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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 22, 2021 at 11:09am

Using CRISPR to lower cholesterol levels in monkeys

A team of researchers from Verve Therapeutics and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has developed a CRISPR gene-editing technique that lowered the levels of cholesterol in the blood of test monkeys. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the researchers describe their technique.

Prior research has shown that in some people, the PCSK9 gene codes excess PCSK9 protein production (which occurs mostly in the liver)—leading to an increase in lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. This is because it interferes with blood cells with LDL receptors that "grab" LDL and remove it. For this reason, pharmaceutical companies have developed therapies that reduce the production of PCSK9 protein. However, most do not work well enough, which is why there is still so much atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. In this new effort, the researchers have tried another approach—altering the PCSK9 gene to make it stop coding for PCSK9 protein production.

The approach involved using a base editing technology made up of messenger RNA encoding for an adenine base editor along with guided RNA that was packaged in a lipid nanoparticle. Notably, the base editing technique was able to substitute a single nucleotide with another in the DNA without cutting the double helix. Prior research has shown the technique to be more precise, which means fewer errors than other CRISPR techniques. In their work, the researchers replaced an adenine with a guanine and a thymine with a cytosine, completely incapacitating the gene. Implementation of the therapy involved a one-time injection into the liver of cynomolgus monkeys.

After injection, the researchers tested the monkeys' cholesterol levels regularly. The researchers found that after just one week, levels of the PCSK9 protein had fallen by approximately 90% and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were down by approximately 60%. They also found that both percentages held up for at least 10 months.

The researchers suggest their strong results show that the technique is ready for testing in humans, though there is still hesitation by medical authorities on approving such work due to the inability to reverse the process should unintended effects occur.

Kiran Musunuru et al, In vivo CRISPR base editing of PCSK9 durably lowers cholesterol in primates, Nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03534-y

https://phys.org/news/2021-05-crispr-cholesterol-monkeys.html?utm_s...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 22, 2021 at 10:59am

Water treatment: Removing hormones with sunlight

Organic pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and hormones, even at nanoscale concentrations, contaminate drinking water in a way that poses significant risks to humans, animals and the environment. In particular, the steroid hormones estrone, estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone can cause biological damage in humans and wildlife. The European Union has therefore set strict minimum quality standards for safe and clean drinking water, which must also be taken into account in the development of new technologies for water treatment.

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Biodiversity devastation: Human-driven decline requires millions of...

A new study shows that the current rate of biodiversity decline in freshwater ecosystems outcompetes that at the end-Cretaceous extinction that killed the dinosaurs: damage now being done in decades to centuries may take millions of years to undo.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 22, 2021 at 10:36am

Scientists reveal structural details of how SARS-CoV-2 variants escape immune response

Fast-spreading variants of the COVID-19-causing coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, carry mutations that enable the virus to escape some of the immune response created naturally or by vaccination. A new study by scientists  has revealed key details of how these escape mutations work.

used structural biology techniques to map at high resolution how important classes of neutralizing antibodies bind to the original pandemic strain of SARS-CoV-2—and how the process is disrupted by mutations found in new variants first detected in Brazil, the United Kingdom, South Africa and India.

The research also highlights that several of these mutations are clustered in one site, known as the "receptor binding site," on the spike protein of the virus. Other sites on the receptor binding domain are unaffected.

An implication of this study is that, in designing next-generation vaccines and antibody therapies, we should consider increasing the focus on other vulnerable sites on the virus that tend not to be affected by the mutations found in variants of concern.

Structural and functional ramifications of antigenic drift in recent SARS-CoV-2 variants, Science (2021). DOI: 10.1126/science.abh1139 , science.sciencemag.org/content … 5/19/science.abh1139

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-05-scientists-reveal-sars-cov-v...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 22, 2021 at 8:10am

Russians infected with crossover flu virus suggests possibility of another pandemic

Two virus researchers in China are recommending security measures after seven Russian farm workers became infected with a crossover flu virus last year. In their Perspectives piece published in the journal Science, suggest that the makeup and history of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza virus threaten the possibility of another pandemic.

The new strain of influenza virus was first discovered in a duck in China back in 2010. By 2014, outbreaks had been seen in Japan and South Korea in both domestic and wild birds. And by 2016, it had been found in birds in India, Russia Mongolia, the U.S. and parts of Europe. By 2020, outbreaks had been seen in 46 countries. This history indicates that the virus is able to spread very rapidly. Even more concerning was a report of crossover infections in seven Russian farm workers this past December. The infected workers did not have any symptoms (they were tested for safety reasons) and there was no indication that the virus was transmissible from one person to the next. But they point out, that once a crossover has been made, it generally does not take a virus long to adapt to spread to other victims— Researchers note how quickly the virus mutated to jump from duck to duck and then to other bird species. They also note that the virus has been found to be quite lethal, with massive die-offs in multiple outbreaks. The Russian workers were tested, for example, after 101,000 hens died.

But it is not too late to take preventive measures that could prevent a pandemic. Vigilant surveillance of farms, live markets and wild birds, along with the implementation of standard infection control measures, could slow the spread of the virus, giving pharmaceutical companies time to develop a vaccine for it.

Emerging H5N8 avian influenza viruses, Science  21 May 2021: Vol. 372, Issue 6544, pp. 784-786. DOI: 10.1126/science.abg6302 , science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6544/784

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-05-russians-infected-crossover-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 22, 2021 at 6:39am

Authors can now submit to eLife and medRxiv at the same time

With the support of eJournalPress and medRxiv, authors can now submit their preprint to medRxiv and have it transferred to eLife for consideration at the same time. Alternatively, they can choose to send their manuscript from the eLife submission system directly to medRxiv. eLife is the first journal to facilitate this kind of bidirectional integration with medRxiv into its process, as we lead the way into transforming medical publishing. https://elifesciences.org/inside-elife/037ef19d/elife-latest-author...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 21, 2021 at 12:42pm

Scientists find new way of predicting COVID-19 vaccine efficacy

The early immune response in a person who has been vaccinated for COVID-19 can predict the level of protection they will have to the virus over time, according to analysis from Australian mathematicians, clinicians, and scientists, and published in Nature Medicine. The researchers have identified an immune correlate of vaccine protection. This has the potential to dramatically cut development times for new vaccines, by measuring neutralising antibody levels as a proxy for immune protection from COVID-19. Professor Jamie Triccas from the University of Sydney School of Medical Sciences, and Dr Timothy Schlub from the School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health were co-authors on the study. Neutralising antibodies are tiny Y-shaped proteins produced by our body in response to infection or vaccination. They bind to the virus, reducing its ability to infect,” says Dr Deborah Cromer from the Kirby Institute.

“While we have known for some time that neutralising antibodies are likely to be a critical part of our immune response to COVID-19, we haven’t known how much antibody you need for immunity. Our work is the strongest evidence to date to show that specific antibody levels translate to high levels of protection from disease.”

The researchers analysed data from seven COVID-19 vaccines to examine the how the response measured soon after vaccination correlated with protection. They then used statistical analysis to define the specific relationship between immune response and protection. Their analysis was remarkably accurate and was able to predict the efficacy of a new vaccine.

Dr Cromer said that this finding has the potential to change the way we conduct COVID-19 vaccine trials in the future.

“Antibody immune levels are much easier to measure than directly measuring vaccine efficacy over time. So, by measuring antibody levels across the range of new vaccine candidates during early phases of clinical trials, we can better determine whether a vaccine should be used to prevent COVID-19.”

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 21, 2021 at 12:39pm

Rare blood clots more likely after COVID-19 infection than from vac...

The rare blood clot disorder reported by some Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine recipients is also a risk of COVID-19 infection, according to a new report by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Stroke Council Leadership. Dr. Karen L. Furie, chair of the Department of Neurology at Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School, served as lead author of the report, which synthesized existing data from more than 81 million patients and found that risk of developing CVST blood clots is eight to 10 times higher following a COVID-19 infection as compared to the risk associated with receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine. While national news coverage has focused on reports of the CVST blood clot/stroke condition  cerebral venous sinus thrombosis  following vaccination, the report, published in the journal Stroke, puts the risk in perspective. COVID-19 infection is a significant risk factor for CVST clots.

https://researchnews.cc/news/6792/Rare-blood-clots-more-likely-afte...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 21, 2021 at 12:32pm

Strange Discovery Reveals Prematurely Born Male Babies 'Age' Slightly Faster

As part of the world's longest-running analysis of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) babies born prematurely, scientists have discovered that the genes of male ELBW babies age more quickly than those of full-term male newborns.

We're talking about biological aging or senescence here: these men aren't suddenly rushing through their birthdays at an accelerated rate, but rather hundreds of key genes in their bodies have a greater degree of the kind of chemical editing that occurs naturally over time.

The study results indicated them to be an average of 4.6 years 'older' by their 30s than boys with normal birth weight born at the same time.

The difference wasn't found in female ELBW babies, the researchers report, matching up with previous research that has shown premature male babies may be more sensitive to prenatal stress than premature females.

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2021/05/13/ped...

https://www.sciencealert.com/prematurely-born-male-babies-age-faste...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 21, 2021 at 12:27pm

What if The Heart of The Milky Way Isn't Actually a Black Hole?

All these years we thought there's a blackhole at the centre of our galaxy. 

Now , consider this....

What if it's not a black hole at all? What if it's a core of dark amtter? According to a new and fascinating study, those observed orbits of the galactic center, as well as the orbital velocities in the outer regions of the galaxy, might actually be easier to explain if it was a core of dark matter at the heart of the galaxy, rather than a black hole.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.06301

https://www.sciencealert.com/wild-new-paper-proposes-the-center-of-...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 21, 2021 at 12:12pm

Part 2:

In the past 20 years, new coronaviruses have emerged from animals with remarkable regularity. In 2002, SARS-CoV jumped from civets into people. Ten years later, MERS emerged from camels. Then in 2019, SARS-CoV-2 began to spread around the world.

For many scientists, this pattern points to a disturbing trend: Coronavirus outbreaks aren't rare events and will likely occur every decade or so.

Now, scientists are reporting that they have discovered what may be the latest coronavirus to jump from animals into people. And it comes from a surprising source: dogs.

Researchers found evidence of an entirely new coronavirus associated with pneumonia in hospitalized patients — mostly in kids. This virus may be the eighth coronavirus known to cause disease in people, the team reports  in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The patients had what looked like regular pneumonia. But in eight out of 301 samples tested, or 2.7%,it was  found that the patients' upper respiratory tracts were infected with a new canine coronavirus, i.e., a dog virus.

That's a pretty high prevalence of a [new] virus. Canine coronaviruses were not thought to be transmitted to people. It's never been reported before.

Researchers, after thorough examination, did discover a very, very unique mutation — or deletion — in the genome .That specific deletion, isn't present in any other known dog coronaviruses, but it is found somewhere else: in human coronaviruses. It's a mutation that's very similar to one previously found in the SARS coronavirus and in [versions of] SARS-CoV-2 ... [that appeared] very soon after its introduction into the human population.

This deletion, scientists think helps the dog virus infect or persist inside humans. And it may be a key step required for coronaviruses to make the jump into people.

There's no evidence yet of transmission from human to human.

And in order to stop a future coronavirus pandemic, he says, scientists need to do more testing in people and seek out these strange, hidden infections — before they become a problem.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/05/20/996515792/a-ne...

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