a major role in reducing overall chemical exposure for humans.”

Source: https://www.ucf.edu/

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How To Reverse Cell Aging

Calendar September 1, 2021 | Posted by admin

A team of scientists has found why elderly people are more susceptible to COVID-19 and are working to reverse the aging process of the body’s immune system.

Scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology say they have found a way to rejuvenate the aging process of the body’s immune system. Prof. Doron Melamed and doctoral student Reem Dowery sought to understand why the elderly population is more susceptible to severe cases of COVID-19 and why the vaccines seem to be less effective and wane faster among this population. The results of their work were published this month in the peer-reviewed, online medical journal Blood.
The secret begins with B cells, also known as B lymphocytes. These are the cells that produce antibodies against any pathogen that enters the body. They play a key role in protecting people from viruses and diseases.
B cells do not just disappear. They turn into “memory” B cells so that if the body is exposed to a previous pathogen, the individual will not get sick. That is because the immune response will be fast and robust, and it will eliminate the pathogen, often without the individual knowing he or she had been exposed to it.


“Imagine you are growing into adulthood, and you become an adult and then an older person,” Melamed said. “You accumulate in your body many memory cells. You are exposed all the time to pathogens, and hence you make more and more memory cells. Because these are so long-lived, there is no room left for new B cells.”
What happens when a new pathogen, such as the coronavirus, comes along? There are no young B cells that can recognize it. That is one of the reasons why older people are more susceptible to severe COVID-19 and many other diseases. As noted, this happens because of the body’s need for homeostasis, something that Melamed’s lab discovered a decade ago. But this year, they took the discovery another step and figured out a mechanism to override the system.
“We found specific hormonal signals produced by the old B cells, the memory cells, that inhibit the bone marrow from producing new B cells,” Melamed said. “This is a huge discovery. It is like finding a needle in a haystack.”

It also means that, over time, specific drugs or treatments can be found to inhibit one of the hormones in the signaling pathway and get the bone marrow to produce new B cells.

Source: http://www.jpost.com/

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Highly Dangerous COVID Mutation Could Emerge in Cats

Calendar August 9, 2021 | Posted by admin

The recent suggestion that ministers may have to consider culling or vaccinating animals to prevent the coronavirus from picking up another dangerous mutation and jumping back to humans may sound like sudden panic, but it’s just part of a long debate among scientists.

Evidence that cats could be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, emerged as early as April 2020 from Wuhan, China. Evidence that they could also transmit the infection to other cats under particular conditions appeared in the same month. Since then, infections have been confirmed in mink in Denmark and the Netherlands, in big cats in zoos, in dogs, ferrets and a range of other species. It’s also worth remembering that the source of SARS-CoV-2 is probably bats and that other species of wildlife may also be infectable.

Infection of some of these species with SARS-CoV-2 can cause actual disease, creating veterinary, welfare or conservation problems. However, transmission to or from companion animals that spend a lot of time in close contact with people also presents extra problems for trying to control a pandemic in humans. For example, if transmission between humans and cats happens easily, then controlling the pandemic in people might require measures to prevent it, and that might include vaccinating and quarantining cats.

There is good evidence for transmission from humans to cats but very little evidence for transmission from cats to humans. Nor is there much evidence for transmission between cats in normal situations (that is, not in a laboratory). At the moment, there’s no real reason to be concerned that infections in cats are a major problem. You’re at much greater risk from your family and friends with COVID than from their cats, although you should take normal hygiene precautions you use to reduce the risks of catching other diseases (such as toxoplasmosis) from cats.

Source: https://theconversation.com

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The Drug Masitinib Effective in Treating COVID-19

Calendar August 3, 2021 | Posted by admin

A new University of Chicago study has found that the drug masitinib may be effective in treating COVID-19. The drug, which has undergone several clinical trials for human conditions but has not yet received approval to treat humans, inhibited the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in human cell cultures and in a mouse model, leading to much lower viral loads.

Researchers at UChicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME), working with collaborators at Argonne National Laboratory and around the world, also found that the drug could be effective against many types of coronaviruses and picornaviruses. Because of the way it inhibits replication, it has also been shown to remain effective in the face of COVID-19 variants.

“Inhibitors of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2, like masitinib, could be a new potential way to treat COVID patients, especially in early stages of the disease,” said Prof. Savas Tay, who led the research. “COVID-19 will likely be with us for many years, and novel coronaviruses will continue to arise. Finding existing drugs that have antiviral properties can be an essential part of treating these diseases.”

The results were published  in Science.

Source: https://pme.uchicago.edu/

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mRNA Vaccine to Prevent Colorectal Cancer Recurrence

Calendar July 14, 2021 | Posted by admin

The COVID-19 vaccines mark the first widespread use of mRNA technology. They work by using synthetic genetic code to instruct the patient’s cells to recognize the coronavirus and activate the immune system against the virus. But researchers began exploring how to use mRNA vaccines as a new way to treat cancer long before this technology was used against the coronavirus.

A B-cell displaying antibodies created in response to foreign protein fragments produced from a personalized mRNA vaccine recognizes a colorectal cancer cell and signals killer T-cells to destroy it

“We’ve known about this technology for a long time, well before COVID-19,” says Van Morris, M.D. Here, he explains how mRNA vaccines work and how a team of MD Anderson colorectal cancer experts led by Scott Kopetz, M.D., Ph.D., are testing the technology in a Phase II clinical trial, following high-risk patients with stage II or stage III colorectal cancer who test positive for circulating tumor DNA after surgery.

The presence of circulating tumor DNA is checked with a blood test. “If there is ctDNA present, it can mean that a patient is at higher risk for the cancer coming back,” Morris says. The opposite can also be true: if there is not circulating tumor DNA present, the patient may have a lower risk of recurrence, he adds.

In the Phase II clinical trial, enrolled patients start chemotherapy after the tumor is surgically removed. Tissue from the tumor is sent off to a specialized lab, where it’s tested to look for genetic mutations that fuel the cancer’s growth. Morris explains anywhere from five to 20 mutations specific to that patient’s tumor can be identified during testing. The mutations are then prioritized by the most common to the least common, and an mRNA vaccine is created based on that ranking. “Each patient on the trial receives a personalized mRNA vaccine based on their individual mutation test results from their tumor.”

As with the COVID-19 vaccines, the mRNA instructs the patient’s cells to produce protein fragments based off tumor’s genetic mutations identified during testing. The immune system then searches for other cells with the mutated proteins and clears out any remaining circulating tumor cells. “We’re hopeful that with the personalized vaccine, we’re priming the immune system to go after the residual tumor cells, clear them out and cure the patient,” says Morris.

Source: https://www.mdanderson.org/

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