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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2020 at 7:53am

Study identifies new 'hidden' gene in COVID-19 virus

Researchers have discovered a new "hidden" gene in SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—that may have contributed to its unique biology and pandemic potential. In a virus that only has about 15 genes in total, knowing more about this and other overlapping genes—or "genes within genes"—could have a significant impact on how we combat the virus.

Overlapping genes may be one of an arsenal of ways in which coronaviruses have evolved to replicate efficiently, thwart host immunity, or get themselves transmitted. Knowing that overlapping genes exist and how they function may reveal new avenues for corona virus control, for example through antiviral drugs.

The research team identified ORF3d, a new overlapping gene in SARS-CoV-2 that has the potential to encode a protein that is longer than expected by chance alone. They found that this gene is also present in a previously discovered pangolin coronavirus, perhaps reflecting repeated loss or gain of this gene during the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses. In addition, ORF3d has been independently identified and shown to elicit a strong antibody response in COVID-19 patients, demonstrating that the new gene's protein is manufactured during human infection.

Chase W Nelson et al, Dynamically evolving novel overlapping gene as a factor in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, eLife (2020). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.59633

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-hidden-gene-covid-virus.html

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2020 at 7:46am

Scientists have discovered an ancient lake bed deep beneath the Greenland ice

Scientists have detected what they say are the sediments of a huge ancient lake bed sealed more than a mile under the ice of northwest Greenland—the first-ever discovery of such a sub-glacial feature anywhere in the world. Apparently formed at a time when the area was ice-free but now completely frozen in, the lake bed may be hundreds of thousands or millions of years old, and contain unique fossil and chemical traces of past climates and life. 

Guy J.G. Paxman et al. A fault-bounded palaeo-lake basin preserved beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116647

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-scientists-ancient-lake-bed-deep.html...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2020 at 7:36am

Scientists use bacteria as micro-3-D printers

A team at Aalto University has used bacteria to produce intricately designed three-dimensional objects made of nanocellulose. With their technique, the researchers are able to guide the growth of bacterial colonies through the use of strongly water repellent—or superhydrophobic—surfaces. The objects show tremendous potential for medical use, including supporting tissue regeneration or as scaffolds to replace damaged organs.

Unlike fibrous objects made through current 3-D printing methods, the new technique allows fibers, with a diameter a thousand times thinner than a human hair, to be aligned in any orientation, even across layers, and various gradients of thickness and topography, opening up new possibilities for application in tissue regeneration. These kinds of physical characteristics are crucial for support materials in the growth and regeneration of certain types of tissues found in muscles as well as in the brain.

Luiz G. Greca et al, Guiding Bacterial Activity for Biofabrication of Complex Materials via Controlled Wetting of Superhydrophobic Surfaces, ACS Nano (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c03999

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-scientists-bacteria-micro-d-printers....

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2020 at 7:32am

Nanomedicine crosses into brain, eradicates recurring brain cancer in mice

A new synthetic protein nanoparticle capable of slipping past the nearly impermeable blood-brain barrier could deliver cancer-killing drugs directly to malignant brain tumours, new research  shows.

The study is the first to demonstrate an intravenous medication that can cross the blood-brain barrier.

The discovery, demonstrated in mice, could enable new clinical therapies for treating glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer in adults, and one whose incidence is rising in many countries.T oday's median survival for patients with glioblastoma is around 18 months; the average 5-year survival rate is below 5%.

In combination with radiation, the U-M team's intravenously-injected therapy led to long-term survival in seven out of eight mice. When those seven mice experienced a recurrence of glioblastoma, their immune responses kicked in to prevent the cancer's regrowth—without any additional therapeutic drugs or other clinical treatments.

The findings suggest that the U-M team's combination of therapeutic drugs and nanoparticle delivery methods not only eradicated the primary  tumour but resulted in immunological memory, or the ability to more quickly recognize—and attack—remaining malignant cancer cells.

Jason V. Gregory et al. Systemic brain tumor delivery of synthetic protein nanoparticles for glioblastoma therapy, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19225-7

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-nanomedicine-brain-eradicates-recurri...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2020 at 6:55am

Chemicals in your living room cause diabetes

A new  study shows flame retardants  in  homes cause mice to give birth to offspring that become diabetic.

PBDEs are common household chemicals added to furniture, upholstery, and electronics to prevent fires. They get released into the air people breathe at home, in their cars, and in airplanes because their chemical bond to surfaces is weak.

"PBDEs are everywhere in the home. They're impossible to completely avoid

These flame retardants, called PBDEs, have been associated with diabetes in adult humans. This study demonstrates that PBDEs cause diabetes in mice only exposed to the chemical through their mothers.

The mice received PBDEs from their mothers while they were in the womb and as young babies through mother's milk. Remarkably, in adulthood, long after the exposure to the chemicals, the female offspring developed diabetes.

Elena V. Kozlova et al, Maternal transfer of environmentally relevant polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) produces a diabetic phenotype and disrupts glucoregulatory hormones and hepatic endocannabinoids in adult mouse female offspring, Scientific Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74853-9

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-chemicals-room-diabetes.html...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2020 at 6:30am

Researchers isolate and decode brain signal patterns for specific behaviours

Brain signals contain dynamic neural patterns that reflect a combination of  activities simultaneously. A standing challenge has been isolating those patterns in brain signals that relate to a specific behaviour, such as finger movements. Further, developing brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) that help people with neurological and mental disorders requires the translation of brain signals into a specific behaviour, a problem called decoding. This decoding also depends on our ability to isolate neural patterns related to specific behaviours. These neural patterns can be masked by patterns related to other activities and can be missed by standard algorithms.

Researchers have developed a machine learning algorithm that resolved the above challenge. The algorithm  uncovered neural patterns missed by other methods and enhanced the decoding of behaviours that originated from signals in the brain. This algorithm is a significant advance in modeling and decoding of complex brain activity which could both enable new neuroscience discoveries and enhance future brain-machine interfaces.

Modeling behaviorally relevant neural dynamics enabled by preferential subspace identification, Nature Neuroscience (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-00733-0 , www.nature.com/articles/s41593-020-00733-0

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-isolate-decode-brain-pattern...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2020 at 6:08am

Radioactive elements may be crucial to the habitability of rocky planets

The amount of long-lived radioactive elements incorporated into a rocky planet as it forms may be a crucial factor in determining its future habitability, according to a new study by an interdisciplinary team of scientists.

 That's because internal heating from the radioactive decay of the heavy elements thorium and uranium drives plate tectonics and may be necessary for the planet to generate a magnetic field. Earth's magnetic field protects the planet from solar winds and cosmic rays.

Convection in Earth's molten metallic core creates an internal dynamo (the "geodynamo") that generates the planet's magnetic field. Earth's supply of radioactive elements provides more than enough internal heating to generate a persistent geodynamo.

Different planets accumulate different amounts of these radioactive elements that ultimately power geological activity and the magnetic field. I

if the radiogenic heating is more than the Earth's, the planet can't permanently sustain a dynamo, as Earth has done. That happens because most of the thorium and uranium end up in the mantle, and too much heat in the mantle acts as an insulator, preventing the molten core from losing heat fast enough to generate the convective motions that produce the magnetic field.

With more radiogenic internal heating, the planet also has much more volcanic activity, which could produce frequent mass extinction events. On the other hand, too little radioactive heat results in no volcanism and a geologically "dead" planet.

It has long been speculated that internal heating drives plate tectonics, which creates carbon cycling and geological activity like volcanism, which produces an atmosphere. And the ability to retain an atmosphere is related to the magnetic field, which is also driven by internal heating.

The heavy elements crucial to radiogenic heating are created during mergers of neutron stars, which are extremely rare events. 

 Francis Nimmo et al. Radiogenic Heating and Its Influence on Rocky Planet Dynamos and Habitability, The Astrophysical Journal (2020). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/abc251

https://phys.org/news/2020-11-radioactive-elements-crucial-habitabi...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 10, 2020 at 10:17am

First-Ever Flu Vaccine Derived From Tobacco Plants Just Smashed Clinical Trials

A new flu vaccine grown in plants has been put to the test in two large-scale clinical trials, a first for vaccine research.

The vaccine contained virus-like particles which resembled circulating flu strains, extracted from native Australian tobacco relatives that were genetically instructed to produce the viral proteins.

The two trials combined involved nearly 23,000 people and the results suggest that the plant-derived vaccine is not only safe, but comparable to current commercial flu vaccines.

To the best of our knowledge, these studies and the clinical development programme that preceded them are the largest demonstration to date of the potential for a plant-based platform to produce a human vaccine that can be safe, immunogenic, and effective.

Most influenza vaccines are currently made using virus particles grown in and harvested from chicken eggs or lab-grown cells, which takes months even after scientists work out which flu strains (and surface proteins) they need to target.

Plants, which can be engineered to produce select proteins and cultivated at scale, could be an alternative, helping to boost our capacity to produce seasonal flu vaccines.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32014-6/fulltext

https://www.sciencealert.com/large-scale-studies-test-flu-vaccine-d...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 10, 2020 at 9:59am

Possible drug treatment on horizon for SARS-CoV-2 virus

Researchers from the Universities of York and Melbourne have shed new light on how viruses like hepatitis B, dengue and SARS-CoV-2 hijack a cell paving the way for potential anti-viral drugs to stop the virus in its tracks. Like products on a factory assembly line, all proteins pass through quality control checkpoints where they are inspected before they are transported to their destination to carry out their functions. The researchers showed that some viruses could hijack this manufacturing and distribution process in the cell. The virus can use the cells machinery to copy their DNA or RNA and produce the proteins they need to make copies of themselves and take-over their host. Research demonstrated that viruses tend to harness a step in this process where sugar molecules coat newly assembled proteins. The team was able to develop inhibitors to block an enzyme that trims, checks, and modifies the sugar coating process, which can disrupt the viruses’ ability to hijack the pathway.

https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2020/research/possible-...

https://researchnews.cc/news/3481/Possible-drug-treatment-on-horizo...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 10, 2020 at 8:32am

New tool detects unsafe security practices in Android apps

"CRYLOGGER: Detecting Crypto Misuses Dynamically." DOI: 10.1109/SP40001.2021.00010 , www.computer.org/csdl/proceedi … 3400a160/1mbmHwIxTb2

https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-tool-unsafe-android-apps.html?u...

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Scientists criticize use of unproven COVID drugs in India

Researchers say it is unclear on what basis the drugs were approved for ‘emergency use’.

In India, which has the world’s second-largest COVID-19 outbreak, there is a desperate need for effective treatments. But researchers are concerned about how the country’s drug regulator is handling potential therapies. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved several repurposed drugs for ‘restricted emergency use’ for treating the disease, the first time it has used such powers. Yet scientists say it’s unclear on what basis the drugs were approved, and critics argue that the manufacturers’ data on their effectiveness is unconvincing so far.

“Transparency is even more important in the pandemic.

It’s a new virus where we don't have definitive treatments available.

Emergency approvals are typically granted on the basis of preliminary evidence that a drug works. But scientists say there is little evidence so far that favipiravir and itolizumab can treat COVID-19 successfully.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03105-7?utm_source=Natur...

Scientists are also concerned that the emergency authorizations are influencing other countries’ decisions. One of the drugs approved for COVID-19 in India is itolizumab, which is used to treat the autoimmune condition psoriasis. This has now been approved for emergency use in Cuba, partly on the basis of Indian data and approval, according to Cuban media. And Equillium, a biotech company based in La Jolla, California, which has a licence to manufacturer itolizumab, received approval in the United States on 29 October to proceed with a large trial. Equillium’s filing to the US financial regulator notes that it was encouraged by India’s data and approval.

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