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Dr. Fauci Just Said Don’t Take This Medication With the COVID Vaccine
February 26, 2021
https://bestlifeonline.com/news-fauci-medication-vaccine/
You don’t want to “take something that suppresses an immunological response,” he said.
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine appointment can feel like winning the lottery these days. And if you’re lucky enough to score one, chances are you want to do everything in your power to make sure things go as smoothly as possible. You’ve probably heard in recent weeks that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other medical professionals have urged Americans to hold off on doing one thing in particular before getting vaccinated—taking pain relievers like Advil or Tylenol. But now, in a new interview with CBSN, Anthony Fauci, MD, is weighing in on the topic—and he’s advising what medication to avoid taking and what’s safe to take with your COVID vaccine. Read on for his recommendation, and for more on what to hold off on both pre- and post-shot, The CDC Says Don’t Do This Within 2 Weeks of Your COVID Vaccine.
Dr. Fauci said you shouldn’t take any medication that “suppresses an immunological response.”
During a Feb. 25 interview with CBSN as part of their A Shot of Hope: Vaccine Questions Answered special, a vaccine administrator in New Jersey wrote in to ask Fauci, “Patients often ask me whether they should be taking pain relievers either before or after the vaccine shot. I’ve heard mixed advice. What do you say?”
While the White House COVID adviser didn’t specify if his answer was referring to pre- or post-vaccine, he explained, “The mixed advice is based on the fact that there’s very little data on that. I mean, if you’re going to take something that suppresses an immunological response, then obviously, you don’t want to take something like that.”
Fauci added, however, that there is one exception: “if you’re taking it for an underlying disease.” (Here’s a long list of immunosuppressant drugs for your reference.) And for a vaccine that may be offering you some immunity already, This Other Vaccine Could Be Protecting You From COVID, Study Says.
The CDC and other medical experts have advised against some OTC medications pre-vaccination.
In mid-February, the CDC updated its vaccine guidance to warn patients not to take ibuprofen (Motrin and Advil), acetaminophen (Tylenol), aspirin, or antihistamines before their shots. “It is not recommended you take these medicines before vaccination for the purpose of trying to prevent side effects, because it is not known how these medications may impact how well the vaccine works,” the CDC’s website reads, echoing Fauci’s comments on the lack of data.
The reason why healthcare professionals have warned against taking Advil or Tylenol pre-shot is because, as the experts at the University of California, Irvine explain, taking these medications “before receiving a vaccine may reduce its ability to work and can blunt your immune response to the vaccine.” And for more COVID news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Specifically, you shouldn’t take any anti-inflammatories, Fauci said…
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People Who Got COVID Vaccine Had These Side Effects Most
April 21, 2021
The least reported side effect was nausea. The most reported side effect may surprise you.
9. Nausea
8. Joint Pain
7. Injection Site Swelling
6. Fever
5. Chills
4. Muscle Pain
3. Headache
2. Fatigue
1. And the #1 Reported COVID Vaccine Side Effect is….Injection Site Pain
https://www.eatthis.com/news-covid-vaccine-side-effects-common/
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Don’t Do This for 2 Days After Your COVID Vaccine, Doctors Say
March 31, 2021
https://bestlifeonline.com/news-covid-vaccine-exercise/
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Don’t Do This Within 2 Weeks of Your COVID Vaccine, Doctors Warn
March 22, 2021
If you’re getting this treatment and plan to get vaccinated, you need to hold off, experts say.
https://bestlifeonline.com/news-covid-vaccine-steroid/
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NIH Looking Into Rare Allergic Reactions to COVID Vaccines
April 8, 2021
https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20210408/nih-looking-into-rare-allergic-reactions-to-covid-vaccines
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NIH begins study of allergic reactions to Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines
April 7, 2021
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-begins-study-allergic-reactions-moderna-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccines
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NHS told not to give Covid vaccine to those with history of allergic reactions
9 Dec 2020
Two health service workers experienced symptoms after receiving Pfizer vaccine
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/09/pfizer-covid-vaccine-nhs-extreme-allergy-sufferers-regulators-reaction
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Allergy to COVID-19 vaccines: A current update
2021 Apr 23
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8062405/
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Are the Allergic Reactions of COVID-19 Vaccines Caused by mRNA Constructs or Nanocarriers? Immunological Insights
2021 May 22
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34021862/
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Why Covid-19 Patients Are Suffering From Distorted and Phantom Smells
September 21, 2020
An increasing number of patients are reporting awful scents that aren’t present
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-covid-19-patients-are-suffering-distorted-and-phantom-smells-180975826/
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COVID-19 Vaccine and Allergies FAQ
https://www.pennmedicine.org/for-patients-and-visitors/find-a-program-or-service/allergy-and-immunology/covid19-vaccine-and-allergies-faq
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Doing This After Your Vaccine Can Make Side Effects Worse, Doctors Say
March 30, 2021
You may have an even stronger reaction to the COVID vaccine if you do this.
https://bestlifeonline.com/vaccine-side-effects-worse-news/
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This Vaccine Reaction Means You May Have Already Had COVID, Study Says
May 10, 2021
https://bestlifeonline.com/vaccine-reaction-had-covid-news/
Research found this reaction is more common among those who have been previously infected.
-Resting heart rate increases for some people as a reaction to the COVID vaccine.
-Vaccine recipients who had been infected with COVID experienced higher heart rates.
-Those who got the Moderna vaccine experienced the most significant changes in heart rates.
While this vaccine response was reported in participants who received both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the researchers found more significant heart rate changes in those who got Moderna after both doses. According to the study, Moderna participants experienced heart rate increases of more than 0.5 BPM after the first dose, while Pfizer recipients experienced increases of less than 0.5 BPM. For the second dose, both increases were higher, but Moderna participants experienced an average increase of more than 2 BPM while Pfizer participants saw an average increase of more than 1 BPM.
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COVID-19 vaccine elicits antibody responses in nearly 9 out of 10 people taking immunosuppressants
Aug 30 2021
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210830/COVID-19-vaccine-elicits-antibody-responses-in-nearly-9-out-of-10-people-taking-immunosuppressants.aspx
COVID-19 vaccination elicited antibody responses in nearly nine out of 10 people with weakened immune systems, although their responses were only about one-third as strong as those mounted by healthy people, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The study, published Aug. 30 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, looked at people taking immunosuppressive medications to treat chronic inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Since a minimum level of antibodies needed for protection hasn’t been established, it has been difficult to say whether the levels achieved by people on immune suppressing drugs are high enough to protect them from severe COVID-19, the researchers said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommended that people taking immunosuppressants receive a third dose of the vaccine to strengthen their immune responses.
Nonetheless, the discovery that COVID-19 vaccination elicits a response in people with compromised immune systems — even if not quite as strong a response — is encouraging news for a population that faces a high risk of serious illness.
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Report: The Fully Vaccinated Account for 81% of the COVID Deaths in the UK
November 27, 2021
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/11/report-fully-vaccinated-account-81-covid-deaths-uk/
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ACS Risk Biomarkers Significantly Increase After mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine
November 18, 2021
https://www.thecardiologyadvisor.com/home/topics/acs/acute-coronary-syndrome-acs-biomarkers-mrna-covid19-vaccine/
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SARS–CoV–2 Spike Impairs DNA Damage Repair and Inhibits V(D)J Recombination In Vitro
2021 Oct 13
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC8538446/
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FDA report finds all-cause mortality higher among vaccinated
17.11.21
FDA report shows Pfizer’s clinical trials found 24% higher all-cause mortality rate among the vaccinated compared to placebo group. Report emphasizes that “None of the deaths were considered related to vaccination.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/317091
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The COVID-19 Vaccine: Will It Affect Your Vision?
https://www.allaboutvision.com/coronavirus/covid-vaccine-side-effects-vision/
1. COVID vaccines and vision
2. Eye care professionals respond to COVID-19
3. COVID eye problems in children
4. Eye problems connected to other vaccines
5. Measles can cause eye problems
6. Shingles vaccine can prevent vision problems
7. The bottom line
COVID vaccines and vision
Fear of side effects (including vision problems) is the primary reason many people remain hesitant to be vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19. However, there’s no evidence that any of the available COVID-19 vaccines cause widespread vision-related side effects.
It’s worth noting, though, that at least one isolated incident of an eye-related side effect has been reported — a health care worker in the United States experienced eye puffiness after getting a COVID-19 shot. Local safety organizations are investigating this among other rare allergic reactions to the coronavirus vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Other side effects caused by the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are “mostly mild to moderate,” according to a report published by the World Health Organization (WHO).
When side effects occurred among participants, the most common reactions were:
Injection-site symptoms, including pain, swelling, and redness.
Systemic symptoms such as fatigue, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, and fever.
Other symptoms such as headache and nausea.
A WHO report on the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine reported similar side effects.
Eye care professionals respond to COVID-19
Those and other side effects aren’t stopping eye care professionals in the U.S. from rolling up their sleeves to receive COVID-19 shots or to even administer the vaccinations.
In a Dec. 2, 2020, letter to the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. William Reynolds, president of the American Optometric Association, wrote that the organization’s members “stand ready to assist the public and aid the nation’s health care community in the response to the COVID-19 outbreak.”
Ophthalmologists in the U.S. also are engaged in the fight against COVID-19.
Dr. William Culbertson, professor of ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, told Ophthalmology Times that ophthalmologists and staff at the institute started receiving vaccinations Dec. 15, 2020.
“Although we are not frontline health care providers, we all see patients face to face at the slit lamp and in surgery, so we have all been at substantial risk until we get vaccinated,” Culbertson said.
In addition, at least one ophthalmologist — Dr. Jorge Arroyo of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center — participated in the trial of the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19.
It was a 34-year-old Chinese ophthalmologist, Li Wenliang, who was among the first to warn the world about the coronavirus outbreak in late December 2019. Dr. Li died of complications from the disease only a few weeks later.
COVID eye problems in children
While COVID-19 vaccines haven’t been tied to serious vision issues, researchers have detected eye problems in a number of children with the disease itself.
One study showed nearly one-fourth of children treated for COVID-19 at a Chinese hospital in early 2020 had mild eye problems. Those problems included:
Eye discharge
Conjunctivitis (pink eye)
Eye rubbing
Eye pain
Eyelid swelling
But the study was limited. Researchers reviewed the conditions of only 216 pediatric patients.
There is no evidence to date of eye problems in children from COVID vaccines.
SEE RELATED: Eye Problems That Could Be Related to COVID
Eye problems connected to other vaccines
While the COVID-19 vaccines have, so far, not caused worrisome side effects related to vision, vaccines for several other conditions have been linked to eye and vision problems. Here’s a rundown of those issues:
Seasonal flu vaccine
In rare cases, some patients who’ve received the flu vaccine experienced mild symptoms like eye redness, eye pain and blurred vision.
Common side effects of the flu vaccine include:
Soreness, redness or swelling at the injection spot
Headache
Fever
Nausea
Muscle aches
Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine
Some research has shown that optic neuritis is a rare complication from the vaccine for the measles-rubella (MR) vaccine. Optic neuritis is inflammation affecting the optic nerve that sends signals from the back of the eye to the brain.
Common side effects of the MMR vaccine include:
Fever
Mild rash
Swollen cheek or neck gland
Temporary joint pain (mostly in teenage and adult females)
Rare side effects include short-term seizures and low platelet count. In extremely rare cases, the MMR vaccine can cause deafness, long-term seizures, coma or brain damage.
Chickenpox and shingles vaccines
One study found rare instances of corneal inflammation in children (chickenpox) and adults (shingles) after they received the zoster virus vaccine for both conditions.
Common side effects from the chickenpox vaccine include:
Soreness and a mild rash at the injection spot
Temporary joint pain and stiffness
Fever
For the shingles vaccine, common side effects are:
Soreness, redness and swelling at the injection site
Tiredness
Muscle pain
Headache
Shivering
Fever
Stomach pain and nausea
Measles can cause eye problems
Around the world, measles causes as many as 60,000 cases of blindness each year, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). Other potential vision issues associated with measles include:
Red and watery eyes triggered by pink eye (conjunctivitis)
Keratitis and scarring of the cornea
Retinopathy
Optic neuritis
Childhood blindness
The measles vaccine is the best option for preventing the disease and, therefore, preventing measles-related vision problems.
SEE RELATED: 5 Ways Measles Can Affect Eyesight
Shingles vaccine can prevent vision problems
The AAO recommends that people 50 and over get the shingles vaccine to prevent an “extremely painful and disfiguring complication” called herpes zoster ophthalmicus, which can cause blindness.
If the shingles virus infects the nerves of the eye, the AAO says it can lead to:
Eyelid rash
Eye infection
Conjunctivitis (pink eye)
Corneal infection and inflammation
Blurry vision
Sensitivity to bright light
Pain and swelling inside the eye
Swelling of the optic nerve behind the eye
Corneal breakdown requiring a cornea transplant
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Can COVID-19 Damage Your Teeth And Mouth? Here’s What You Should Know.
11/16/2020
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/covid-19-damage-teeth-mouth_l_5fb1d951c5b6d05e86e85b0a
Experts explain what could be happening to coronavirus survivors who have reported oral symptoms such as tooth loss, discoloration and more.
COVID-19 was once thought to mainly affect the lungs, but throughout the pandemic we’ve learned that’s certainly not the case.
Everyone reacts to the coronavirus in different ways: Some people lose their taste and smell, while others experience sky-high fevers, difficulty breathing or weeks of fatigue. There have also been reports of “COVID toes,” hair loss, blood clots and rashes.
Now, more anecdotal reports are surfacing that the infection may have an impact on oral health. After being diagnosed with and recovering from COVID-19, people are sharing stories of how their teeth or gums weakened, with some saying that their teeth became discolored, broke or fell out.
It’s too soon to confirm a clear, well-established link between the coronavirus and oral health, and doctors will need much more data to figure out precisely what’s happening. But some health experts suspect that the coronavirus may directly infect the blood vessels and disrupt blood flow to our gums, teeth and tongue, causing pain and decay.
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Should You Avoid the COVID-19 Vaccine if You Have Dermal Fillers?
February 4, 2021
Get the truth from a dermatologist
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/should-you-avoid-the-covid-19-vaccine-if-you-have-dermal-fillers/
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Oral Microbiome and SARS-CoV-2: Beware of Lung Co-infection
2020 Jul 31
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7411080/
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If You Notice This in Your Mouth, You Could Have COVID, Experts Warn
January 18, 2021
These are some of the subtler symptoms of coronavirus you might be missing.
1. A white tongue
2. Rashes and ulcers
3. Metallic taste
4. Dryness
https://bestlifeonline.com/covid-symptoms-mouth-news/
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The Efficacy of Pre-procedural Mouth Rinses on COVID-19 Saliva Viral Load
January 22, 2021
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04721457
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Hydrogen Peroxide as Mouthwash: Pros and Cons of Gargling and Rinsing
20 August 2021
https://www.dentaly.org/us/oral-hygiene/best-mouthwash/hydrogen-peroxide-mouthwash/
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The Benefits of Hydrogen Peroxide Therapy: Learn The Ways That Hydrogen Peroxide IV Therapy Can Improve Emphysema
2009-05-31
https://www.healthguideinfo.com/natural-therapies/p37439/
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Trust Index: Can hydrogen peroxide be used as a disinfectant to kill COVID-19?
June 1, 2020
Internet loaded with claims about alternative products capable of killing COVID-19
https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020/06/02/trust-index-can-hydrogen-peroxide-be-used-as-a-disinfectant-to-kill-covid-19/
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Fact Check: Medical professionals warn against inhaling hydrogen peroxide for treatment of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses; viral post is fake
October 1, 2021
Vishvas News investigated and found the post to be fake. Medical experts warn inhaling hydrogen peroxide for the treatment of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.
https://www.vishvasnews.com/english/health/fact-check-medical-professionals-warn-against-inhaling-hydrogen-peroxide-for-treatment-of-covid-19-and-other-respiratory-illnesses-viral-post-is-fake/
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Streptococcus pneumoniae secretes hydrogen peroxide leading to DNA damage and apoptosis in lung cells
2015
https://www.pnas.org/content/112/26/E3421?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Proc_Natl_Acad_Sci_U_S_A_TrendMD_1
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Difference Between Peroxide and Hydrogen Peroxide
July 23, 2011
https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-peroxide-and-vs-hydrogen-peroxide/
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What is the Difference Between Peracetic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide
November 19, 2021
The key difference between peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide is that peracetic acid is an organic solution that can yield acetic acid as a byproduct of oxidation processes, whereas hydrogen peroxide is an inorganic aqueous solution that can form water upon oxidation.
Peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide are highly active compounds that have many important applications industrially and in households as well.
https://www.differencebetween.com/what-is-the-difference-between-peracetic-acid-and-hydrogen-peroxide/
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Nebulized Peroxide
Hydrogen Peroxide has been used for decades to conquer viral infections by thousands of doctors in thousands of patients all over the world. Hydrogen peroxide consists of a water molecule (H2O) with an extra oxygen atom (H2O2). It is the extra oxygen atom that makes it so deadly for viruses. Nebulization is a new way of administering hydrogen peroxide therapy that is almost as effective as the IV.
Nebulized peroxide is an effective route of getting this oxygen utilizing catalyst into the body via the rich network of blood vessels in the lungs. This is not as strong of a treatment as IV peroxide but it comes close. Caution: Do not mix your own peroxide, this can be dangerous. If you feel bad after the peroxide, with flu-like symptoms, headache, fever, diarrhea, fatigue, etc, this is too strong a catalytic stimulation with peroxide. Consult your physician before using peroxide in a nebulizer…
https://riordanclinic.org/nebulized-peroxide/
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Hydrogen Peroxide Nebulization
https://drrowendrsu.com/our-blog/hydrogen-peroxide-nebulization/
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Nebulised hydrogen peroxide shouldn’t be used to treat all respiratory illnesses
5 October 2021
https://fullfact.org/health/nebulised-hydrogen-peroxide/
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Inhibitory and Bactericidal Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide Production by Streptococcus pneumoniae on Other Inhabitants of the Upper Respiratory Tract
2000
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC101678/
Abstract
An inverse correlation between colonization of the human nasopharynx by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, both common upper respiratory pathogens, has been reported. Studies were undertaken to determine if either of these organisms produces substances which inhibit growth of the other. Culture supernatants from S. pneumoniae inhibited growth of H. influenzae, whereas culture supernatants from H. influenzae had no effect on the growth of S. pneumoniae. Moreover, coculture of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae led to a rapid decrease in viable counts of H. influenzae. The addition of purified catalase prevented killing of H. influenzae in coculture experiments, suggesting that hydrogen peroxide may be responsible for this bactericidal activity. H. influenzae was killed by concentrations of hydrogen peroxide similar to that produced by S. pneumoniae. Hydrogen peroxide is produced by the pneumococcus through the action of pyruvate oxidase (SpxB) under conditions of aerobic growth. Both an spxB mutant and a naturally occurring variant of S. pneumoniae, which is downregulated in SpxB expression, were unable to kill H. influenzae. A catalase-reversible inhibitory effect of S. pneumoniae on the growth of the respiratory tract pathogens Moraxella catarrhalis and Neisseria meningitidis was also observed. Elevated hydrogen peroxide production, therefore, may be a means by which S. pneumoniae is able to inhibit a variety of competing organisms in the aerobic environment of the upper respiratory tract.
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Mode of action of hydrogen peroxide and other oxidizing agents: differences between liquid and gas forms
16 August 2010
https://academic.oup.com/jac/article/65/10/2108/707615
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20 Uses Of Hydrogen Peroxide You Didn’t Know About
Jan 25, 2017
https://curejoy.com/content/uses-of-hydrogen-peroxide/
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Other Sterilization Methods
Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities (2008)
Ionizing Radiation
Dry-Heat Sterilizers
Liquid Chemicals
Performic Acid
Filtration
Microwave
Glass Bead “Sterilizer”
Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide (VHP®)
Ozone
Formaldehyde Steam
Gaseous Chlorine Dioxide
Vaporized Peracetic Acid
Infrared Radiation
https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection/sterilization/other-methods.html
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Rapid Phospholipid Turnover After Surfactant Nebulization in Severe COVID-19 Infection: A Randomized Clinical Trial
2021
https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1164/rccm.202110-2279LE
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Surfactant-based prophylaxis and therapy against COVID-19: A possibility
2020 Jul 7
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7340033/
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Surfactant for the Treatment of ARDS in a Patient With COVID-19
January 22, 2021
https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(21)00100-8/fulltext
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Comparative sporicidal effects of liquid chemical agents
1996
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8593054/
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Testing standards for sporicides
2010 Nov 30.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21122947/
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Hydrogen Peroxide – Simple Trick to Treat the Cold or Flu
2006
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0t1K_-YA30
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Hydrogen Peroxide Therapy (Toxic)
September 25, 2011
One supposed cure for HIV/AIDS is hydrogen peroxide, with the theory being that this works as a disinfectant and germicide in the lab. There are a number of alternative practitioners who advise using a weak solution of hydrogen peroxide to bathe in, inject themselves with, or drink. According to the advocates this will not only cure HIV and AIDS but also cancer and many other diseases and medical conditions as well. Scientific evidence does not support these treatments though, and there have been a number of deaths reported from drinking or injecting this solution.
http://www.hivaidsguide.com/2011/09/hydrogen-peroxide-therapy-toxic/
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The Brownstein protocol is not a proven treatment for COVID-19
March 15, 2021
Dr. David Brownstein is a “holistic” physician who practices in Dr. Gorski’s neck of the woods. Unfortunately, he just wrote a book promoting an unproven protocol involving vitamins, nebulized hydrogen peroxide and iodine, and intravenous ozone to treat COVID-19…
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-brownstein-protocol-is-not-a-proven-treatment-for-covid-19/
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Why Hydrogen Peroxide and Not Antibiotics
Aug 30, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vldZn1BQz0k
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#024: Oxygen from Hydrogen Peroxide
Aug 20, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeRRcyvlCFg
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How Light Turns Ordinary Hydrogen Peroxide into a MRSA Treatment
2019
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/blue-light-therapy-mrsa-treatment/
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Saline (medicine)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saline_(medicine)
Saline (also known as saline solution) is a mixture of sodium chloride (salt) and water and has a number of uses in medicine. Applied to the affected area it is used to clean wounds, help remove contact lenses, and help with dry eyes. By injection into a vein it is used to treat dehydration such as from gastroenteritis and diabetic ketoacidosis.
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Effect of Hypertonic Saturated Saline Mouth Rinse on Covid-19 Virus in Vivo.
May 6, 2021
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04842721
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Nasal Saline Irrigations in the COVID-19 Pandemic
November 25, 2020
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2773583
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Impact of Nasal Saline Irrigations on Viral Load in Patients With COVID-19
January 19, 2021
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04347538
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Benefits and Safety of Nasal Saline Irrigations in a Pandemic—Washing COVID-19 Away
July 23, 2020
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/fullarticle/2768627
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Hypertonic saline nasal irrigation and gargling for suspected COVID-19
25 May, 2021
https://www.ed.ac.uk/usher/respire/covid-19/hypertonic-saline-nasal-irrigation-gargling
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Inexpensive Saline Solution Can Improve Speed, Effectiveness of COVID-19 Testing
May 27, 2020
A readily accessible saline solution can safely store coronavirus samples, allowing for more effective testing and long-distance transport to labs, Rutgers researchers find
https://www.rutgers.edu/news/inexpensive-saline-solution-can-improve-speed-effectiveness-covid-19-testing
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Saline Gargle RT-PCR Covid Testing: What is the New ICMR-Approved DIY Method | EXPLAINER
May 30, 2021
https://www.news18.com/news/india/saline-gargle-rt-pcr-covid-testing-what-is-the-new-icmr-approved-diy-method-explainer-3791516.html
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People Without COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects Were Injected With Saline? Claims Debunked
07/27/21
https://www.ibtimes.com/people-without-covid-19-vaccine-side-effects-were-injected-saline-claims-debunked-3261044
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No, saline injections are not part of a COVID-19 vaccine plot
July 20, 2021
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jul/20/viral-image/no-saline-injections-are-not-part-covid-19-vaccine/
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Normal saline: Toxic to Kidneys? Chloride solutions may cause renal failure
2011
https://pulmccm.org/randomized-controlled-trials/normal-saline-toxic-to-kidneys-chloride-solutions-may-cause-renal-failure-jama/
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Normal Saline
8/12/2020
What Is Normal Saline?
Normal Saline (sodium chloride) Injection is a fluid and electrolyte replenisher used as a source of water and electrolytes. Normal Saline is available in generic form.
https://www.rxlist.com/normal-saline-side-effects-drug-center.htm
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They sold saline in Remdesivir vials to 900 desperate Covid patients; arrested
The Mysuru police stumbled upon the racket when it started investigating possible instances of people selling Remdesivir on the black market.
APR 20, 2021
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/bengaluru-news/they-sold-saline-in-remdesivir-vials-to-900-desperate-covid-patients-arrested-101618933598400.html
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Man Arrested For Selling Remdesivir, Cheating Covid Patients With Saline
Last week, 860 injections of Remdesivir were stolen from the stock of the government-run Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal.
April 24, 2021
https://www.ndtv.com/bhopal-news/man-arrested-for-selling-remdesivir-cheating-covid-patients-with-saline-2420852
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Saline water for vaccine!
Jun 26, 2021
Indian police yesterday said that around 2,000 people were injected with fake Covid-19 vaccines in Mumbai, and another 500 — some of them disabled — may have suffered the same fate in Kolkata. Police in Mumbai said that people who thought they were being vaccinated were in fact injected with a saline solution. Ten people have been arrested including two doctors at a private hospital in the financial hub. Police in Kolkata meanwhile have arrested a man posing as a civil servant who reportedly ran as many as eight spurious vaccination camps. How many fake jabs he administered is yet to be known.
https://www.thedailystar.net/world/news/saline-water-vaccine-2118313
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North Carolina pharmacy mistakenly gives saline shots instead of COVID-19 vaccines
4/19/2021
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/north-carolina-pharmacy-mistakenly-gives-saline-shots-instead-of-covid-19-vaccines/ar-BB1fPq06
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‘Very limited’ number of saline-only COVID vaccines accidentally given, SC health dept. says
Jun. 28, 2021
https://www.wtoc.com/2021/06/28/very-limited-number-saline-only-covid-vaccines-accidentally-given-sc-health-dept-says/
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Vaccine Error Leads To Some Receiving Saline Shots
March 17, 2021
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A group of people believing they received the COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Sauk Center have now found out they received saline by mistake.
According to CentraCare officials in a recent statement regarding the incident, the mistake happened to only a small number of patients.
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/03/17/vaccine-error-leads-to-some-receiving-saline-shots/
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Ex-Wisconsin pharmacist gets prison for ruining vaccine
June 8, 2021
A former pharmacist in Wisconsin who purposefully ruined more than 500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine has been sentenced to three years in prison
Brandenburg also secretly substituted saline for flu vaccine that he was mandated to receive and persuaded several co-workers to secretly swap saline for their flu vaccine as well, according to court filings.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/wisconsin-pharmacist-prison-ruining-vaccine-78154307
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Six people injected with saline instead of COVID-19 vaccine at Ontario clinic in June
July 6, 2021
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/six-people-injected-with-saline-instead-of-covid-19-vaccine-at-ontario-clinic-in-june-1.5498635
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Dozens potentially given harmless saline injection instead of COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine in Melbourne mix-up
30 Sep 2021
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-01/melbourne-deepdene-saline-pfizer-covid-vaccine-injection-mistake/100506516
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Thousands thought they were getting the Covid vaccine. They were injected with salt water instead
July 5, 2021
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/05/india/india-fake-covid-vaccine-scam-intl-hnk/index.html
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{Some radio show hosts claim that many doctors and pharmacists were emptying out COVID vaccines in syringes because some doctors believed that the vaccines were causing bad side-effects, and that many doctors were using saline or other types of medications}.
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8,500 Germans Asked to Take Third Vaccine Dose After Nurse Found Injecting Saline
August 13, 2021
https://www.visiontimes.com/2021/08/13/8500-germans-asked-to-take-third-vaccine-dose-after-nurse-found-injecting-saline.html
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Anti-vax nurse injects 8,600 with saline instead of COVID vaccine: police
August 11, 2021
A German nurse is being investigated for allegedly injecting thousands of people with a placebo instead of the coronavirus vaccine.
https://nypost.com/2021/08/11/anti-vax-nurse-gave-8600-people-saline-not-covid-vaccine-police/
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Placebo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo
A placebo is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
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Long-Term Studies Of COVID-19 Vaccines Hurt By Placebo Recipients Getting Immunized
February 19, 2021
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/02/19/969143015/long-term-studies-of-covid-19-vaccines-hurt-by-placebo-recipients-getting-immuni
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Placebos Used in Vaccine Trials Do Not Please Everyone
3 Jul 2020
Many people think experimental vaccines need to always be compared to a true placebo, but some situations call for more ethical solutions. And sometimes the choice of a placebo is more debatable.
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-health/placebos-used-vaccine-trials-do-not-please-everyone
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Did Pfizer Use Toxic Placebo In COVID-19 Vaccine Trial?
2020
https://www.rojakpot.com/pfizer-toxic-placebo-vaccine/
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Saline Injected Instead of COVID
July 12, 2021
https://truthcomestolight.com/saline-injected-instead-of-covid/
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Does saline solution kill coronavirus?
January 24, 2020
https://arynews.tv/does-saline-solution-kill-coronavirus/
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Kroger mistakenly used empty syringes instead of COVID-19 vaccine at Midlothian store
Mar 10, 2021
MIDLOTHIAN, Va. — Kroger is now clarifying a COVID-19 vaccine mishap that happened at one of its Central Virginia clinics.
A spokesperson initially told CBS 6 multiple people were mistakenly given a shot of saline instead of a Coronavirus vaccine at the Midlothian location, but now Kroger says that’s not the case.
“After a thorough investigation we just received new information that customers were injected with empty syringes and not saline,” said a Kroger Mid-Atlantic spokesperson.
https://www.wtvr.com/news/coronavirus/kroger-midlothian-gave-out-saline-instead-of-covid-19-vaccine
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Vaccines with Diluents: How to Use Them
https://immunize.org/catg.d/p3040.pdf
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Covid-19: Mystery remains over whether five people got saline or vaccine
Aug 25 2021
Health authorities are still unsure whether five Aucklanders might have been given saline instead of the Covid-19 vaccine.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/126179902/covid19-mystery-remains-over-whether-five-people-got-saline-or-vaccine
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Can Wearing Contact Lenses Increase Your Risk of COVID-19?
June 8, 2020
https://www.healthline.com/health/coronavirus-contact-lens
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Why contact lens wearers are switching to glasses during COVID-19 threat
March 29, 2020
https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/contact-lenses-to-glasses-during-covid-19-threat
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Severe COVID-19 Linked With Changes in Eyes
Feb. 17, 2021
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210217/severe-covid-19-linked-with-changes-in-eyes#1
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Woman with COVID-19 developed a rare brain condition. Doctors suspect a link.
April 2020
https://www.livescience.com/woman-with-covid19-coronavirus-had-rare-brain-disease.html
A woman who tested positive for COVID-19 developed a rare brain disease known as acute necrotizing encephalopathy, a condition that can be triggered by viral infections like influenza and herpes.
At this point, the brain damage “has yet to be demonstrated as a result of COVID-19 infection,” according to a case report published March 31 in the journal Radiology. However, as the novel coronavirus continues to spread, “clinicians and radiologists should be watching for this presentation among patients presenting with COVID-19 and altered mental status,” the authors wrote.
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Billions worldwide living with herpes
1 May 2020
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/01-05-2020-billions-worldwide-living-with-herpes
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Herpes’ Achilles’ Heel
1-11-2019
In a first, scientists use gene editing to disrupt both latent and active herpes virus in human cells
https://hms.harvard.edu/news/herpes-achilles-heel
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The Upside of Herpes – When One Infection Protects Against another
https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/the-upside-of-herpes-when-one-infection-protects-against-another
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Genetically engineered human herpes simplex virus in the treatment of brain tumours.
2001
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11867012
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Modified Herpes Virus Shows Promise for Treating Advanced Melanoma
https://www.uclahealth.org/u-magazine/modified-herpes-virus-shows-promise-for-treating-advanced-melanoma
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Herpes virus genetically engineered to destroy skin cancer cells
May 27, 2015
(A modified herpes virus has been shown to be effective in fighting off skin cancer cells).
https://newatlas.com/herpes-virus-skin-cancer-treatment/37714/
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Genetic Engineering of a Modified Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Vaccine Vector
2009
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2680798/
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Preclinical Evaluation of a Genetically Engineered Herpes Simplex Virus Expressing Interleukin-12
https://jvi.asm.org/content/86/9/5304
ABSTRACT
Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) mutants that lack the γ134.5 gene are unable to replicate in the central nervous system but maintain replication competence in dividing cell populations, such as those found in brain tumors. We have previously demonstrated that a γ134.5-deleted HSV-1 expressing murine interleukin-12 (IL-12; M002) prolonged survival of immunocompetent mice in intracranial models of brain tumors. We hypothesized that M002 would be suitable for use in clinical trials for patients with malignant glioma. To test this hypothesis, we (i) compared the efficacy of M002 to three other HSV-1 mutants, R3659, R8306, and G207, in murine models of brain tumors, (ii) examined the safety and biodistribution of M002 in the HSV-1-sensitive primate Aotus nancymae following intracerebral inoculation, and (iii) determined whether murine IL-12 produced by M002 was capable of activating primate lymphocytes. Results are summarized as follows: (i) M002 demonstrated superior antitumor activity in two different murine brain tumor models compared to three other genetically engineered HSV-1 mutants; (ii) no significant clinical or magnetic resonance imaging evidence of toxicity was observed following direct inoculation of M002 into the right frontal lobes of A. nancymae; (iii) there was no histopathologic evidence of disease in A. nancymae 1 month or 5.5 years following direct inoculation; and (iv) murine IL-12 produced by M002 activates A. nancymae lymphocytes in vitro. We conclude that the safety and preclinical efficacy of M002 warrants the advancement of a Δγ134.5 virus expressing IL-12 to phase I clinical trials for patients with recurrent malignant glioma.
Fig 5
Shown are MRI images of two different A. nancymae animals after inoculation with M002, (A) Animal 1. One month prior, 1.2 × 108 PFU of M002 was inoculated in the right frontal lobe. Images are in the axial plane. Shown are (i) FLAIR, (ii) T2-weighted, (iii) T1-weighted pregadolinium, and (iv) T1 postgadolinium images. (B) Animal 2. Seven months prior, 4.8 × 108 PFU of M002 was inoculated in the right frontal lobe. Images are in coronal plane and inverted. Shown are (i) FLAIR, (ii) T2-weighted, (iii) T1-weighted postgadolinium, and (iv) additional plane, T1 postgadolinium images. No pathological changes are seen after M002 administration.
Fig 6
(A and B) Shown are micrographs of A. nancymae brain 30 days after injection with M002, stained with hematoxylin and eosin at low (×40, panel A) and higher (×200, panel B) magnification. Note that while mild inflammatory changes are present, as would be expected from local expression of IL-12, no significant neuronal loss or glial scarring is seen. (C and D) Also shown is a section stained by IHC for CD3-positive cells at two different magnifications (×200, panel C; ×400, panel D).
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Murine Leukemia Virus (MLV)-based Coronavirus Spike-pseudotyped Particle Production and Infection
December 2016
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28018942/
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Herpes- and corona-virus infection of rat lacrimal acinar cells.
1995
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7502945
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Can gene editing cure herpes?
September 8, 2016
Fred Hutch study shows ‘pathway to potential cure’ for herpes simplex and other latent viruses
https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2016/09/can-gene-editing-cure-herpes.html
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Coronavirus permanent and recurring like herpes?
https://www.teamblind.com/post/Coronavirus-permanent-and-recurring-like-herpes-CYTD0bRe
A peer-reviewed academic journal article says it may hide in your neurons and never be cleared by your immune system:
Virus hides in neurons, indefinitely escapes recognition (academic journal article)
http://archive.is/6NGuH
Virus invades nervous systems (tabloid) http://archive.is/qmc6U
Am I just misunderstanding the journal article? It specifically says “Since SARS-CoV2 may conceal itself in the neurons from the immune
recognition, complete clearance of the virus may not be guaranteed even the patients
have recovered from the acute infection.”
Recurring:
People keep getting it again, especially concerning is the 14% in that Chinese province. See all the reports below:
New: “Recovered” drops dead, surge of reinfections http://archive.is/MF0fv
28-Feb: Israeli “recovered” case tests positive again https://archive.is/TV8DS
28-Feb: South Korea “recovered” case reinfected https://archive.is/Gv1iu
27-Feb: Xuzhou first case reinfected weeks after “recovery” https://archive.is/CuOtr
27-Feb: “Recovered” in Japan sick again: reinfected or dormant https://archive.is/HjykE
26-Feb: 14% of “recovered” in Guangdong test positive again https://archive.is/V6IgT
21-Feb: Patient reinfects himself after “recovery” https://archive.is/8Ppkx
19-Feb: “There is a likelihood of relapse”, expert says https://archive.is/ABjjf
14-Feb: Reinfection possible and even deadlier https://archive.is/Iw58p
31-Jan: Patients can get reinfected, no immunity after “recovery” https://archive.is/W9vNf
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New coronavirus possibly circulated within humans before COVID-19 pandemic
Apr 15 2020
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200415/New-coronavirus-possibly-circulated-within-humans-before-COVID-19-pandemic.aspx
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Documentary film: When the Plague Arrives | A historical perspective | Crossroads | Epoch Times
7-12-2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiyOJed0KY0
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COVID-19: Implications for People with Chagas Disease
Oct 2020
https://dndi.org/scientific-articles/2020/global-heart-covid-19-implications-for-people-with-chagas-disease/
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Immunothrombotic dysregulation in chagas disease and COVID-19: a comparative study of anticoagulation
June 2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34110554/
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Therapeutic-dose anticoagulation benefits moderately ill COVID-19 patients
Aug 20 2021
Moderately ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have better chances of survival if treated with therapeutic-dose anticoagulation, according to an international study involving 121 sites, including UT Southwestern Medical Center.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210820/Therapeutic-dose-anticoagulation-benefits-moderately-ill-COVID-19-patients.aspx
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Risk of COVID-19 in Chagas Disease Patients: What Happen with Cardiac Affectations?
May 2021
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8148128/
Abstract
Background: Chagas disease is considered a neglected tropical disease. The acute phase of Chagas disease is characterized by several symptoms: fever, fatigue, body aches, headache and cardiopathy’s. Chronic phase could be asymptomatic or symptomatic with cardiac compromise. Since the emergence of the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cardiovascular involvement has been identified as a complication commonly reported in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Due to the lack of knowledge of the cardiac affectations that this virus could cause in patients with Chagas disease, the aim of this review is to describe the possible cardiac affectations, as well as the treatment and recommendations that patients with both infections should carry out. Methods: The authors revised the recent and relevant literature concerning the topic and discussed advances and limitations of studies on COVID-19 and their impact in Chagas disease patients, principally with cardiac affectations. Results: There currently exists little information about the consequences that Chagas disease patients can suffer when they are infected with COVID-19. Conclusions: This review highlights the emerging challenges of access to medical care and future research needs in order to understand the implications that co-infections (SARS-CoV-2 or other viruses) can generate in Chagas disease-infected people.
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70% of people with Chagas don’t know they’re infected
13 Apr 2021
https://www.paho.org/en/news/13-4-2021-70-people-chagas-dont-know-theyre-infected
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Gene sequencing by Beijing Ditan Hospital found coronavirus in the cerebrospinal fluid of a 56-year-old confirmed #COVID19 patient with encephalitis, which provides evidence that COVID19 can invade patients’ nervous systems, just like SARS and MERS.
http://archive.is/qmc6U
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Experts Report Growing Case Studies Of Coronavirus-Linked Encephalitis
February 22, 2021
Encephalitis, or brain inflammation, is being linked more and more to cases of COVID-19 in patients of all ages.
https://www.newsy.com/stories/case-studies-of-coronavirus-related-encephalitis-are-growing/
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COVID-19 linked to rare form of encephalitis
April 5, 2020
Researchers advise doctors to look out for COVID-19 patients who present with altered levels of consciousness, as this may be symptomatic of ANE.
https://neurosciencenews.com/coronavirus-encephalitis-16078/
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Cerebrospinal fluid confirmed COVID-19-associated encephalitis treated successfully
2020
https://casereports.bmj.com/content/13/9/e237378
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COVID-19-Induced Encephalitis: A Case Report of a Rare Presentation With a Prolonged Electroencephalogram
2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34007736/
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COVID-19 and the Brain: Acute Encephalitis as a Clinical Manifestation
October 03, 2020
https://www.cureus.com/articles/41257-covid-19-and-the-brain-acute-encephalitis-as-a-clinical-manifestation
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Delayed onset of fatal encephalitis in a COVID-19 positive patient
2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33535011/
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I Got Encephalitis As a Result of COVID — and It Nearly Killed Me
3/9/2021
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/i-got-encephalitis-as-a-result-of-covid-and-it-nearly-killed-me/vi-BB1epFB8
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Post-infectious focal encephalitis due to COVID-19
2021
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8057841/
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Pathogenic Role for Virus-Specific CD4 T Cells in Mice with Coronavirus-Induced Acute Encephalitis
2006
Abstract
Acute viral encephalitis is believed to result from direct virus destruction of infected cells and from virus-induced host immune response, but the relative contribution of each remains largely unknown. For example, C57BL/6 (B6) mice infected with mouse hepatitis virus (JHM strain, JHMV) develop severe encephalitis, with death occurring within 7 days. Here, we show that the host response to a single JHMV-specific immunodominant CD4 T-cell epitope is critical for severe disease. We engineered a recombinant JHMV with mutations in the immunodominant CD4 T-cell epitope (rJ.MY135Q). Infection of naïve B6 mice with this virus resulted in mild disease with no mortality. However, introduction of a CD4 T-cell epitope from Listeria monocytogenes into rJ.MY135Q generated a highly virulent virus. The decrease in disease severity was not due to a switch from Th1 to Th2 predominance in rJ.MY135Q-infected mice, an effect on CD8 T-cell function, or differential expression of tumor necrosis factor-α by JHMV-specific CD4 T cells. These results show that the response to a single virus-specific CD4 T-cell epitope may contribute to a pathogenic host response in the setting of acute viral disease and that abrogation of this response ameliorates clinical disease without diminishing virus clearance.
Mice infected with the JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus (JHMV), a neurotropic coronavirus, develop acute and chronic diseases of the central nervous system. The JHMV-infected mouse is most often studied as a model of chronic demyelination because it has similarities to the disease observed in humans with multiple sclerosis.1,2 Myelin destruction in these animals occurs as a direct consequence of virus clearance and is largely immune-mediated because it does not occur to a significant extent in mice lacking T or B cells (lethally irradiated mice, mice with severe combined immunodeficiency, or mice lacking recombination activation enzyme gene 1 [RAG1−/−])…
Encephalitis and Its Relationship to STDs
2020
https://www.verywellhealth.com/encephalitis-3132799
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Eastern equine encephalitis virus poses emergent threat, say NIH officials
November 20, 2019
Although eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a mosquito-borne illness, has existed for centuries, 2019 has been a particularly deadly year for the disease in the United States. As of November 12, 36 confirmed cases of EEE had been reported by eight states; 13 of these cases were fatal. In a new commentary in The New England Journal of Medicine, officials from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, describe the eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) that causes EEE, current research efforts to address EEE, and the need for a national strategy to address the growing threat of EEEV and other emerging and re-emerging viruses spread by mosquitoes and ticks (known as arboviruses)…
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/eastern-equine-encephalitis-virus-poses-emergent-threat-say-nih-officials
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Development of a Broadly Accessible Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Replicon Particle Vaccine Platform
2018
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29540599/
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Covid-19 vaccinations and encephalitis – podcast
2021
https://www.encephalitis.info/blog/covid19-vaccinations-podcast
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A Counter Screen of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV) Inhibitors in a Cell-Based Anti-Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Assay (2)
2012
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioassay/651932
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Current status of cell-based therapies for respiratory virus infections: applicability to COVID-19
2020
https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/55/6/2000858
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Missing COVID-19 antibodies suggest mystery immune response
Apr 13 2020
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200413/Missing-COVID-19-antibodies-suggest-mystery-immune-response.aspx
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Novel coronavirus attacks and destroys T cells, just like HIV
Apr 13 2020
Now, a team from the United States and China revealed evidence that the coronavirus disease, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), attacks the immune system’s T lymphocytes. The worrying findings highlight the destructive power of the novel coronavirus, which can destroy the immune system, leaving the patient unable to fight off the infection.
T-lymphocytes attack a colony of fungi.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200413/Novel-coronavirus-attacks-and-destroys-T-cells-just-like-HIV.aspx
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SARS-CoV-2–Fighting T Cells Found in Recovered Patients
May 15, 2020
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/sars-cov-2fighting-t-cells-found-in-recovered-patients-67540
While the finding doesn’t prove people become immune to the virus after infection, it is good news for vaccine development.
Even as researchers around the world rush to develop a vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19, and some pin their hopes on the idea that enough people will recover from infections to achieve herd immunity in the meantime, questions about whether exposure to the virus induces immunity to it have lingered. If the virus itself does not prompt immunity, a vaccine against it might not either.
Although it doesn’t provide a conclusive answer, a study published yesterday (May 14) in Cellappears to be good news on the immunity front. Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in California took blood from 20 adults who’d recovered from COVID-19 and exposed the samples to proteins from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. All of the patients had CD4+ helper T cells that recognized the virus’s spike protein, and 70 percent of them had CD8+ killer T cells that responded to the same protein. “Our data show that the virus induces what you would expect from a typical, successful antiviral response,” says coauthor Shane Crotty in an institute press release.
The authors also tested blood samples collected between 2015 and 2018 to see whether people who were never exposed to SARS-CoV-2 might nevertheless have some immunity to it. They detected CD4+ T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 in about half of those samples, which they suggest could be due to exposure to other coronaviruses that cause a cold.
Science notes that the results align with those of another study, led by researchers at Charité University Hospital in Berlin and reported in a preprint last month, that found CD4+ T cells that recognized the spike protein in blood from 83 percent of COVID-19 patients and 34 percent of healthy people tested.
“This is encouraging data,” Columbia University virologist Angela Rasmussen, who was not involved in either study, tells Science. Although not conclusive, the T cell response “bodes well for the development of long-term protective immunity” among people who have recovered from COVID-19, she says, and could be useful in designing vaccines.
The results suggest that “one reason that a large chunk of the population may be able to deal with the virus is that we may have some small residual immunity from our exposure to common cold viruses,” viral immunologist Steven Varga of the University of Iowa tells Science. But neither study tested whether that is the case.
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Engineering HIV-Resistant Human CD4+ T Cells with CXCR4-Specific Zinc-Finger Nucleases
April 14, 2011
https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1002020
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Zn2+ Inhibits Coronavirus and Arterivirus RNA Polymerase Activity In Vitro and Zinc Ionophores Block the Replication of These Viruses in Cell Culture
November 4, 2010
https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1001176
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May Polyphenols Have a Role Against Coronavirus Infection? An Overview of in vitro Evidence
15 May 2020
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2020.00240/full
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‘Sinister’ Covid-19 causes infected human cells to sprout tentacles loaded with viral venom
June 28, 2020
https://www.infowars.com/covid-19-causes-infected-human-cells-to-sprout-tentacles-loaded-with-viral-venom-to-help-it-spread-around-the-body-in-a-process-scientists-call-sinister/
Images show infected cells growing tentacle-like spikes, known as filopodia, which appear to be littered with viral particles
The coronavirus zombifies human cells and causes them to sprout tentacles in order to spread around the body, scientists have discovered.
A study led by the University of California saw researchers take microscopic images of this process, which they have described as ‘so sinister’.
Images show infected cells growing tentacle-like spikes, known as filopodia, which appear to be littered with viral particles.
The researchers believe the disease uses the tentacles to ‘surf’ to healthy cells, where it injects its viral venom into them and creates more zombie cells.
Until now, researchers believed Covid infected like most other viruses – by latching onto healthy cells and turning them into copying machines.
But, in people with healthy immune systems, the body can fight off the majority of the virus and prevent it from replicating in high amounts in the body.
The latest discovery appears to show that Covid has, at some point in its evolution, developed a back-up plan to get round the immune system.
The finding has been described as an ‘amazing leap’ in the fight against coronavirus and may open the door to a host of new treatment options.
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US SCIENTIST CONFIRM CORONAVIRUS CANCER CAUSING BIOWEAPON FULL SHOW 6-28-20
Jun 28, 2020
https://banned.video/watch?id=5ef934d7672706002f3404f8
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{What does Snopes have to say about Covid-19. I personally disagree with Snopes politically on many issues and I am in no way agreeing on what they say is 100% true at all. Snopes is known as disinformation, so I would be careful of what you hear on Snopes. I personally don’t like using Snopes as a source, but they are discussing certain topics that I would also like to address. Some people say that Sars-Cov-2 (COVID-19) could be a combination of Coronavirus with some type of virus similar to HIV. If this were the case, we can see how more Icelandic people are immune to COVID-19 and HIV. We like to discuss both sides of the discussion if Covid-19 is a bioweapon or not.
Some question if this type of Coronavirus evolved in order to be able to host human cells, which is why it is a new strain that we see}.
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The Origins and Scientific Failings of the COVID-19 ‘Bioweapon’ Conspiracy Theory
https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/04/01/covid-19-bioweapon/
The coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 has deadly adaptations that make it perfect for infecting humans. But this is a testament to natural selection, not bioengineering.
Does the Novel Coronavirus Contain HIV-Related Genes?
Another line of pseudoscientific reasoning concerns claims that the virus is just too perfectly built to infect humans to be a virus of natural origin. A big talking point in this space stems from a paper that was later retracted by the authors themselves. On Feb. 2, a team of Indian researchers released a non-peer-reviewed preprint of a paper asserting to have found “uncanny” similarities between amino acid structures in SARS-CoV-2 and HIV. “The finding,” they argued, “is unlikely to be fortuitous in nature,” seemingly implying a level of human engineering behind the virus.
The paper was swiftly retracted by the authors, according to STAT News, with commenters noting the study’s rushed methods and likely coincidental, if not entirely incorrect, conclusion. A Feb. 14 paper, this one peer-reviewed, “demonstrated no evidence that the sequences of these four inserts are HIV-1 specific or the [SARS-CoV-2] viruses obtain these insertions from HIV-1.”
Speaking to Snopes by email, Robert Garry, an infectious disease expert at Tulane University who has published on the origins of SARS-CoV-2, told us by email that “the so-called HIV sequences are very short — nothing more than random chance.”
Such a reality has not stopped pseudoscientific internet personalities from incorporating these already discredited results into misinformed conspiracy theories while pushing vaccine skeptical content.
Is SARS-CoV-2 A ‘Chimera’ Virus Built from HIV, Flu, and SARS?
On March 8, 2020, (and again on March 22) — well after the aforementioned HIV paper was retracted and refuted — Joseph Mercola, an alternative medicine guru behind the website Mercola.com, published an “expert interview” with Francis Boyle, a lawyer with no formal training in virology. This interview managed to merge all of the previously described false scientific claims into one narrative that has been shared widely online. In that interview, Boyle asserted:
The COVID-19 virus is a chimera. It includes SARS, an already weaponized coronavirus, along with HIV genetic material and possibly flu virus.
There is this Biosafety Level 4 facility there in Wuhan. It’s the first in China, and it was specifically set up to deal with the coronavirus and SARS. SARS is basically a weaponized version of the coronavirus.
There have been leaks before of SARS out of this facility, and indeed the only reason for these BSL-4 facilities, based on my experience, is the research, development, testing and stockpiling of offensive biological weapons.
Scientific Reality: Genomic Data Undercut Claims of an Engineered Virus
Viruses, in general, are tiny fragments of DNA or RNA coated with protein that insert themselves into an organism’s cells. Once there, the virus consumes a cell’s resources and makes copies of itself. The cell dies and the newly created viral material is free to infect other cells. Though viruses do evolve via natural selection like living organisms, their inability to create their own energy through metabolism generally precludes them from being considered alive.
Coronaviruses are a class of “enveloped” RNA viruses. They protect themselves with an outer envelope of lipid material. Coronaviruses, in particular, have spikes that point out of this envelope of protection, a feature that can aid in the infection of cells.
Until the early 2000s, there was limited scientific interest in human coronaviruses, as they only seemed capable of creating mild cold symptoms. The 2002 SARS epidemic, caused by a coronavirus, flipped that conventional wisdom on its head. This particular coronavirus had a new adaptation: the ability for those pointy spikes to bind to a chemical in human blood called Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2). This adaptation, scientists argue, is what allowed the SARS coronavirus to jump from an animal to a human and cause disease.
The new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, also contains this adaptation, but an even stronger variant of it. As described by Ed Yong in The Atlantic, “the exact contours of SARS-CoV-2’s spikes allow it to stick far more strongly to ACE2 than SARS-classic did.” The novel coronavirus also has another adaptation that makes it good at infecting humans. Spike proteins are composed of two halves and activate only when a chemical “bridge” is broken. In SARS-CoV-2, Yong wrote, “the bridge that connects the two halves can be easily cut by an enzyme called furin, which is made by human cells and — crucially — is found across many tissues.” Not only do these spikes bind strongly to human cells, in other words, but the chemical required to initially activate those spikes happen to be prevalent throughout the human body.
These two adaptations are the features of the coronavirus that cause speculation about it being engineered to kill. The problem, according to a team of researchers who analyzed the genome of SARS-CoV-2 for a March 2020 paper in Nature Medicine, is that if someone wanted to design a virus using methods currently available to science, scientists would not have solved the problem the way nature apparently did, because scientists wouldn’t have predicted it to be a viable solution in the first place.
Over a decade of research following the first SARS outbreak has allowed scientists to develop computer models that predict, among other things, what human chemicals a theoretical coronavirus could bind to and how strong that bond would be. When researchers plug the new coronavirus into these models, they correctly predict it binds to ACE2, but incorrectly conclude it to be a weaker bond than SARS-1. In other words, if scientists wanted to create a deadly coronavirus as a weapon, the tools available to them would have suggested the SARS-CoV-2 model would be a waste of time. This, the study’s authors argue, is evidence that the spike adaptation is “most likely the result of natural selection.”
To that point, while the most similar known animal virus to SARS-CoV-2 is currently found in bats, similar coronaviruses also have been found in pangolins — a kind of anteater. While less similar as a whole, these pangolin viruses have similar spike genetics to the novel human coronavirus. This, they say, is further evidence of natural selection. “The pangolin viruses were sequenced after the COVID pandemic started,” explains Tulane’s Garry, who was an author on the Nature Medicine paper. “So yeah — this is a natural thing that no one in a lab would have or could [have] designed.” Such a reality undercuts claims of “chimera” viruses intentionally spliced together by humans, since humans didn’t know these specific spikes existed until after the pandemic began.
As for the second notable SARS-CoV-2 adaptation — the one that allows a chemical in human blood to activate the coronavirus spikes — this specific modification has not yet been found in nature. However, the authors noted, genetic “mutations, insertions, and deletions” do naturally occur in the portion of RNA that would create it. This, they argue, demonstrates that such an adaptation could, theoretically, “arise by a natural evolutionary process.”
In a commentary piece about this study, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins wrote “this study leaves little room to refute a natural origin for COVID-19.” Though researchers do not yet have a clear idea of the exact origin or evolutionary history of SARS-CoV-2, the authors of the Nature Medicine paper provide two potential scenarios, described here by Collins:
In the first scenario, as the new coronavirus evolved in its natural hosts, possibly bats or pangolins, its spike proteins mutated to bind to molecules similar in structure to the human ACE2 protein, thereby enabling it to infect human cells. This scenario seems to fit other recent outbreaks of coronavirus-caused disease in humans, such as SARS, which arose from cat-like civets; and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which arose from camels.
The second scenario is that the new coronavirus crossed from animals into humans before it became capable of causing human disease. Then, as a result of gradual evolutionary changes over years or perhaps decades, the virus eventually gained the ability to spread from human-to-human and cause serious, often life-threatening disease.
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Synthetic biology for bioengineering virus-like particle vaccines
31 December 2018
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bit.26890
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Microfluid device can control neurons and delivery drugs wirelessly.
July 23, 2015
A team of researchers from Washington University, National Institutes of Health and University of Illinois have developed a wireless device the width of a human hair that can be implanted in the brain and activated by remote control to deliver drugs. The team state that the technology, demonstrated for the first time in mice, may one day be used to treat pain, depression, epilepsy and other neurological disorders in people by targeting therapies to specific brain circuits. They predict that this approach potentially could deliver therapies that are much more targeted but have fewer side effects. The study is published in the journal Cell.
Microfluidic Technology in Vascular Research
2009
Abstract
Vascular cell biology is an area of research with great biomedical relevance. Vascular dysfunction is involved in major diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancer. However, when studying vascular cell biology in the laboratory, it is difficult to mimic the dynamic, three-dimensional microenvironment that is found in vivo. Microfluidic technology offers unique possibilities to overcome this difficulty. In this review, an overview of the recent applications of microfluidic technology in the field of vascular biological research will be given. Examples of how microfluidics can be used to generate shear stresses, growth factor gradients, cocultures, and migration assays will be provided. The use of microfluidic devices in studying three-dimensional models of vascular tissue will be discussed. It is concluded that microfluidic technology offers great possibilities to systematically study vascular cell biology with setups that more closely mimic the in vivo situation than those that are generated with conventional methods.
Figure 6. Covering all surfaces of a microfluidic channel yields “artificial capillaries.” Human endothelial cells were cultured in a PDMS microfluidic channel and allowed to cover all surfaces. After overnight culturing, cells were fixated and actin filaments were imaged with confocal laser scanning microscopy. Top image is a pseudocolored top view of the microfluidic channel. The red line marks the section that was used to construct a front view of the channel (middle image). The bottom image is an isometric volume view of the same channel.
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Microfluidic device with artificial arteries measures drugs’ influence on blood clotting
March 24, 2014
A new microfluidic method for evaluating drugs commonly used for preventing heart attacks has found that while aspirin can prevent dangerous blood clots in some at-risk patients, it may not be effective in all patients with narrowed arteries. The study, which involved 14 human subjects, used a device that simulated blood flowing through narrowed coronary arteries to assess effects of anti-clotting drugs.
The researchers used a device that simulated blood flowing through narrowed coronary arteries to assess effects of anti-clotting drugs.
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Super-thin membranes clear the way for chip-sized pumps
October 28, 2013
The ability to shrink laboratory-scale processes to automated chip-sized systems would revolutionize biotechnology and medicine. For example, inexpensive and highly portable devices that process blood samples to detect biological agents such as anthrax are needed by the U.S. military and for homeland security efforts. One of the challenges of “lab-on-a-chip” technology is the need for miniaturized pumps to move solutions through micro-channels. Electroosmotic pumps (EOPs), devices in which fluids appear to magically move through porous media in the presence of an electric field, are ideal because they can be readily miniaturized. EOPs however, require bulky, external power sources, which defeats the concept of portability. But a super-thin silicon membrane developed at the University of Rochester could now make it possible to drastically shrink the power source, paving the way for diagnostic devices the size of a credit card.
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Future of medicine: Lab-on-a-chip devices starting to make an impact
September 27, 2021
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2021/future-medicine-lab-chip-devices-starting-make-impact
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Intestine on a Chip Technique Opens Door to Personalized Medicine
February 16th, 2018
Researchers at the Harvard Wyss Institute have developed a way to effectively culture donor intestinal cells in an organ-on-a-chip device. The technique opens the door to developing personalized medicines for intestinal conditions.
A series of confocal microscopy sections taken through the intestinal epithelial and vascular channels of the primary Small Intestine-on-a-Chip visualizes first the surface of epithelial villi-like structures (in red) and nuclei (in blue) of small intestinal epithelial cells in the intestinal channel, and then cell-cell contacts (in green) of intestinal endothelial cells in the adjacent vascular channel.
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Brown to lead ‘NeuroNex’ center for creating bioluminescent neuroscience tools
August 1, 2017
With up to $9.2 million in funding over five years from the National Science Foundation, Brown University will lead a national center dedicated to developing and disseminating new tools based on giving nervous system cells the ability to make and respond to light. Neuroscientists could use the tools to uniquely manipulate and observe the circuitry of the brain in a variety of model organisms.
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Luciferase-Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles in Medical Imaging
May 9, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIIes052B4E
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Luciferase Assay
2011
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/luciferase-assay
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Real-Time Quantification of Cell Internalization Kinetics by Functionalized Bioluminescent Nanoprobes
2019 Aug 12
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31402525/
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SARS-CoV-2 S1 NanoBiT: A nanoluciferase complementation-based biosensor to rapidly probe SARS-CoV-2 receptor recognition
2021 Mar 2
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7921772/
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EB1 Targets to Kinetochores with Attached, Polymerizing Microtubules
3 Sep 2002
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Bioluminescence Imaging
2014
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/bioluminescence-imaging
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Bioluminescence Imaging Allows Measuring CD8T Cell Function in the Liver
2010
https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hep.23575
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The use of an ATP bioluminescence assay to quantify cell cytotoxicity
05/2007
https://www.bmglabtech.com/the-use-of-an-atp-bioluminescence-assay-to-quantify-cell-cytotoxicity/
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LuLISA project, bioluminescence as a tool for human diagnostics, from allergy to Covid19
2020.05.14
https://www.pasteur.fr/en/research-journal/news/lulisa-project-bioluminescence-tool-human-diagnostics-allergy-covid19
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A Novel Approach to the Bioluminescent Detection of the SARS-CoV-2 ORF1ab Gene by Coupling Isothermal RNA Reverse Transcription Amplification with a Digital PCR Approach
2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33498408/
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GMO detection using a bioluminescent real time reporter (BART) of loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) suitable for field use
30 April 2012
https://bmcbiotechnol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6750-12-15
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Enhanced brightness of bacterial luciferase by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer
22 July 2021
Abstract
Using the lux operon (luxCDABE) of bacterial bioluminescence system as an autonomous luminous reporter has been demonstrated in bacteria, plant and mammalian cells. However, applications of bacterial bioluminescence-based imaging have been limited because of its low brightness. Here, we engineered the bacterial luciferase (heterodimer of luxA and luxB) by fusion with Venus, a bright variant of yellow fluorescent protein, to induce bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). By using decanal as an externally added substrate, color change and ten-times enhancement of brightness was achieved in Escherichia coli when circularly permuted Venus was fused to the C-terminus of luxB. Expression of the Venus-fused luciferase in human embryonic kidney cell lines (HEK293T) or in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves together with the substrate biosynthesis-related genes (luxC, luxD and luxE) enhanced the autonomous bioluminescence. We believe the improved luciferase will forge the way towards the potential development of autobioluminescent reporter system allowing spatiotemporal imaging in live cells.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-94551-4
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Combined bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging visualizing orthotopic lung adenocarcinoma xenograft in vivo
08 July 2011
https://academic.oup.com/abbs/article/43/8/595/964
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Bioluminescent sensor causes brain cells to glow in the dark
Oct. 27, 2016
https://news.vumc.org/2016/10/27/bioluminescent-sensor-causes-brain-cells-to-glow-in-the-dark/
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Engineered Reporter Phages for Rapid Bioluminescence-Based Detection and Differentiation of Viable Listeria Cells.
2020
https://reference.medscape.com/medline/abstract/32245761
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Bioluminescence Imaging Allows Monitoring Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein Inhibitors in Mice
2010 Nov 18
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987796/
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Exosome-mediated mRNA delivery generates broad immune response to multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins
Nov 9 2020
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20201109/Exosome-mediated-mRNA-delivery-generates-broad-immune-response-to-multiple-SARS-CoV-2-proteins.aspx
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Enzymatic Beacons for Specific Sensing of Dilute Nucleic Acid and Potential Utility for SARS-CoV-2 Detection
August 31, 2021
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.30.458287v1
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Melatonin found to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 entry into mice brains
Jan 6 2022
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220106/Melatonin-found-to-inhibit-SARS-CoV-2-entry-into-mice-brains.aspx
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This Common Supplement Used For Sleep May Weaken COVID Symptoms, Doctor Says
The pill you’re taking to help you get some shut-eye may also be helping you combat the novel coronavirus.
January 28, 2021
https://www.eatthis.com/news-common-supplement-used-for-sleep-may-weaken-covid-symptoms/
“Finally, melatonin can be protective at preventing cell death and apoptosis,” says Busse. “Apoptosis of lung cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 leads to fluid accumulation in the lungs, inflammation, and severe respiratory distress. Melatonin could potentially be protective against this process.”
Several studies have shown that melatonin administration can benefit newborns born with Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS), a condition that can lead to respiratory distress and even organ failure. Busse says melatonin could have a similar effect in those suffering from COVID-19.
“There were a few studies in Nov 2020 showing that Melatonin is associated with improved outcomes in severe COVID-19,” she says.
Busse suggests taking melatonin at night with vitamin B6, as the two could act synergistically together since both have the ability to block the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Not to mention, melatonin’s main function can also help someone combat the virus.
“Sleep itself has an anti-inflammatory and restorative capacity that can be protective against viral infections and inflammation,” says Busse.
If you’re debating on whether or not to take melatonin at night, just know that it can’t hurt—unless instructed by your doctor otherwise. If you have COVID-19, you may want to consider taking it until symptoms improve or go away.
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Synthesis and characterization of novel protein nanodots as drug delivery carriers with an enhanced biological efficacy of melatonin in breast cancer cells†
2021
Abstract
Melatonin is a potent antioxidant, chemotherapeutic and chemo preventive agent against breast cancer. However, its short half-life is one of the major limitations in its application as a therapeutic drug. To overcome this issue, the green-emitting protein nanodot (PND) was synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method for loading melatonin. The synthesized pH-7 and pH-2 PND showed a quantum yield of 22.1% and 14.0%, respectively. The physicochemical characterization of both PNDs showed similar morphological and functional activities. Furthermore, the biological efficacy of melatonin-loaded PND (MPND) was evaluated in a breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) for live-cell imaging and enhanced nano-drug delivery efficacy. Interestingly, the permeability of neutral pH PND in both cell cytoplasm and nucleus nullifies the limitations of real-time live-cell imaging, and ensures nuclear drug delivery efficacy. Neutral pH PND showed better cell viability and cytotoxicity as a fluorescence bioimaging probe compared to acidic PND. The bioavailability and cell cytotoxicity effect of MPND on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were studied through confocal and migration assay. Results showed that MPND causes enhanced bioavailability, better cellular uptake, and inhibition of the migration of breast cancer cells as compared to the drug alone. Besides, the synthesized MPND showed no sign of fluorescence quenching even at a high concentration of melatonin, making it an ideal nanocarrier for bioimaging and drug delivery.
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Steady axial electric field may lead to controllable cross-stream migration of droplets in confined oscillatory microflows
18 November 2020
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-fluid-mechanics/article/steady-axial-electric-field-may-lead-to-controllable-crossstream-migration-of-droplets-in-confined-oscillatory-microflows/7E8C7C2CF575F2FEA47AAC3220B31F5D
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From shaping to functionalization of micro-droplets and particles
26th May 2021
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2021/na/d1na00276g
Abstract
The structure of microdroplet and microparticle is a critical factor in their functionality, which determines the distribution and sequence of physicochemical reactions. Therefore, the technology of precisely tailoring their shape is requisite for implementing the user demand functions in various applications. This review highlights various methodologies for droplet shaping, classified into passive and active approaches based on whether additional body forces are applied to droplets to manipulate their functions and fabricate them into microparticles. The passive approaches cover batch emulsification, solvent evaporation and diffusion, micromolding, and microfluidic methods. In active approaches, the external forces, such as electrical and magnetic fields or optical lithography, are applied to microdroplets. Special attention is also given to latest technologies using microdroplets and microparticles, especially in the fields of biological, optical, robotic, and environmental applications. Finally, this review aims to address the advantages and disadvantages of the introduced approaches and suggests the direction for further development in this field.
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Measuring Cytotoxicity by Bioluminescence Imaging Outperforms the Standard Chromium-51 Release Assay
February 19, 2014
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0089357
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Generation and validation of a highly sensitive bioluminescent HIV-1 reporter vector that simplifies measurement of virus release
19 May 2020
https://retrovirology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12977-020-00521-5
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Real-Time Bioluminescence Functional Imaging for Monitoring Tissue Formation and Regeneration
03 July 2013
Abstract
Real-time bioluminescence functional imaging holds great promise for regenerative medicine because it improves the researcher’s ability to analyze and understand the healing process. Using transgenic mice coupled with gene-modified cells, one can employ this method to monitor host and graft activity in various models of tissue regeneration. We implemented real-time bioluminescence functional imaging to analyze bone formation by following a unique protocol in which the luciferase reporter gene, driven by an osteocalcin promoter, is used to visualize host and graft activity during bone formation. Real-time bioluminescence functional imaging can be used to assess the “host reaction” in transgenic mice models; it can also be used to assess “graft activity” in other animals in which genetically labeled stem cells have been implanted or direct gene delivery has been applied. The suggested imaging protocol requires 25 min per sample. However, special attention must be given to the layout of the experimental design, which determines the specific activity that will be analyzed.
https://link.springer.com/protocol/10.1007/978-1-62703-556-9_14
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Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria by Using Zinc Finger Protein Fused with Firefly Luciferase
August 15, 2012
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ac3018845
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Assembly of zinc finger motif-fused enzymes on a dsDNA scaffold for catalyzing consecutive reactions with a proximity effect
2014 Sep 13
Abstract
The feasibility of assembling enzymes, catalyzing consecutive reactions, on to a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) scaffold utilizing zinc finger motifs is described. The catalytic activities of two zinc finger motif-fused enzymes catalyzing a bioluminescence reaction with energy recycling, namely pyruvate phosphate dikinase and firefly luciferase, have been evaluated. Bioluminescence measurements with dsDNA scaffolds coding a different distance between the binding sites for each zinc finger motif-fused enzyme confirmed the effect of the distance, proving the proximity effect of ATP recycling presumed to be the result of efficient intermediate diffusion. Thus, fusion to zinc finger motifs offers a promising option for the assembly of bi-enzymes, catalyzing a consecutive reaction, onto a dsDNA scaffold with a proximity effect.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25216646/
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Listeria innocua Dps as a nanoplatform for bioluminescence based photodynamic therapy utilizing Gaussia princeps luciferase and zinc protoporphyrin IX
2019
Abstract
Listeria innocua DNA binding protein from starved cells (LiDps) belongs to the ferritin family and provides a promising self-assembling spherical 12-mer protein scaffold for the generation of functional nanomaterials. We report the creation of a Gaussia princeps luciferase (Gluc)-LiDps fusion protein, with chemical conjugation of Zinc (II)-protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP) to lysine residues on the fusion protein (giving Gluc-LiDps-ZnPP). The Gluc-LiDps-ZnPP conjugate is shown to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) via Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (BRET) between the Gluc (470-490 nm) and ZnPP. In vitro, Gluc-LiDps-ZnPP is efficiently taken up by tumorigenic cells (SKBR3 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells). In the presence of coelenterazine, this construct inhibits the proliferation of SKBR3 due to elevated ROS levels. Following exposure to Gluc-LiDps-ZnPP, migration of surviving SKBR3 cells is significantly suppressed. These results demonstrate the potential of the Gluc-LiDps-ZnPP conjugate as a platform for future development of an anticancer photodynamic therapy agent.
Graphical Abstract
A ‘self-illuminating’ nanoparticle for photodynamic therapy has been created based on the Dps protein nanocage. This converts bioluminescence from an excited Gaussia luciferin into reactive oxygen species (ROS) via a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) process with zinc protoporphyrin. The biological activity of this agent with a variety of cancerous and healthy cell lines is presented.
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Glowing Wounds
2021
Making Sense of the Research
Many legends of our nation’s history are just that,legends, with no basis in established fact. But at least one Civil War legend may have just been upgraded in authenticity, thanks to an idea from a high-school student. This Science Update reveals how tales that may sound like supernatural fiction could actually be science fact.
Bill Martin and his family had heard some folklore about Civil War soldiers with glow-in-the-dark wounds who appeared to have better survival rates than soldiers with nonglowing wounds. Bill wondered if the subject of his mother’s research—Photorhabdus luminescens, a bacteria that glows—could have caused the glowing wounds. He and his friend, Jonathan Curtis, performed research and experiments to find out if Photorhabdus luminescens was present at Shiloh, a particular battlefield where the glowing wounds were reported.
Bill and Jonathan not only discovered that the Photorhabdus luminescens bacteria was probably present at the Battle of Shiloh, but also found that it could indeed have grown on the bodies of the wounded soldiers, since their body temperatures were lowered by hypothermia (Photorhabdus luminescens does not grow at normal human body temperature).
With its focus on the P. Luminescens bacteria, this Science Update could lead to lessons and activities on bacteria and other microorganisms. In addition, the boys’ research is an excellent example of students using the scientific method to answer a question or solve a problem. This Science Update, therefore, could be used as a starting-off point to show other students how scientists conduct research. This could be particularly useful at the middle-school and high-school levels, where students should become more sophisticated in conducting their investigations and where their experiments may last for weeks or more.
The saprobe Panellus Stipticus displaying bioluminescence
http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/glowing-wounds/
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Assessing laser-tissue damage with bioluminescent imaging.
01 Jul 2006
https://europepmc.org/article/MED/16965142
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Biosensor Illuminates Growing Tumors and Healing Wounds
AUG 19, 2021
https://www.labroots.com/trending/clinical-and-molecular-dx/21109/biosensor-illuminates-growing-tumors-healing-wounds
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A manufacturable smart dressing with oxygen delivery and sensing capability for chronic wound management
8 May 2018
https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/10639/106391C/A-manufacturable-smart-dressing-with-oxygen-delivery-and-sensing-capability/10.1117/12.2306083.short?SSO=1
Chronic non-healing wounds, impact over 6.5 million Americans, costs in excess of $25 billion to treat on an annual basis and its incidence is predicted to rise due to the prevalence of obesity and type-2 diabetes. One of the primary complications often associated with chronic wounds is the improper functionality of the peripheral vasculature to deliver O2-rich blood to the tissue which leads to wound hypoxia. Although hyperbaric oxygen therapy are widely used and accepted as an effective approach to bolster tissue O2 levels in hypoxic chronic wounds, most of such treatments require bulky equipment and often expose large areas of the body to unnecessarily elevated oxygen concentrations that can damage healthy tissue. In this paper, we present a smart low-cost wound dressing with integrated oxygen sensor and delivery for locally generating and delivering oxygen to selected hypoxic regions on the wound. The dressing is fabricated on a biocompatible water resistant/hydrophobic paper-based substrate with printed optical oxygen sensors and patterned catalytic oxygen generating regions that are connected to a flexible microfluidic systems. Oxygen generation occurs by flowing H2O2 through the channels and chemical decomposition at the catalyst printed regions on the paper substrate. The hydrophobic paper provides structural stability and flexibility while simultaneously offering printability, selective gaseous filtering, and physical/chemical protection. The fabrication process take advantage of scalable manufacturing technologies including laser processing, inkjet printing, and lamination.
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In vivo bioluminescence imaging of transplanted bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells using a magnetic delivery system in a rat fracture model.
01 Jul 2012
http://europepmc.org/article/MED/22733960
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In vivo bioluminescence imaging to evaluate systemic and topical antibiotics against community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus-infected skin wounds in mice
Feb 2013
https://jhu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/in-vivo-bioluminescence-imaging-to-evaluate-systemic-and-topical–3
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Bioluminescence Imaging of Matrix Metalloproteinases-2 and -9 Activities in Ethanol-injured Cornea of Mice
2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33910830/
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A bioinspired stretchable membrane-based compliance sensor
2020
https://www.pnas.org/content/117/21/11314
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Electron-beam-assisted superplastic shaping of nanoscale amorphous silica
2010
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3047011/
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Mesoporous silica nanoparticles for pulmonary drug delivery
August 2021
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354246213_Mesoporous_silica_nanoparticles_for_pulmonary_drug_delivery
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Potential immuno-nanomedicine strategies to fight COVID-19 like pulmonary infections
2020
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1748013220302218
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Nanocomposite polymer hydrogels
29 October 2008
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00396-008-1949-0
Abstract
The technological need for new and better soft materials as well as the drive for new knowledge and fundamental understanding has led to significant advances in the field of nanocomposite gels. A variety of complex gel structures with unique chemical, physical, and biological properties have been engineered or discovered at the nanoscale. The possibility to form self-assembled and supramolecular morphologies makes organic polymers and inorganic nanoparticles desirable building blocks for the design of water based gels. In this review, we highlight the most recent (2004–2008) accomplishments and trends in the field of nanocomposite polymer hydrogels with a focus on creative approaches to generating structures, properties, and function within mostly biotechnological applications. We examine the impact of published work and conclude with an outline on future directions and challenges that come with the design and engineering of new nanocomposite gels.
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Gelatin foams show unexpected ultralong organic phosphorescence for optical applications
December 27, 2021
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-gelatin-foams-unexpected-ultralong-phosphorescence.html
Strong, lightweight and biocompatible foams glow in the dark when ultraviolet light is shone on them, RIKEN chemists have discovered. This phosphorescence could have diverse applications, such as imaging biological samples under the microscope.
Phosphorescent materials absorb high-energy light and then gradually release the energy as light of a longer wavelength. This afterglow can persist for minutes or even hours—much longer than is possible for fluorescent materials.
Inorganic compounds are widely used as phosphorescent materials, but some carbon-based, organic materials can also show a persistent glow, known as ultralong organic phosphorescence. Organic materials are potentially easier to manufacture than inorganic phosphors, and researchers can fine-tune the color and duration of their glow by altering their molecular structures, tailoring them for possible applications including anti-counterfeiting and optical sensing. But ultralong organic phosphorescence materials tend to be brittle and contain toxic components, which has limited their practical use.
Now, Yasuhiro Ishida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and colleagues have discovered that gelatin, a mixture of peptides and proteins used as a gelling agent in food and medicines, can be turned into ultralong organic phosphorescence materials that are strong.
The researchers mixed gelatin with water to form hydrogels, and then freeze-dried them to create porous foams. After testing various gelatin concentrations and freezing conditions, the researchers found that chilling the mixture to -10 degrees Celsius produced the strongest foam, which was capable of withstanding high pressures. “Despite being 80% air, a piece of foam the size of a sugar cube can support a 40 kilogram weight,” says Ishida. Electron microscopy revealed that the foams had very regular structures, with pores of similar shapes and sizes.
After the team shone ultraviolet light on the foams, they glowed yellow-green for several seconds. “I was so surprised when my student Suzhi Cai serendipitously found that gelatin foams show strong ultralong organic phosphorescence,” recalls Ishida. “Such strong ultralong organic phosphorescence could never be imagined based on gelatin’s molecular structure.”
The researchers found that clusters of chemical groups called carbonyls were responsible for the foams’ ultralong organic phosphorescence. Their phosphorescence lifetime decreased after exposure to air, because moisture disrupted these carbonyl clusters.
The team made similar foams from different materials, including sodium polyacrylate and poly(acrylamide). Although not as strong as the gelatin foams, these foams all showed ultralong organic phosphorescence activity, glowing blue or deep green. Mixing gelatin with polymers called PVA and PVP also made them phosphoresce.
The gelatin foams are non-toxic, and Ishida now hopes to develop them as ecofriendly materials for optical sensors.
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Lipid droplets as endogenous intracellular microlenses
December 27, 2021
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-lipid-droplets-endogenous-intracellular-microlenses.html
With the demand in real-time monitoring of endoplasmic variations and rapid detection of extracellular signals, a great number of approaches to bioimaging have been developed. The past few decades have witnessed a dramatic progress in optical imaging, especially with the emerging of microsphere-assisted techniques that have the excellent ability of signal collection and enable real-time and super-resolution imaging with conventional optical microscopic systems. However, as most of the microspheres in current strategies are in solid and artificially synthetic materials, they are of very low biocompatibility. Fortunately, lessons from nature have shown that some bio-components and already-existing objects can interact with light and are able to take the same functions as the real optical elements.
In a paper newly published in Light Science & Application, a team of researchers, led by Professors Baojun Li, Yao Zhang and Yuchao Li from Institute of Nanophotonics, Jinan University, China and Dr. Pietro Ferraro from CNR-ISASI, Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, Italy, demonstrate that lipid droplets, dynamic structures that naturally exist in cells, can act as intracellular microlenses for real-time monitoring of subcellular structures and detection of extracellular signals. With a spherical shape and a refractive index higher than cytoplasm and periplasm, the lipid droplets exhibit the lensing effect to efficiently converge both the excitation light and the fluorescence signals.
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Imaging of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplant by Bioluminescence and PET
2007
https://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/48/12/2011
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Self-healing material can build itself from carbon in the air
Taking a page from green plants, new polymer “grows” through a chemical reaction with carbon dioxide.
October 11, 2018
https://news.mit.edu/2018/self-healing-material-carbon-air-1011
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MeTro Gel Surgical Glue That Can Heal an Injury In 60 Seconds
February 22, 2018
https://srigspeaks.com/metro-gel-surgical-glue-that-can-heal-an-injury-in-60-seconds/
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Effective delivery of stem cells using an extracellular matrix patch results in increased cell survival and proliferation and reduced scarring in skin wound healing
Mar 1 2013
https://ohsu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/effective-delivery-of-stem-cells-using-an-extracellular-matrix-pa
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MIT creates gecko-inspired bandage
February 18th, 2008
MIT’s gecko-inspired medical adhesive consists of a “biorubber” base patterned to have pillars that are less than a micrometer in diameter and three micrometers in height. Layered on top is a thin coating of a sugar-based glue. Tests in live rats suggest that the adhesive could be an effective operating room tool for closing surgical wounds.
http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=28091
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Sticky Science: Gecko Toes Key to Adhesive That Doesn’t Lose Its Tackiness
October 1, 2008
U.C. Berkeley researchers are testing artificial microfibers that imitate those a gecko uses to cling to wet surfaces
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sticky-situation-gecko-toe-adhesive/
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Bioluminescence imaging in live cells and animals
5 April 2016
https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/Neurophotonics/volume-3/issue-02/025001/Bioluminescence-imaging-in-live-cells-and-animals/10.1117/1.NPh.3.2.025001.full?SSO=1
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Sensitive bioluminescence imaging of fungal dissemination to the brain in mouse models of cryptococcosis
June 2019
https://journals.biologists.com/dmm/article/12/6/dmm039123/3339/Sensitive-bioluminescence-imaging-of-fungal
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Evaluation of Gram-negative bacterial infection by a stable and conjugative bioluminescence plasmid in a mouse model
19 August 2014
https://jbiomedsci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12929-014-0078-y
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A bioluminescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa wound model reveals increased mortality of type 1 diabetic mice to biofilm infection.
2017
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-bioluminescent-Pseudomonas-aeruginosa-wound-model-Hunt-Gibson/a05593f1a3088440410d991b597653d6eae147ed
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Multi-dye theranostic nanoparticle platform for bioimaging and cancer therapy
2012 Jun 1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3373296/
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A Bioluminescent Transposon Reporter-Trap Identifies Tumor-Specific Microenvironment-Induced Promoters in Salmonella for Conditional Bacterial-Based Tumor Therapy
July 2012
https://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/content/2/7/624
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Enhanced healing of diabetic wounds by topical administration of adipose tissue-derived stromal cells overexpressing stromal-derived factor-1: biodistribution and engraftment analysis by bioluminescent imaging
2021
https://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/Wound_Healing_In_Diabetic_Patients
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Bioluminescence DNA Hybridization Assay for Plasmodium falciparum Based on the Photoprotein Aequorin
May 4, 2007
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ac0702847
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Optimization and modeling of the remote loading of luciferin into liposomes
2016 May 7
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27163524/
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Preparation, characterization, and efficient transfection of cationic liposomes and nanomagnetic cationic liposomes
2011 Oct 12
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22072865/
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Effects of PEG anchors in PEGylated siRNA lipoplexes on in vitro gene‑silencing effects and siRNA biodistribution in mice
September 18, 2020
https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/mmr.2020.11525
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Can fruit fly research help improve survival of cancer patients?
New anti-cancer strategy — blocking chemicals produced by tumors — could boost life span, health span
September 16, 2021
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210916131326.htm
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Fruit flies have latent bioluminescence
April 10, 2014
New findings hold promise for expanded use of bioluminescence imaging tools
New research from Stephen C. Miller, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular pharmacology, shows that fruit flies are secretly harboring the biochemistry needed to glow in the dark — otherwise known as bioluminescence.
https://scienceblog.com/71593/fruit-flies-have-latent-bioluminescence/
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Firefly glow: Berkeley Lab scientists develop a hydrogen peroxide probe based on firefly luciferin
February 11, 2011
https://scienceblog.com/42689/firefly-glow-berkeley-lab-scientists-develop-a-hydrogen-peroxide-probe-based-on-firefly-luciferin/
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Getting Under Your Skin
2016
https://quest.utk.edu/2016/getting-under-your-skin/
Warm summer evenings are often accented with the seemingly magical illumination of fireflies.
While not the only species that glows, fireflies are perhaps the best-known example of bioluminescence—a chemical process that produces light. First discovered in 1885 by German scientist Emil du Bois-Reymond, the bioluminescent reaction in fireflies has become a key component in today’s biotechnology and medicine research.
At UT’s Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Tingting Xu and her team are refining the bioluminescent process and applying it to human cells to create a new type of implantable biosensor that can detect and treat problems inside the body.
“The technology we’re developing uses bioluminescent human cells we have genetically modified to self-produce light,” said Xu, a postdoctoral research associate in the emerging field of theranostic nanomedicine.
Xu’s latest endeavor has roots in one of her previous projects—the Smart Bandage, which pairs a bioluminescent bioreporter computer chip with a genetically engineered bacterium that emits light. The integrated biosensor detects the presence of bacteria—such as staph—then treats the infection by releasing antimicrobials from the nanofiber webbed bandage onto the skin.
“Our Smart Bandage is for treating bacteria and infections,” Xu explained. “We’ve leveraged that technology in this new NSF-funded project to produce an implantable biosensor that will be used for detection and treatment of diseases such as cancer.” The new device will act much the same way as the Smart Bandage, but it will be under the skin instead of on the surface.
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Intuitive Surgical’s Firefly Fluorescence Imaging Vision System FDA Cleared for Gallbladder Surgery
September 26th, 2013
Intuitive Surgical received FDA approval for expanded indication of the company’s Firefly system that’s used along with its laparoscopic da Vinci surgical system to visualize blood vasculature in real-time.
Indocyanine green (ICG) dye is injected into the bloodstream and naturally sticks to albumin. When a 803 nm wavelength laser illuminates the surgical scene, the dye is excited and glows, showing the path of vessels.
Firefly imaging activated around the renal hilum
https://www.medgadget.com/2013/09/intuitive-surgicals-firefly-fluorescence-imaging-vision-system-fda-cleared-for-gallbladder-surgery.html
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Nanoparticles and clinically applicable cell tracking
1 Sep 2015
https://www.birpublications.org/doi/10.1259/bjr.20150375
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Decrease of catalytic efficiency of Photinus pyralis firefly luciferase in the presence of graphene quantum dots
2020
https://nmj.mums.ac.ir/article_16616.html
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Firefly glow: Berkeley Lab scientists develop a hydrogen peroxide probe based on firefly luciferin
February 11, 2011
https://scienceblog.com/42689/firefly-glow-berkeley-lab-scientists-develop-a-hydrogen-peroxide-probe-based-on-firefly-luciferin/
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A highly sensitive assay of IRE1 activity using the small luciferase NanoLuc: Evaluation of ALS-related genetic and pathological factors
2015 Jun 6
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26056941/
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Luciferase enzymes and glow in the dark gonads
May 28, 2021
https://principia-scientific.com/luciferase-enzymes-and-glow-in-the-dark-gonads/
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Bioluminescent magnetic nanoparticles as potential imaging agents for mammalian spermatozoa
17 March 2016
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Highly compacted pH-responsive DNA nanoparticles mediate transgene silencing in experimental glioma
2014
Abstract
Complex genetic mutations are common in brain cancer, making gene therapy an attractive approach to repair or modulate altered genes and cellular pathways. Non-viral gene vectors can offer DNA delivery without the risk of immunogenicity and/or insertional mutagenesis that are common with viral vectors. We developed pH-responsive DNA nanoparticles, CH12K18PEG5k, by inserting a poly-L-histidine segment between PEG and poly-L-lysine to engineer a triblock copolymer. CH12K18PEG5k DNA nanoparticles trafficked through clathrin-dependent endocytosis (CME) as the primary pathway in mouse glioblastoma (GBM) cells, and protected plasmid DNA from both DNase-mediated and acidic lysosomal degradation. CH12K18PEG5k DNA nanoparticles effectively silenced a tumor-specific transgene (firefly luciferase) following direct injection into mouse intracranial GBM. Toxicity and histological analysis showed no evidence of acute or delayed inflammatory responses. These results demonstrate the utility of using this DNA nanoparticle-based technology for delivering genes to tumor cells as a possible therapeutic approach for patients with brain cancer.
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An MIT Artist Used Slime Mold to Simulate COVID Spread
“Slime mold is a single-celled organism, but it forms cooperatives. It’s very interesting to see its behavior, which you could describe as ‘intelligent’ in human terms.”
12. 11. 2020
https://futurism.com/hydra-slime-mold-covid
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Slime Molds Help Show How Cancer Grows
08.24.2012
Smarty-pants slime molds can solve mazes and produce diagrams similar to the Tokyo rail system — and now, scientists suggest, they may also be able to help treat cancer.
https://www.wired.com/2012/08/slime-molds-cancer-growth/
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A memory without a brain
How a single cell slime mold makes smart decisions without a central nervous system
February 23, 2021
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210223121643.htm
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How Brainless Slime Molds Redefine Intelligence [Video]
November 7, 2012
Single-celled amoebae can remember, make decisions and anticipate change, urging scientists to rethink intelligent behavior
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brainless-slime-molds/
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Frog slime kills flu virus Mining host defense peptides found in skin mucus
April 18, 2017
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170418120910.htm
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Researchers use amphibian foam to deliver drugs for the first time
Sep 9 2021
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210909/Researchers-use-amphibian-foam-to-deliver-drugs-for-the-first-time.aspx
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Efficacy and Safety of Snail Slime and Natural Extracts for Healing in Diabetic Foot Ulcers
May 25, 2017
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03166423
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Medicinal use of terrestrial molluscs (slugs and snails) with particular reference to their role in the treatment of wounds and other skin lesions
2013
http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2013/July/Thomas/slug-steve-thomas.html
Abstract
The slime produced by terrestrial molluscs (slugs and snails) has interesting properties which have been utilized for centuries for the treatment of minor wounds and other skin disorders such as warts. This paper provides an introduction to the properties of slug slime and considers its potential value in modern wound management. It also reports the results of a small study in which this material was successfully used to treat a longstanding wart. This is believed to be the first illustrated and fully documented account of the use of slug slime for this indication.
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Slime molds
http://www.bio-medicine.org/Biology-Dictionary/slime_molds/
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Blob: Brainless Single-Cell Slime Mold Sent to Space to be Observed in Microgravity
Aug 05, 2021
Onboard the uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft is the latest series of space science experiments that will be launched in a fortnight. According to Cosmos Magazine, those experiments include fake muscles, a 3D printing project that will turn regolith or Moondust into human habitats, and a brainless slime mold named Blob.
Scientifically known as Physarum polycephalum, Blob can move, feed, and organize itself even without eyes. Scientists also said that it could transmit knowledge to other slime molds. European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet will observe Blob when it reached the International Space Station (ISS) and explore its eating patterns while in microgravity.
Yellow slime mold
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Slime Mold Simulations Used to Map Dark Matter Holding Universe Together
Mar 10, 2020
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/slime-mold-simulations-used-to-map-dark-matter-holding-universe-together
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From Slime to Fuel and Medicine
May 25, 2017
https://nifa.usda.gov/announcement/slime-fuel-and-medicine
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Snail slime: the science behind molluscs as medicine
November 14, 2019
https://theconversation.com/snail-slime-the-science-behind-molluscs-as-medicine-125156
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Secrets of slime
April 3, 2015
Measuring mucus with gold
Some people have diseases that mess up mucus production. Patients with cystic fibrosis, for instance, make mucus that is too thick and gooey. It’s so viscous that the cilia have trouble moving the mucus back up to the throat. Instead, the mucus just sticks in huge gooey masses to the sides of the lungs’ airways.
Once the mucus is stuck, bacteria in it can flourish. That’s why cystic fibrosis patients often get infections. In time, parts of their lungs can die. That makes it hard for them to breathe.
Patients can take medicine to thin out the mucus. But doctors can’t easily tell if the drug is working. If they could somehow measure how runny a person’s mucus is, they could decide if or when a patient needed more treatment.
This idea captured Amy Oldenburg’s interest. “Can we measure the gooiness of mucus directly in the lung?” she asks. Oldenburg is a physicist at the UNC, where she works with Button.
In a 2014 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they tried an unusual technique. They embedded mucus with gold.
Mucus may seem gross, but it’s a lifesaver for humans and other animals
They used very tiny rod-shaped bits of gold, called nanoparticles. The gold pieces are so small that you could fit about 150 million of them on a grain of salt.
The scientists reasoned these teensy rods could help measure mucus. When the experts shined light into mucus, they could observe how that light scattered off of the gold as the rods of it drifted through the mucus. It’s sort of like dropping jewelry into a swimming pool and watching it sparkle as the sunlight reflects off of the metal.
The rate of light flickering would tell the researchers how fast the rods were moving. The thicker the mucus, the more sluggishly they’d travel.
To test this, Oldenburg’s team collected mucus from lung cells that had been growing in the lab. They thinned out some mucus samples by adding salt water. Then the researchers added gold nanorods to the mucus and shone a laser on it.
As expected, the thicker the mucus was, the slower the rate of light flickering. That suggests that doctors could use this test to diagnose the state of a patient’s mucus.
Now Oldenburg and her colleagues are working on ways to deliver the gold nanorods to a patient’s lungs. For example, they might put the rods in a liquid spray that the person could inhale. A doctor could thread a very thin, flexible glass fiber through the patient’s nose or mouth into the lungs. Then the doctor could shine light down the fiber and measure the light reflected back.
These tiny gold rod-shaped particles could help doctors measure the thickness of mucus inside a patient’s lungs.
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/secrets-slime
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The Many Uses of Hagfish Slime
May 25, 2019
https://www.thoughtco.com/hagfish-slime-4164617
The creature known as a “snot snake” produces a surprisingly valuable substance
Key Takeaways: Hagfish Slime
Hagfish slime is a protein-based, jelly-like substance emitted by hagfish as protection against predators.
The slime is made up of strands that are stronger than nylon, thinner than human hair, and very flexible.
Because of these unusual properties, hagfish slime is used to produce durable, environmentally-friendly fabric. The slime has many other potential uses, which are being researched.
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Snail slime
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snail_slime
Use in medicine
From Ancient Greece to the Middle Ages, people utilized snail mucus for medical purposes. It helped alleviate inflamed skin and gastrointestinal ulcers and treat coughs when used in a syrup. Moreover, decades ago, in Southern Italy, people collected the trails to treat different skin lesions, such as dermatitis, light acne, warts and calluses.
Snail mucus was medicinally renowned for repairing damaged tissues and balancing tissue hydration. According to a study in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment (2009), it was used for burn treatments in 43 burn patients. Twenty-seven patients who topically applied snail creams twice per day witnessed remarkable improvements to their skin.
At the present time, many researchers are inventing a new type of medical adhesive inspired by the snail slime. It is an innovative version of the current surgical glue, which is vulnerable to body fluids. The existing surgical glue is suited for fairly straight, clean, and shallow cuts. In contrast, the mollusk’s glue can attach to wet surfaces with its flexible consistency, which enables better healing and its usage in a broader variety of wounds.
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How tech could spell the end of animals in drugs testing
2014
We are in a pharmaceutical ice age where fewer drugs are being developed. But new computer modelling and bioengineering techniques could revitalise the industry – and make animal testing obsolete
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/aug/23/tech-end-animals-drugs-testing
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Researchers fast-track coronavirus vaccine by skipping key animal testing first
March 13, 2020
A clinical trial for an experimental coronavirus vaccine has begun recruiting participants in Seattle, but researchers did not first show that the vaccine triggered an immune response in animals, as is normally required.
Now, biomedical ethicists are calling the shortcut into question, according to Stat News.
https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-vaccine-trial-no-animal-testing.html
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Drugs That Work In Mice Often Fail When Tried In People
April 10, 2017
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/04/10/522775456/drugs-that-work-in-mice-often-fail-when-tried-in-people
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PETA scientists come up with state-of-the-art tools to implement animal-free research
Aug 28 2021
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210828/PETA-scientists-come-up-with-state-of-the-art-tools-to-implement-animal-free-research.aspx
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Plant-based vaccines for COVID-19 and other viruses
Jul 19 2021
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210719/Plant-based-vaccines-for-COVID-19-and-other-viruses.aspx
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Canadian-made, plant-based COVID-19 vaccine sees positive Phase 3 results
December 7, 2021
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/canadian-made-plant-based-covid-19-vaccine-sees-positive-phase-3-results-1.5696558
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Researchers aim to develop edible plant-based mRNA vaccines
Sep 16 2021
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210916/Researchers-aim-to-develop-edible-plant-based-mRNA-vaccines.aspx
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Half a million sharks may be killed in effort to make Covid vaccine, wildlife experts say
September 27, 2020
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8778565/Half-million-sharks-killed-effort-make-Covid-vaccine-wildlife-experts-say.html
Sharks are often harvested for squalene – a natural oil made in the liver of sharks
The ingredient is used as an adjuvant to increase the effectiveness of a vaccine
It is listed as an ingredient on a number of candidates for the Covid-19 vaccine
California-based group Shark Allies warns up to 500,000 sharks could be killed
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Shark antibody-like proteins neutralize COVID-19 virus, help prepare for future coronaviruses
December 17, 2021
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211217102915.htm
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How Shark Skin Can Help Human Medicine
2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2020/04/13/how-shark-skin-can-help-human-medicine/?sh=166ed0fe486d
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Unique new antiviral treatment made using sugar
1-29-2020
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200129143339.htm
Summary:
New antiviral materials made from sugar have been developed to destroy viruses on contact and may help in the fight against viral outbreaks. This new development from a collaborative team of international scientists shows promise for the treatment of herpes simplex (cold sore virus), respiratory syncytial virus, hepatitis C, HIV, and Zika virus to name a few. The team have demonstrated success treating a range of viruses in the lab – including respiratory infections to genital herpes.
New antiviral materials made from sugar have been developed to destroy viruses on contact and may help in the fight against viral outbreaks.
This new development from a collaborative team of international scientists shows promise for the treatment of herpes simplex (cold sore virus), respiratory syncytial virus, hepatitis C, HIV, and Zika virus to name a few. The team have demonstrated success treating a range of viruses in the lab — including respiratory infections to genital herpes.
The research is a result of a collaboration between scientists from The University of Manchester, the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. Although at a very early stage of development, the broad spectrum activity of this new approach could also be effective against newly prevalent viral diseases such as the recent coronavirus outbreak.
So called ‘virucidal’ substances, such as bleach, are typically capable of destroying viruses on contact but are extremely toxic to humans and so cannot be taken or applied to the human body without causing severe harm. Developing virucides from sugar has allowed for the advent of a new type of antiviral drug, which destroys viruses yet is non-toxic to humans.
Current antiviral drugs work by inhibiting virus growth, but they are not always reliable as viruses can mutate and become resistant to these treatments.
Using modified sugar molecules the team showed that the outer shell of a virus can be disrupted, thereby destroying the infectious particles on contact, as oppose to simply restricting its growth. This new approach has also been shown to defend against drug resistance.
Publishing their work in the journal Science Advances the team showed that they successfully engineered new modified molecules using natural glucose derivatives, known as cyclodextrins. The molecules attract viruses before breaking them down on contact, destroying the virus and fighting the infection.
Dr Samuel Jones, from The University of Manchester and a member of the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, jointly led the pioneering research with Dr Valeria Cagno from the University of Geneva. “We have successfully engineered a new molecule, which is a modified sugar that shows broad-spectrum antiviral properties. The antiviral mechanism is virucidal meaning that viruses struggle to develop resistance. As this is a new type of antiviral and one of the first to ever show broad-spectrum efficacy, it has potential to be a game changer in treating viral infections.” said Sam.
Professor Caroline Tapparel from the University of Geneva and Prof Francesco Stellacci from EPFL were both also senior authors of the study. Prof Tapparel declared: “We developed a powerful molecule able to work against very different viruses, therefore, we think this could be game changing also for emerging infections.”
The molecule is patented and a spin-out company is being set up to continue pushing this new antiviral towards real-world use. With further testing the treatment could find a use in creams, ointments and nasal sprays or other similar treatments for viral infections. This exciting new material can work to break down multiple viruses making for cost-effective new treatments even for resistant viruses.
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Scientists Discover Sugar Molecules in SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Spike Protein Play Active Role in Infection
September 23, 2020
https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-sugar-molecules-in-sars-cov-2-coronavirus-spike-protein-play-active-role-in-infection/
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What the structure of the coronavirus can tell us
March 23, 2020
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/health/coronavirus-sars-cov-2-structure/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_6
Researchers hope that a new visualization of the architecture of SARS-CoV-2 will show them how to defeat it.
Like any virus, the novel coronavirus is a germ that tries to burrow into a cell and turn it into a virus-replicating factory. If it succeeds, it can produce an infection — in this case, a respiratory disease. The type of cells a virus targets and how it enters them depend on how the virus is built.
This virus gets its family name from a telltale series of spikes — tens or even hundreds of them — that circle its bloblike core like a crown, or corona. Virologists know from studying its close cousins, viruses that cause SARS and MERS, that the spikes interact with receptors on cells like keys in locks, enabling the virus to enter.
Very recent innovations in imaging techniques enabled researchers to peer so closely at the novel virus’s spikes that they created a model of one, right down to the atoms, and are beginning to reveal its secrets.
It has a clever disguise.
Sugars dot the outside of the spike, just like sugars dot the outside of regular human cells, said David Veesler, a structural virologist at the University of Washington who led a team that visualized the SARS-CoV-2 spike and published a March 19 paper on its architecture.
This carbohydrate camouflage makes the virus more difficult for the human immune system to recognize.
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Lobster blood could help treat coronavirus, Maine scientist says
April 2020
https://bangordailynews.com/2020/04/01/news/bangor/maine-scientist-lobster-bloods-anti-viral-properties-could-help-with-covid-19/
A scientist with a startup company in Orono that is trying to use waste from lobster processing to treat warts, shingles and herpes says that an extract from lobsters might also be suitable for treating COVID-19.
Bob Bayer, the former head of the University of Maine’s Lobster Institute, says Lobster Unlimited LLC is looking for a bio-secure lab that is willing to test the lobster byproduct on the deadly virus that has shut down daily life across the nation.
Lobsters have a blood-like substance in their bodies called hemolymph that contains hemocyanin, a protein that carries oxygen to the lobster’s cells. The hemocyanin has anti-viral and immune-boosting properties, and already is being used in the development of cancer vaccines and treatments, according to Bayer.
Lobster Unlimited has developed a topical skin product — which is not yet on the market — that can be used to treat warts and shingles, both of which are caused by viruses, Bayer said.
“We’ve tried it on things like shingles, and it works,” he said.
The substance could also be effective against viruses that cause herpes, ebola, measles or colds. In October, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued Lobster Unlimited a patent related to its work after experiments showed the substance can reduce the viral load of herpes simplex virus-infected cells, according to documents the company filed with the federal agency.
Whether hemocyanin might be an effective treatment for coronaviruses — the family of viruses that cause SARS and COVID-19 — is “far from a sure thing,” Bayer said, but nonetheless is worth testing.
“They appear to be effective against a variety of viruses, but have not been tested for efficacy on corona varieties,” Bayer said. “A simple test that needs bio-security would give us an answer.”
Other studies have shown that hemocyanin from other kinds of shellfish — including shrimp, oysters, horseshoe crabs and abalone — also has anti-viral properties, Bayer said.
One practical advantage to using lobster hemocyanin is that there’s already a significant supply of it passing through the regional seafood processing industry.
Each year roughly 2 million gallons of hemolymph, and all the hemocyanin it contains, run down the drain as waste at plants that process lobster into consumer seafood products, he said.
“Every processing plant in Maine and Canada has [hemolymph] all over the floor,” Bayer said. “I probably have a couple of gallons in my freezer. If it works [to treat COVID-19, large quantities] could be made available almost immediately.”
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Lobster blood could play role in human cancer drugs
February 21, 2020
https://www.fox13news.com/news/lobster-blood-could-play-role-in-human-cancer-drugs
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Lobster blood could be the next best thing to help treat warts, shingles
January 20, 2017
https://bangordailynews.com/2017/01/20/news/lobster-blood-could-be-the-next-best-thing-to-help-treat-warts-shingles/
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Claws of health? Lobster blood could play role in new drugs
A Maine company thinks lobster blood can play a role in new drugs
February 19, 2020
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/claws-health-lobster-blood-play-role-drugs-69072778
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Electrophysiological Investigation of Different Methods of Anesthesia in Lobster and Crayfish
2016 Sep 19
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5028027/
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Physiological Changes as a Measure of Crustacean Welfare under Different Standardized Stunning Techniques: Cooling and Electroshock
2018
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30231519/
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Anti-proliferative effect of chitosan nanoparticles (extracted from crayfish Procambarus clarkii, Crustacea: Cambaridae) against MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3 human breast cancer cell lines
2018
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0141813018357325
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Crayfish hemocyanin on chitin bone substitute scaffolds promotes the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells
21 November 2019
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jbm.a.36849
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Research shows how freshwater prawns could reduce schistosomiasis transmission
Jul 23 2019
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20190723/Research-shows-how-freshwater-prawns-could-reduce-schistosomiasis-transmission.aspx
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Dietary chitosan nanoparticles protect crayfish Procambarus clarkii against white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection
2016
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301250940_Dietary_chitosan_nanoparticles_protect_crayfish_Procambarus_clarkii_against_white_spot_syndrome_virus_WSSV_infection
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Global Change Center undergraduate researchers investigate questions related to environmental change
12 Aug 2021
https://vtx.vt.edu/articles/2021/08/fralinlifesci-gcc-undergraduate-researchers-environmental-change.html
Omar West, who is double majoring in biological sciences and nanomedicine studied the effect of pH and symbiont density on a cleaning symbiosis.
“Omar is the glue that holds everyone in the lab together,” commented GCC affiliate Bryan Brown, an associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Science. “As a freshman he worked at McDonald’s to support himself, but the funding from the GCC allowed him to instead focus on his research.”
As a Roanoke native and an accomplished Eagle Scout, Omar West first became fascinated by science at a young age. “Watching science fiction shows and movies opened my eyes to all of the possible technologies that could be created from science,” he said, noting that the importance of research is that it can ultimately benefit humanity.
This fall, West will enter his senior year at Virginia Tech. West first joined the Brown lab as a freshman in 2018 as a biological sciences and nanomedicine double major. Research conducted in the Brown lab broadly focuses on community ecology in aquatic systems by conducting experimental tests of ecological theory, most notably through field experimentation. Initially contributing to many of the lab’s ongoing projects, West developed his independent research project almost two years ago.
The research focused on the cleaning symbiosis between crayfish and worms known as ecosymbiotic annelids. Knowing that worms inhabiting the crayfish play a hygienic role for the crayfish that is mutualistic at low and intermediary levels, Omar wanted to investigate whether changes in water quality, specifically in pH, affect the overall health of a crayfish by shifting the worms to high, or parasitic, levels. The results of the study revealed that relatively basic pH of 8 in combination with an intermediary worm count of 6 led to the greatest survivability of the crayfish and the overall fitness.
Omar is currently participating in a summer REU program with the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience in the lab of Sandra Loesgen, an associate professor of chemistry. There, he will conduct assays on microorganisms from jellyfish and bacterial strains from Antarctica.
As for West’s long-term goals, he plans to enter a graduate program upon completion of his degree next year. “Better keep a close eye on me. Because I’m going to change the world someday.”
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COVID-19: Hemoglobin From Beach Worms
April 9, 2020
https://www.barrons.com/news/covid-19-hemoglobin-from-beach-worms-01586439604
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Shrimp-shell nanoparticle could cut cancer drug side effects and improve durability, mouse study shows
Nov 6, 2020
https://www.fiercepharma.com/drug-delivery/chitin-derived-nanoparticle-could-deliver-cancer-drugs-site-cut-side-effects
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Marine Sponge is a Promising Natural Source of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Scaffold
2021
The current pandemic caused by SARS-CoV2 and named COVID-19 urgent the need for novel lead antiviral drugs. Recently, United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of remdesivir as anti-SARS-CoV-2. Remdesivir is a natural product-inspired nucleoside analogue with significant broad-spectrum antiviral activity. Nucleosides analogues from marine sponge including spongouridine and spongothymidine have been used as lead for the evolutionary synthesis of various antiviral drugs such as vidarabine and cytarabine. Furthermore, the marine sponge is a rich source of compounds with unique activities. Marine sponge produces classes of compounds that can inhibit the viral cysteine protease (Mpro) such as esculetin and ilimaquinone and human serine protease (TMPRSS2) such as pseudotheonamide C and D and aeruginosin 98B. Additionally, sponge-derived compounds such as dihydrogracilin A and avarol showed immunomodulatory activity that can target the cytokines storm. Here, we reviewed the potential use of sponge-derived compounds as promising therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2. Despite the reported antiviral activity of isolated marine metabolites, structural modifications showed the importance in targeting and efficacy. On that basis, we are proposing a novel structure with bifunctional scaffolds and dual pharmacophores that can be superiorly employed in SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Toxin sponges may protect poisonous frogs and birds from their own poisons, study suggests
August 5, 2021
https://phys.org/news/2021-08-toxin-sponges-poisonous-frogs-birds.html
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Chemists Re-Create Deadly Frog Poison In The Lab
November 17, 2016
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/11/17/502324984/chemists-recreate-deadly-frog-poison-in-the-lab
The golden poison dart frog is about an inch long and banana yellow. By some estimates, the skin of one little frog contains enough toxin to kill 10 adult men.
“Oh yeah, it’s one of the more lethal poisons on the planet,” says Justin Du Bois, a synthetic chemist at Stanford University.
The substance is called batrachotoxin (buh-TRAK-uh-TOX-in), and tiny amounts of it can be deadly if it makes it into a victim’s bloodstream. It’s what some indigenous groups in Colombia’s lowland rain forest would use to tip their blow darts.
And, as Du Bois and his colleagues write Thursday in the journal Science, they figured out how to make it in the lab in 24 steps. Why on Earth would anyone want to do that?
“Well, it turns out it’s a fantastic research tool for figuring out how nerves conduct electricity,” Du Bois says, “and we’re very interested in that fundamental process.”
Once inside a victim, the compound embeds itself in certain proteins that are responsible for conducting electrical impulses through the nerves and muscles, including the heart. By disrupting that process, it can cause paralysis and a heart attack. But studying the poison’s mode of action could also lead to a deeper understanding of the role electrical impulses play in fundamental processes like heart function and the sensation of pain.
“There are very few molecules like this that we’re aware of,” Du Bois says, “and we would like to really understand how it works.”
And maybe — just maybe — some version could be developed into a useful drug. Du Bois points out a few rare diseases that involve malfunction in the same proteins that this toxin acts on; one such disorder prevents a person from feeling any pain at all…
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What’s the Deal with Kambo and Frog Medicine?
January 8, 2020
https://www.healthline.com/health/kambo
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Enzyme related to rattlesnake neurotoxin linked with COVID-19 infection severity
Aug 25 2021
Study shows that an enzyme involved in inflammatory response may be a key mechanism driving COVID-19 severity and could provide a new therapeutic target.
A single enzyme shown to be a primary predictor of COVID-19 severity
Scientists from the University of Arizona, Stony Brook University, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine have reported findings that the enzyme phospholipase A2 group IIA, referred to as sPLA2-IIA, may be the most important factor in predicting which patients with severe COVID-19 eventually succumb to the virus.
The sPLA2-IIA enzyme is similar to one contained in rattlesnake neurotoxin as it can destroy cell membranes and is usually found in low concentrations in healthy individuals since it is a key defense against bacterial infection.
At high levels, the activated enzyme can shred membranes of vital organs, as Floyd Chilton, senior author on the paper and director of the University of Arizona Precision Nutrition and Wellness Initiative describes:
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210825/Enzyme-related-to-rattlesnake-neurotoxin-linked-with-COVID-19-infection-severity.aspx
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Brazil Viper Venom a Possible COVID-19 Cure? Probably, Study Says!
Aug 31, 2021
https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/33174/20210831/brazil-viper-venom-a-possible-covid-19-cure-probably-study-says.htm
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Use of Pit viper venom medicine to cure the heart attack and other medical conditions
21 Jun 2020
https://certifiedvenomexstore.com/pit-viper-venom-medicine/
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Black mamba snake venom could hold the key to new pain therapies
October 3, 2012
https://theconversation.com/black-mamba-snake-venom-could-hold-the-key-to-new-pain-therapies-9965
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Snake Antivenom
2020
https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/tm6541
Topic Overview
Snake venoms can cause many problems, such as:
Blood-clotting problems.
Injury to muscles.
Low blood pressure leading to shock.
Kidney damage.
Nervous system problems.
Severe allergic reactions.
Swelling.
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The 3 Types of Snake Venom (Explained)
2020
1. Neurotoxic Venom
2. Cytotoxic venom
3. Hemotoxic Venom
https://wildlifeinformer.com/types-of-snake-venom/
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Snake antivenom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_antivenom
Snake antivenom is a medication made up of antibodies used to treat snake bites by venomous snakes. It is a type of antivenom.
It is a biological product that typically consists of venom neutralizing antibodies derived from a host animal, such as a horse or sheep. The host animal is hyperimmunized to one or more snake venoms, a process which creates an immunological response that produces large numbers of neutralizing antibodies against various components (toxins) of the venom. The antibodies are then collected from the host animal, and further processed into snake antivenom for the treatment of envenomation.
It is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines.
Production
Antivenoms are typically produced using a donor animal, such as a horse or sheep. The donor animal is hyperimmunized with non-lethal doses of one or more venoms to produce a neutralizing antibody response. Then, at certain intervals, the blood from the donor animal is collected and neutralizing antibodies are purified from the blood to produce an antivenom.
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Medicines from animal venom toxins:
Therapies
http://www.zoltantakacs.com/venom_medicines_snake_toxin_drugs_zoltan_takacs.shtml
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Nanoparticle-conjugated animal venom-toxins and their possible therapeutic potential
October 2012
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233909896_Nanoparticle-conjugated_animal_venom-toxins_and_their_possible_therapeutic_potential
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How the Heck Did Black Widow Spider DNA Get Inside a Virus?
2016
https://www.livescience.com/56443-black-widow-spider-dna-found-inside-virus.html
Scientists have found some toxic DNA lurking inside a virus that infects bacteria. In addition to its own genes, the virus holds a gene for black widow spider venom and DNA from other animals, the researchers found. The findings suggest that either the virus snagged this foreign genetic material or that these other animals have stolen DNA from the virus, the researchers said.
Future research could find that such swapping across domains of life, from the most complex to the most ancient, is more common than previously thought, scientists say.
(Virus particles (shown in inset) infect the symbionts of the Wolbachia bacterium).
Stealing DNA
Viruses infect all three domains of the tree of life. The most complex forms of life on Earth — including animals, plants and fungi — belong to the domain Eukaryota, whose cells possess nuclei. The other two domains include the prokaryotes, the earliest forms of life — single-celled microbes that lack nuclei. There are two prokaryotic domains — the familiar Bacteria, as well as Archaea, which includes microorganisms that thrive in harsh environments such as hot springs and underground petroleum deposits.
Each virus infects just one domain of life. For instance, bacteriophages, which are viruses that attack bacteria, cannot infect eukaryotes, or cells with nuclei. In part due to this specificity, scientists have explored using these so-called “phages” in therapies to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Previous research found that viruses can pick up genes from their hosts, using this “stolen” DNA to evade and manipulate their victims. Because each virus infects only one domain of life, scientists would not expect a phage to possess animal DNA, for example.
Viruses that infect bacteria
However, previous research found that a number of bacteria do live in eukaryotes — for instance, harmful parasites or mostly helpful symbionts such as E. coli that live in hosts such as humans and other animals. This idea raised the possibility that phages that infect such bacteria might regularly be exposed to DNA from the eukaryotic hosts of these bacteria.
In the new study, scientists investigated the phage WO, which infects the bacterium Wolbachia. This bacterium infests an estimated 40 percent of the most species-rich group of animals worldwide, the arthropods, which include insects, spiders and crustaceans.
“Wolbachia are among the most widespread bacterial infections on the planet,” said study co-author Seth Bordenstein, a microbiologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
The researchers found that this phage’s genome (or the complete set of genes within each cell of an organism) contains a number of genes similar to some seen in eukaryotes. “This is the first time, to the best of my knowledge, that animal genes were found in bacteriophages,” Bordenstein told Live Science.
One gene, the second largest seen yet in phages, is made of genes previously seen in eukaryotes and bacteria fused together. This combination gene includes DNA that was found previously in prior work to help create black widow spider venom. Other genes of this phage that were previously seen in eukaryotes are known to mediate interactions between microbes and hosts, trigger the death of host cells, and help in the secretion of proteins across cell membranes.
Flow of genes
It remains uncertain how this phage uses these recently discovered genes. The researchers suggested that these genes may help the phage break into animal cells or evade animal immune systems to reach and infect their bacterial hosts.
It also remains unknown how this DNA has flowed between this phage and animals. Although it is likely that the genes in the phage originally came from animals, the researchers have not yet ruled out the possibility that these genes in animals originally came from phages. “We should consider all possible routes of transfer,” Bordenstein said.
Future research could explore how often phages get DNA from domains of life other than the one they infect. “We’d like to see a comprehensive genomic survey of viruses and their hosts,” Bordenstein said.
Bordenstein also noted that someday, this phage could be used to genetically modify Wolbachia. “There’s been long-standing interest in genetically editing Wolbachia; people have tried vigorously and failed,” he said.
Finding ways to tinker with Wolbachia might help fight the Zika and dengue viruses, Bordenstein said. “When Wolbachia is present [in mosquitoes], dengue and Zika viruses are prevented from replicating at high rates,” he said.
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Deadly box jellyfish antidote discovered using CRISPR genome editing
April 2019
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190430173205.htm
Summary:
Researchers studying how pain works have discovered an antidote to the deadly sting delivered by the most venomous creature on Earth — the Australian box jellyfish. A single sting to a human causes necrosis of the skin, excruciating pain and, if the dose of venom is large enough, cardiac arrest and death within minutes. The new antidote, discovered using CRISPR genome editing techniques, blocks the symptoms within 15 minutes after contact.
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The bizarre beasts living in Romania’s poison cave
2015
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150904-the-bizarre-beasts-living-in-romanias-poison-cave
Movile Cave has been cut off for millions of years. Its air is thick with harmful gases, yet it is home to an array of strange animals
In the south-east of Romania, in Constan?a county close to the Black Sea and the Bulgarian border, there lies a barren featureless plain. The desolate field is completely unremarkable, except for one thing.
Below it lies a cave that has remained isolated for 5.5 million years. While our ape-like ancestors were coming down from the trees and evolving into modern humans, the inhabitants of this cave were cut off from the rest of the planet.
Despite a complete absence of light and a poisonous atmosphere, the cave is crawling with life. There are unique spiders, scorpions, woodlice and centipedes, many never before seen by humans, and all of them owe their lives to a strange floating mat of bacteria.
In most caves, animals get their food from the water dripping down from the surface. This water can often be seen in the form of stalactites and stalagmites.
However, Movile Cave has a thick layer of clay above it, which is impermeable to water. When Lascu first visited, he could not find any stalactites or stalagmites, or any other sign of water coming from the surface.
The mystery deepened when scientists analysed the water in the cave for radioactive caesium and strontium. The 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl had released lots of these metals, which had found their way into the soils and lakes surrounding Movile Cave. However, a 1996 study found no traces of them inside the cave.
That means the water isn’t coming from above, so it must be coming from below. It now seems that the water in Movile Cave comes from spongy sandstones where it has lain for 25,000 years.
However, this still doesn’t explain how the animals in the cave survive. Tests have shown that the water flowing in does not contain any food particles.
Instead, the food comes from the strange frothy foam sitting on top of the water.
This floating film, which looks like wet tissue paper and can even be torn like paper, contains millions upon millions of bacteria known as “autotrophs”.
“These bacteria get their carbon from carbon dioxide just like plants do,” says Boden. “The carbon dioxide level in the cave is about 100 times higher than normal air. But unlike plants, they obviously can’t use photosynthesis as there is no light.”
Rather than using light as an energy source, the Movile bacteria use a process known as chemosynthesis.
“They get the energy needed… from chemical reactions: the key ones being the oxidation of sulphide and similar sulphur ions into sulphuric acid, or the oxidation of ammonium found in the groundwaters to nitrate,” says Boden.
“Sulphuric acid actually erodes the limestone, which is gradually making the cave bigger”
These chemosynthetic bacteria help explain why the cave is so large and the air is so thick with carbon dioxide.
“Sulphuric acid actually erodes the limestone, which is gradually making the cave bigger,” says Boden. “The process releases carbon dioxide, which is why levels are so high.”
Another major group of bacteria get their energy and carbon from the methane gas that bubbles up through the waters of the cave. They are called methanotrophs.
Boden describes methanotrophs as “messy eaters” that “constantly leak metabolic intermediates like methanol and formate” into the surrounding water. In turn, these chemicals are food for other species of bacteria.
“Movile is the only cave whose ecosystem is known to be supported in this way”
This may all sound very peculiar, and in some ways it is. Movile is the only cave whose ecosystem is known to be supported in this way, and the only such ecosystem on land.
But according to microbiologist J. Colin Murrell of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, the bacteria in Movile Cave are remarkably simple and not at all unusual.
“The bacteria get all of their carbon from just one source, be it methane or carbon dioxide,” says Murrell. “That means that all of the components of their cells, be it the DNA in their nucleus, the lipids in their cell membrane and the proteins in their enzymes, are made from the same simple ingredient.”
The Movile bacteria are also very similar to bacteria found elsewhere, despite having being trapped in the cave for over 5 million years.
“Methanotrophs are everywhere: the Roman Baths at Bath, the surface of seawater, the mouths of cattle and probably the human mouth and gut,” says Boden. “Autotrophic bacteria of the same types we found at Movile are found in almost all soils and on the surface of the skin.”
The same cannot be said for the animals of the cave. Millions of years of isolation has transformed them.
Many are born without eyes, which would be useless in the dark. Almost all are translucent as they have lost pigment in their skin. Many also have extra-long appendages such as antennae to help them feel their way around in the darkness.
There are no flies in Movile Cave, but the spiders still spin webs. Small insects called springtails bounce into the air and get caught in the webs.
In 1996, researchers categorised the animals in the cave. They included 3 species of spider, a centipede, 4 species of isopod (the group that includes woodlice), a leech never seen anywhere else in the world, and an unusual-looking insect called a waterscorpion.
Strangely, one of the spiders was closely related to a spider found in the Canary Islands – which lie over 4000km to the west, off the north-west coast of Africa.
That raises the question, how and why did the animals get into the cave?
” One of the spiders was closely related to a spider found in the Canary Islands – which lie over 4000km to the west “
One theory is that back at the end of the Miocene Epoch, about 5.5 million years ago, the climate of the northern hemisphere changed. As Africa moved north it stopped the Atlantic from flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, drying it out.
This could have forced the animals to seek refuge in the sulphurous underworld of Movile Cave. It would have been a haven, with thermal waters providing constant warmth, no competitors or predators, and a rich source of food.
The problem with this theory is that it is difficult to prove.
“It’s very likely that the bacteria have been there a lot longer than five million years, but that the insects became trapped there around that time,” says Murrell. “They could have simply fallen in and become trapped when the limestone cast dropped, sealing the cave until it was discovered again in 1986.”
It may be that different animals arrived at different times. A 2008 study of Movile’s only snail suggested that it has been down there for just over 2 million years. When it entered the cave, the ice age was just beginning, and the snail may have escaped the cold by going underground.
“It’s very likely that the bacteria have been there a lot longer than five million years “
However they got there, it seems that Movile’s inhabitants are now trapped for good. We could learn a lot from them.
The bacteria’s ability to oxidise methane and carbon dioxide is of particular interest. These two greenhouse gases are the biggest culprits for global warming, so researchers are desperate to find efficient ways to remove them from the atmosphere.
The Movile Cave microbes could also offer hints about how the first life formed on Earth. They are genetically similar to those found in geothermal vents, which are also rich in carbon dioxide, sulphides and ammonia.
The conditions in both places may well be similar to the primordial Earth. In our world’s early years, the Sun’s light was obscured by an atmosphere thick with carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia. It could be that the first living cells were similar to those found in Movile Cave.
Almost 30 years after its discovery, Movile Cave remains perhaps the most isolated ecosystem on the planet. It surely has many more secrets to give up. There are plenty more organisms buried in the cave’s sediments, waiting to be identified, and they could help us understand some of our deepest questions about the nature of life.
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Blue Scorpion Venom Is Popular Pain Medicine In Cuba
2018
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/blue-scorpion-venom-pain-meds_n_5c1421eae4b009b8aea7466e
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Scorpion Venom: The Newest Treatment for a Deadly Cancer
May 21, 2020
https://www.nfcr.org/blog/scorpion-venom-the-newest-treatment-for-a-deadly-cancer/
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Venom of Deadly Scorpion Has Medical use
2013
Australian Scorpion Toxins Are Potentially Useful in Pain Management, says expert.
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2013/12/venom-of-deadly-scorpions-has-medical-use/
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One Doctor’s Quest to Save People by Injecting Them With Scorpion Venom
06.24.2014
https://www.wired.com/2014/06/scorpion-venom/?src=longreads
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11 Benefits of Scorpion Venom You Must Know
2021
1. as a pain reliever
2. fly in heart transplant surgery
3. Being a natural pesticide
4. Drugs for lupus drugs
5. It is a drug of rheumatoid arthritis
6. For cancer drugs
7. Prevent the failure of venous grafts
8. Clean the tumor
9. Prevent heart bypass failure
10. Helps to treat cancer patients
11. Prevent malaria
https://drhealthbenefits.com/herbal/benefits-scorpion-venom
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Thermostable potassium channel-inhibiting neurotoxins in processed scorpion medicinal material revealed by proteomic analysis: Implications of its pharmaceutical basis in traditional Chinese medicine
2019 Jul 4
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31279926/
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Blue Scorpion Venom for Cancer?
15 Feb 2017
Cancer patients from around the world have been travelling to Cuba for years to be treated for cancer with venom extracted from the blue scorpion. It all started in the 1980s when biologist Misael Bordier Chivas was carrying out experiments with animal toxins and found that the scorpion venom decreased the size of tumours in rats and dogs.
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The Last Days of the Blue-Blood Harvest
2018
Every year, more than 400,000 crabs are bled for the miraculous medical substance that flows through their bodies—now pharmaceutical companies are finally committing to an alternative that doesn’t harm animals.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-last-days-of-the-blue-blood-harvest?utm_source=pocket-newtab
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Harvest Horseshoe Crab Blood
2016
Horseshoe crabs are an example of creatures that inhabited our planet some 230 million years ago. They have not changed a bit over time. They can be easily recognized by their straight rigid tail and hard shell that reminds of a military helmet.
Horseshoe crabs have hemocyanin and not hemoglobin in their blood that contains the copper. Thus these crabs have blue blood which contains amebocytes used to make Limulus amebocyte lysate that helps to detect bacterial endotoxins.
http://www.littlecrows.com/2016/03/harvest-horseshoe-crab-blood.html
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All Octopuses Are Venomous: Could Lead To Drug Discovery
April 16, 2009
Summary:
Once thought to be only the realm of the blue-ringed octopus, researchers have now shown that all octopuses and cuttlefish, and some squid are venomous. The work indicates that they all share a common, ancient venomous ancestor and highlights new avenues for drug discovery.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090415102215.htm
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Blue-ringed octopus
Blue-ringed octopuses, comprising the genus Hapalochlaena, are four highly venomous species of octopus that are found in tide pools and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans, from Japan to Australia. They can be identified by their yellowish skin and characteristic blue and black rings that change color dramatically when the animal is threatened. They eat small crustaceans, including crabs, hermit crabs, shrimp, and other small sea animals.
They are one of the world’s most venomous marine animals. Despite their small size—12 to 20 cm (5 to 8 in)—and relatively docile nature, they are very dangerous to humans if provoked when handled because their venom contains the powerful neurotoxin tetrodotoxin.
(Blue-ringed octopus)
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Octopus Venom as Medicine
April 18, 2009
An understanding of the structure and mode of action of venom found in all octopuses, cuttlefish and some squid can help design drugs for conditions like pain management, allergies and cancer.
https://findmeacure.com/2009/04/18/octopus-venom-as-medicine/
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Scientists tap into Antarctic octopus venom
July 21, 2010
https://phys.org/news/2010-07-scientists-antarctic-octopus-venom.html
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Marine Toxins and Assorted Biological Toxins
2006
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323034326500830
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Sea creatures may offer clues to medical science’s vexing Problems Such as Paralysis
2014
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Venom As Medicine: How Spiders, Scorpions, Snakes, And Sea Creatures Can Heal
Apr 10, 2015
https://www.medicaldaily.com/venom-medicine-how-spiders-scorpions-snakes-and-sea-creatures-can-heal-328736
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Revealing the mysteries of stonefish venom
June 1, 2021
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210601135823.htm
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Deadly blessing? Stonefish venom could hold the key to understanding the immune system
2 DECEMBER 2015
https://imagingcoe.org/deadly-blessing-stonefish-venom-could-hold-the-key-to-understanding-the-immune-system/
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Yucatecan scientists analyze the use of lionfish venom to treat Alzheimer’s
August 12, 2020
The poisonous substance of the lionfish, an invasive species that prevails on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, is studied by Yucatecan scientists to understand the process of Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition to the gastronomic use of this harmful and exotic marine species, now specialists from the Mérida Unit of the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (Cinvestav) study the toxins in the spines, to identify their interaction with the neurotransmission mechanism related to this pathology.
https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2020/08/yucatecan-scientists-analyze-the-use-of-lionfish-venom-to-treat-alzheimers/
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How the Cone Snail’s Deadly Venom Can Help Us Build Better Medicines
October 10, 2017
https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2017/10/how-cone-snails-deadly-venom-can-help-us-build-better-medicines
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Cone snail venom holds promise for medical treatments for cancer, addiction
January 14, 2015
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150114090815.htm
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From cone snail venom to pain relief
How conotoxins can be used in pain therapy
November 4, 2019
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191104112830.htm
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Sea snail venom could lead to better insulin for diabetics
Jun 2, 2020
https://www.popsci.com/story/health/insulin-sea-snail-venom/
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One of The Most Deadly Venoms Could Help Scientists Treat Cancer
14 OCTOBER 2017
https://www.sciencealert.com/milking-venomous-snails-could-help-scientists-treat-cancer
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Venom From Cone Snails May Potentially Treat Malaria
Feb 19, 2021
https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/29752/20210219/venom-cone-snails-potentially-treat-malaria.htm
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Israeli Discovery of Sea Snail’s Venom Mechanism May Lead to New Heart Disease Drugs
October 24, 2019
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/in-the-news/israeli-discovery-of-sea-snail-s-venom-mechanism-may-lead-to-new-heart-disease-drugs
Israeli scientists revealed the mechanism of the sea cone snail’s venom, which may lead to new drugs for abnormal heart rate and high blood pressure, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) reported Thursday.
The findings may also lead to the development of safe natural insecticides, because some components of this venom only kill insects, and not mammals.
The findings, published in the scientific journal PNAS, may explain some of the side effects of potassium-blocking drugs, such as heart arrythmia and hypertension drugs, and lead to the development of better ones.
The venom of many venomous animals paralyzes their victims with toxins plugging the opening, or pore, of the channels that lead potassium ions into and out of the cell, a mechanism called “a cork in the bottle.”
These potassium channels are essential cellular structures that regulate the transmission of neuronal signals, electric stimulation of the muscles and numerous other processes by letting potassium ions flow.
The researchers were surprised to find that the cone snail’s venom acts differently, not by a cork-in-the-bottle, but by a previously unknown mechanism that took effect on the periphery of the channel’s pore.
It was found that the snail’s venom disrupted the hydrogen bonds within the channel in a way that increased the flow of water around the channel pore, causing the pore to collapse.
Thus, the whole channel stopped functioning, and the flow of potassium ions was blocked, but not by “a cork in the bottle” mechanism, instead, by a new mechanism operating on the channel’s pore.
The results will allow testing whether side effects caused by potassium channel-blocking drugs are due to structural changes that resemble those induced by the cone snail toxins.
“If small-molecule drugs are designed to alter the periphery of the channel, causing the pore to collapse, it may be possible to target subsets of channels that are selectively expressed in specific cells, reducing side effects,” the researchers concluded.
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Cone Snail Venom Facts and Potential Medical Benefits
Apr 13, 2021
https://owlcation.com/stem/Cone-Snails-Dangerous-Venom-With-Medicinal-Uses
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Cone Snail Pain Killers Could be 100 Times As Effective As Morphine
2014
https://iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/cone-snail-pain-killers-could-be-100-times-effective-morphine/
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Conus consors snail venom proteomics proposes functions, pathways, and novel families involved in its venomic system.
2012
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Conus-consors-snail-venom-proteomics-proposes-and-Leonardi-Biass/c057eb32018cda01a5d64950974769b7493717dd
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Mollusks and Medicine
01 February 2017
https://academic.oup.com/clinchem/article/63/2/624/5612875
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New barnacle-inspired paste could stop heavy bleeding in seconds
26 Aug 2021
Glue can stick to wet surfaces and form a seal within 15 seconds
When someone’s losing a lot of blood, doctors turn to coagulants. But these products can take minutes to work—minutes a patient may not have. Enter barnacles. The marine crustaceans can glom onto nearly anything—from ships to whales—thanks to an oil they secrete that primes surfaces by sweeping away contaminants, Wired reports. In a new study, scientists made their own synthetic version of barnacles’ glue by grinding up adhesive sheets and mixing them with silicone oil that repels blood. The substance was able to stop bleeding in rat and pig models in as few as 15 seconds, they report this month in Nature Biomedical Engineering. The next step is to figure out how long the paste will last before dissolving, and whether it could damage tissue over time.
https://www.science.org/content/article/new-barnacle-inspired-paste-could-stop-heavy-bleeding-seconds-0
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Venom Treatment For Chronic Diseases: Toxins From Sea Creatures Could Replace Meds For Severe Illnesses
Jul 31, 2013
Autoimmune Diseases And Sea Anemone Venom
Chronic illnesses like multiple sclerosis, psoriatic arthritis, and lupus may require patients to take steroids or methotrexate — a prescription drug used to treat severe conditions that cannot be treated with other meds, says Medline Plus. Toxins from sea creatures, however, can provide an equally effective treatment without the life-threatening side effects associated with methotrexate. While methotrexate is meant to provide relief for painful diseases, the medication can do more harm than good for a person’s immune system. Medline Plus says that the drug can decrease the activity of your immune system and even put you at risk of developing a series of infections.
On the other hand, the toxins of a sea anemone can inhibit the inflammatory process of these severe illnesses while still regulating the patient’s immune system as it attacks the cell causing tissue damage — without disrupting any cellular processes.
https://www.medicaldaily.com/venom-treatment-chronic-diseases-toxins-sea-creatures-could-replace-meds-severe-illnesses-248199
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These life-saving drugs are made from deadly venom
2018
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/venomics-deadly-toxins-life-saving-drugs-mande-holford/
If you ever have the misfortune to be bitten by a pit viper, stung by a cone snail, or come too close to the jaws of a Gila monster, at best, you’ll be in a lot of pain. At worst, it might be the last thing you do.
These are some of the world’s most venomous creatures. Their potent toxins help them to survive, and they could also be responsible for saving your life one day.
Venomics – the scientific analysis of venom – offers some groundbreaking solutions to health problems from heart disease to diabetes, to managing chronic pain.
In fact, there are already six drugs approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States that are derived from venom.
But with 15% of the world’s animals producing venom of some kind, we have really only just begun to scratch the surface of their potential contribution to medicine.
Captopril is an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, a type of drug used to treat high blood pressure and improve survival and reduce the risk of heart failure after a heart attack. Its main compound is derived from a species of pit viper found in Brazil.
Prialt, derived from the venom of cone snails, is used by some of the estimated 22 million adults in the US who suffer from severe and chronic pain.
Byetta is part of a new wave of drugs designed to lower blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes. Its key ingredient, exendin-4, is found in the saliva of the Gila monster, a large lizard species native to the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico.
But venom isn’t just giving us new drugs, it’s also giving us new ideas about how drugs work.
Venomics expert Dr Mandë Holford, who is an associate professor in Chemistry at Hunter College and City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, explains: “Prialt is a breakthrough in treatment for pain that is non-addictive. Prialt doesn’t target the same thing, so it doesn’t have the same side effects.
“This has ushered in a whole new way for pharmaceutical industries to treat pain, they are now looking for things that target something other than opioid receptors.”
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Medicinal Plants with Antivenom Activities: Pharmacognosy, Nanomedicine, and Contemporary Issues
December 2018
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329617763_Medicinal_Plants_with_Antivenom_Activities_Pharmacognosy_Nanomedicine_and_Contemporary_Issues
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Antivenom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antivenom
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Antivenom
From: Toxicology, 2010
Antivenoms are antibody preparations that are produced from the plasma of animals, usually horses or sheep, by injecting the animals with venoms
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/antivenom
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Opossum Compounds Isolated to Help Make Antivenom
And researchers have engineered a common bacteria to inexpensively create the snakebite treatment
March 30, 2015
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/opossum-compounds-isolated-to-help-make-antivenom/
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Biology Finally Explains Why Honey Badger Don’t Care
June 16, 2015
https://slate.com/technology/2015/06/honey-badger-venom-resistance-biologists-discover-the-secret.html
It’s official: Honey badger don’t care. This “crazy nasty-ass” critter—the subject of a National Geographic documentary transformed into a viral meme through satirical overdubbing—“really don’t give a shit.” Not about snarky documentaries, not about stinging bees, and especially not about venomous snakes.
Venomous snakes kill up to 94,000 people every year, on top of the millions of other animals that make up their diet. And death by venomous snakebite isn’t pretty: The toxins in venom can paralyze muscles, break down tissue, and even make victims bleed uncontrollably.
So why don’t honey badgers care about venoms that can kill almost any other animal?
Danielle Drabeck, a University of Minnesota grad student, wanted to study this question on a molecular level, but she ran into a problem: Honey badgers aren’t found in Minnesota or even the Western Hemisphere, but only in Africa, the Middle East, and India.
“The hardest part, honest to God, was finding honey badger tissue” to study, says Drabeck—which likely explains why no other biologists ever investigated how honey badgers resist cobra venom. Working with biologist Sharon Jansa and biochemist Antony Dean, Drabeck obtained some precious honey badger blood from the zoos of San Diego and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
With this blood, the scientists figured out, for the first time, how the honey badger defends itself on the molecular level against its venomous prey. The blood also revealed clues of an evolutionary arms race. And it might help us design better antivenoms for humans bitten by venomous snakes.
But why would a honey badger need venom resistance in the first place? Why doesn’t it avoid venomous snakes, like more sensible mammals?
“Snakes,” says Drabeck, “are an excellent source of meat.” Up to 25 percent of the honey badger’s omnivorous diet consists of venomous snakes. But the honey badger doesn’t eat snakes out of desperation. Evolving to withstand snake venom is like being the only person at a party who can eat the extra-hot salsa: You get it all to yourself. Plus, Drabeck says, this means the honey badger gets to hunt fairly slow-moving prey with only one pointy end, rather than fast prey with one pointy end plus four sets of claws.
But it’s one hell of a pointy end. Venom has more than 100 proteins and other molecules that could potentially poison a snake’s victim—meaning that honey badgers need multiple defenses. To narrow the field, Drabeck guessed that the honey badger had probably evolved a defense similar to that used by other venom-resistant critters like mongooses. She focused on a defense against a nasty class of molecules in cobra venom called alpha-neurotoxins that paralyze the muscles used for breathing. These neurotoxins essentially park in a muscle cell’s nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, preventing the cell from receiving the nervous system’s signals to keep working.
Drabeck figured that the receptor targeted by cobra neurotoxin had probably changed to prevent the neurotoxin from parking there. Once she had the blood from the zoos’ honey badgers, Drabeck extracted DNA and sequenced part of the gene that contains the blueprint for making the receptor. Drabeck discovered several mutations in that gene that tweak the receptor. Cobra neurotoxin fits as well in the tweaked receptor as an SUV in a compact’s parking spot—and therefore it can’t paralyze the honey badger’s breathing.
Drabeck wasn’t surprised by these mutations, but she was surprised when she compared the honey badger’s tweaks to those found in other mammals. These tweaks had evolved independently in at least four species: honey badgers, mongooses, hedgehogs, and pigs. The hedgehog—which loves to eat venomous snakes—wasn’t a surprise. But the pig? “We were pretty excited by that,” says Drabeck. She hadn’t expected pigs to have molecular defenses against venom; biologists knew wild pigs could survive snakebites but assumed that was because their thick skin and fat acts like armor against fangs. But wild pigs, like honey badgers, have long shared the same parts of the world as venomous snakes—giving them an incentive to evolve venom resistance. And that in turn has given the snakes an incentive to evolve more toxic venom.
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This Is Why Honey Badgers Are Immortal
Aug 20, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlbgYR2NK5c
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A COMPARISON OF PRIMARY MONKEY KIDNEY, HETEROPLOID CELL LINES, AND HUMAN DIPLOID CELL STRAINS FOR HUMAN VIRUS VACCINE PREPARATION.
1963
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-COMPARISON-OF-PRIMARY-MONKEY-KIDNEY%2C-HETEROPLOID-Hayflick/96041ac2c08423ad8596061be8b3be6b18f08f44
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Glutamine synthetase in kidneys of monkey and man
1978
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0305049178900858
Abstract
1. The synthesis of γ-glutamylhydroxamate from glutamate and hydroxylamine has been utilized as an approximation of glutamine synthetase activity in kidneys of rabbit, rat, dog, monkey and man.
2. Kidneys of rabbit contain glutamine synthetase in high activity; those of rat, in intermediate activity; and those of dog, monkey and man, in negligible activity.
3. No more enzyme is present in kidneys of the latter two species than in those of the dog, in which the enzyme is generally considered to be absent.
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7 Most Disgusting Ingredients Used to Make Vaccines
2013
https://vactruth.com/2013/10/28/7-disgusting-ingredients/
Disgusting Ingredient #1: Cells From Aborted Fetus
Disgusting Ingredient #2: Serum From Aborted Calf Fetus Blood
Disgusting Ingredient #3: Cells From Armyworms
Disgusting Ingredient #4: Cells From Monkey Kidneys
Disgusting Ingredient #5: Cells From Dog Kidneys
Disgusting Ingredient #6: Mouse Brain
Disgusting Ingredient #7: Chicken Embryos
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List of Vaccines Derived From Horse Serum
2015
H5N1
Equine Anti-Tetanus Toxoid Serum
Botulism Antitoxin
Diptheria Antitoxin
Equine Anti-rabies Immunoglobulin (ERIG)
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Explained: The role of animal serum in making of vaccines
June 24, 2021
Vaccines like the one made by Bharat Biotech use the disease-causing virus itself to trigger an immune response in human beings.
The government on Wednesday issued a clarification stating that Covaxin, the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, did not contain the serum of a newborn calf. This was in response to discussions on the social media about the presence of calf serum in Covaxin.
In the clarification, the government reiterated the well-known use of calf serum, as also serum extracted from other animals, in the development of vaccines. These are needed to grow the disease-causing virus, bacteria or other pathogens in the laboratory, but do not themselves become an ingredient of the vaccine.
How viruses are cultured
Vaccines like the one made by Bharat Biotech uses the disease-causing virus itself to trigger an immune response in human beings. The virus is killed, or inactivated, before being used in the vaccine, and injected into the human body, but it is still able to trigger an immune response.
To be used in the vaccine, the virus needs to be grown, or cultured, in the laboratory. Scientists try to create conditions conducive for the growth of these viruses by recreating the kind of environment that exists in an infected person’s tissues. Therefore, solutions containing ‘nutrients’ act as the growth medium for the virus. These nutrients, like specific sugar and salt molecules, are extracted from tissues of suitable animals like horses, cow, goat or sheep.
The virus grows in these nutrient-rich solutions. After that, it goes through several stages of purification that make it suitable to be used in a vaccine. There is no trace of the growth medium after the entire process is over.
Why calf serum
According to the website of the Food and Drug Administration of the United States, cow components are used mainly because cows are large animals, easily available, and rich in some of the useful chemicals and enzymes.
“Cow milk is a source of amino acids, and sugars such as galactose. Cow tallow derivatives used in vaccine manufacture include glycerol. Gelatin and some amino acids come from cow bones. Cow skeletal muscle is used to prepare broths used in certain complex media. Many difficult to grow micro-organisms and the cells that are used to propagate viruses require the addition of serum from blood to the growth media,” it says.
Synthetic serum, and other nutrients, have also been developed, but according to one international manufacturer of these chemicals, Thermo Fisher Scientific, serum from newborn calf, which has been used in vaccine production for over 50 years, has “proven itself as an extremely effective growth supplement”.
Animal serum in vaccines
Historically, animal serum has been used in the development of vaccines in other ways as well. The use of horse serum as an antibody supplement in diphtheria vaccine is more than 100 years old. Horses used to be injected with small doses of bacteria that caused diphtheria so that they could develop antibodies. Later, the blood of the infected animal was used to extract the antibodies and used in the vaccine.
The story of the Poonawalla family, which graduated from owning a horse-breeding farm that also used to supply horse serum used in vaccines, to setting up the company that is now the world’s largest producer of vaccines, Serum Institute of India, is very well known.
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/role-of-animal-serum-in-making-of-vaccines-cronavirus-covaxin-bharat-biotech-7363978/
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The Healing Potential of Venom | The Story of the Stingray
2021
https://thesanatanchronicle.com/2021/04/28/the-healing-potential-of-venom-the-story-of-the-stingray/
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Antibiotics From Crocodile Blood?
2005
The crocodile’s immune system is far more effective than ours at warding off infections and viruses, so scientists are experimenting to see whether blood samples can be used to create powerful antibiotics for humans.
https://www.wired.com/2005/08/antibiotics-from-crocodile-blood/
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Chiapas Crocodile Blood Drained for HIV, Diabetes Cure; MSU Has Answers
2017
First, Crocodiles in Mexico are protected species in country and are NOT to be touched, but some squatters felt otherwise. They captured dozens of crocodiles, and drained them of their blood.
They believed that the crocodile blood was a cure for cancer, HIV, Diabetes. Read more for details…
https://celebnhealth247.com/chiapas-crocodile-blood-cure/
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Bull Ant Venom Could Help Develop New Pain Treatments
Sep 20, 2018
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/bull-ant-venom-06425.html
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Fire ant venom compounds may lead to skin treatments
Solenopsin analogs tested in mouse model of psoriasis
September 11, 2017
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170911095922.htm
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Fire ant venom may lead to skin treatments
Sept. 26, 2017
http://news.emory.edu/stories/2017/09/arbiser_venom_psoriasis/index.html
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Antibacterial Activity of Synthetic Fire Ant Venom: The Solenopsins and Isosolenopsins
2009
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Antibacterial-Activity-of-Synthetic-Fire-Ant-Venom%3A-Sullivan-Flowers/3362f13e92f351eacbc37a33038ccd38d6778cbe
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Aussie scientists see life-saving potential in spider venom
July 16, 2021
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-aussie-scientists-life-saving-potential-spider.html
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Why king baboon spider venom is so painful
January 27, 2022
https://phys.org/news/2022-01-king-baboon-spider-venom-painful.html
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Vampire bats and Gila monsters inspire medical research for stroke and diabetic patients
Jan. 06, 2019
https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2011/01/vampire_bats_and_gila_monsters.html
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Vampire bat venom could hold key to new medical treatments
January 16, 2019
https://scienceblog.com/505332/vampire-bat-venom-could-hold-key-to-new-medical-treatments/
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Drug From Bat Saliva May Help Treat Stroke
Feb. 4, 2005
https://www.webmd.com/stroke/news/20050204/drug-from-bat-saliva-may-help-treat-stroke
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Draculin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draculin
Draculin (named after Count Dracula) is a glycoprotein found in the saliva of vampire bats. It is composed of 708 amino acids, weighing about 76,9 kDa. It functions as an anticoagulant, inhibiting coagulation factors IX (IXa) and X (Xa), thus keeping the blood of the bitten victim from clotting while the bat is drinking. Draculin is a member of the lactotransferrin family of proteins that functions an antibacterial protein in other mammals, but has been co-opted in bat evolution to function as an anticoagulant.
Draculin is a reversible, slow tight binding, noncompetitive inhibitor of FXa. It does not act on thrombin, trypsin or chymotrypsin and does not express fibrinolytic activity. The protein increases the lag phase as well as the height of the peak of thrombin generation when in plasma, leading to prolonged bleeding.
Daily salivation of vampire bats yields a saliva that progressively decreases in anticoagulant activity. However, there is no significant change in overall protein content during this time. After a 4-day period of rest, anticoagulant activity of the saliva is restored. In addition, purified native draculin, obtained from high- and low-activity saliva, shows significant differences in composition of the carbohydrate moiety, and glycosylation pattern. Furthermore, controlled chemical deglycosylation of native draculin progressively leads to complete loss of the biological activity, despite the conditions leaving the polypeptide backbone intact.
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Human hazards hamper vampire bat venom research
15 January 2019
https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2019/01/human-hazards-hamper-vampire-bat-venom-research
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Vampire bat venom could hold key to new medical treatments
January 16, 2019
Summary:
Vampire bats could hold the key to new treatments for a range of serious medical problems, but researchers have hit a snag accessing the specimens needed to advance their work. Now scientists have found a new class of blood pressure-regulating peptides in the venom of the common vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata).
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190116111105.htm
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Reality check: Can arthritis be treated with insect venom?
February 27, 2018
https://globalnews.ca/news/4047815/venom-therapy-arthritis-treatment/
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Turning Toxins into Treatments: Researchers use new tools to identify therapeutic ingredients in animal venom.
28 August 2015
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/65/10/957/246043
Six drugs on the market in the United States are derived from or inspired by venom toxins or venom components. Many other drugs have reached clinical trials, but the vast majority have been dropped before gaining approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), usually because the drugs proved clinically ineffective. (The same problem confounds drug design and development in general. A survey by Michael Hay and colleagues in the 9 January 2014 Nature Biotechnology showed that between 2003 and 2007, only 10 percent of 4000 compounds in phase I trials reached FDA approval, and most failures were due to clinical ineffectiveness.)
Still, the number of approved venom-based drugs is likely to increase, some scientists say. Researchers can now tease out peptides from the venoms of many more animals around the world. As many as 100,000 species (a conservative estimate) of fish, snails, snakes, scorpions, spiders, leeches, bees, lizards, and other animals are venomous, and each venom may contain many compounds to explore.
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Angry Bees Produce Richer, More Protein-Dense Venom, Study Finds
Aug 16, 2021
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/bee-venom-09965.html
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Release of Genetically Modified Viruses
1991
INTRODUCTION
At present, viruses are being developed by genetic modifi-
cation for environmental release for two purposes: as
improved viral insecticides and as vaccines. For this review,
genetically modified viruses are defined as those which have
not simply been altered by genetic engineering, for example
by gene deletion, but those which have had (or will have)
heterologous genes introduced into their genome: trans-
genic viruses. Of the few releases that there have been to
date, most have involved baculoviruses and poxviruses and
only these two groups will be discussed here.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rmv.1980010205/pdf
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FDA approves first GMO flu vaccine containing reprogrammed insect virus
February 08, 2013
(NaturalNews) A new vaccine for influenza has hit the market, and it is the first ever to contain genetically-modified (GM) proteins derived from insect cells. According to reports, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the vaccine, known as Flublok, which contains recombinant DNA technology and an insect virus known as baculovirus that is purported to help facilitate the more rapid production of vaccines.
http://www.naturalnews.com/039013_flu_vaccine_insect_virus_GMOs.html
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Biological arms? US military wants insects to spread genetically modified viruses to ‘save crops’
2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZen8EJXZ28
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Merck developer admits vaccines contain hidden cancer viruses derived from diseased monkeys
September 8, 2013
If you haven’t yet realized the truth about how vaccines contain hidden cancer viruses, prepare yourself to be shocked by the admission you’re about to hear. Decades ago, one of the most prominent vaccine scientists in the history of the vaccine industry — a Merck scientist — made a recording where he openly admitted that vaccines given to Americans were contaminated with leukemia and cancer viruses.
In hearing this admission, his colleagues (who are also recorded here) break into laughter and seem to think it’s hilarious. They then suggest that because these vaccines are first tested in Russia, their side effects will help the U.S. win the Olympics because the Russian athletes will all be “loaded down with tumors.”
For the record, this is the same vaccine that was given to tens of millions of Americans and promoted by the government. To this day, people still carry these hidden cancer viruses which have proven to be a boon to the cancer industry.
Why vaccine scientists lie to the public
The presence of SV40 cancer viruses in vaccines isn’t some conspiracy theory, by the way: these are the words of a top Merck scientist who probably had no idea that his recording would be widely heard across the internet one day. He probably thought this conversation would remain a secret forever. When asked why this didn’t get out to the press, he replied “Obviously you don’t go out, this is a scientific affair within the scientific community.”
In other words, vaccine scientists cover for vaccine scientists. They keep all their dirty secrets within their own circle of silence and don’t reveal the truth about the contamination of their vaccines.
https://www.infowars.com/merck-developer-admits-vaccines-contain-hidden-cancer-viruses-derived-
from-diseased-monkeys/
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Genetically Modified Cattle With Human DNA Might Hold Ebola Cure
On a farm outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a herd of cloned, genetically engineered cattle are busy incubating antibodies against the Ebola virus.
Researchers hope the cattle – which certainly don’t look like anything special – will produce gallons of blood plasma that could be used to treat people with the deadly virus, which has infected more than 21,000 people in West Africa and killed 8,500 of them.
“These animals produce very high levels of human antibody,” said Eddie Sullivan, president and CEO of SAb Biotherapeutics, the company that developed the cattle.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/genetically-modified-cattle-human-dna-might-hold-ebola-cure-n287796
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Are these genetically engineered cows the future of medicine?
From lab-made cows to gene-altered goats
Dec 3, 2016
They look like normal black-and-white Holstein cows, a common sight in Western Iowa. But these cows are special: used not for their milk or meat, but for their blood. They’re plasma donors, and one day, the life they save may be your own.
The cows were genetically engineered by biotech company SAB Biotherapeutics to produce human antibodies, proteins that fight pathogens. These antibodies could one day treat infectious diseases like Ebola, influenza, and Zika — and their potential to address global outbreaks was recognized this summer by the World Health Organization.
SAB’s cattle are just the latest example of lab-made animals engineered to be drug factories. Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a genetically modified chicken that makes a drug in its eggs to treat “lysosomal acid lipase deficiency” — a rare genetic condition that prevents the body from breaking down fatty molecules inside cells. In 2014, the FDA approved a drug collected from the milk of lab-made rabbits to treat hereditary angioedema, a genetic disease that causes body swelling and can be fatal. And in 2009, the FDA approved a genetically altered goat that can make a drug in its milk that prevents fatal blood clots.
https://www.theverge.com/2016/12/3/13819482/genetically-engineered-animals-drugs-sab-cows-pharming-future
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Future Covid-19 treatments could be thanks to cows, llamas, and pangolins
12/23/2021
https://www.inverse.com/science/animal-antibody-experiments-explained
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COVID-19: Llama-based antibody treatment ‘neutralises’ virus
14th July, 2020
https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/covid-19-llama-based-antibody-treatment-neutralises-virus/
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Llama antibody engineered to block coronavirus
May 19, 2020
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/llama-antibody-engineered-block-coronavirus
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Malaria vaccine in A&M goats’ milk could save lives
By Lana Berkowitz
March 3, 2012
Worldwide toll
Malaria, a mosquito-borne disease, killed about 655,000 people in 2011, according to the World Health Organization. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington puts the death toll much higher: 1.2 million.
Bioengineered animals could be life-savers for Third World countries that cannot afford to build multimillion-dollar facilities to produce vaccines, according to Westhusin and associate professor Charles Long.
Goats are indigenous in all the major impoverished areas, Westhusin noted.
“They are easy to keep. They can eat a beer can and turn it into protein and milk,” he said. “They are just great animals in terms of what they offer to impoverished countries.”
The vaccine currently is in a form that must be isolated, purified and injected, researchers said. A&M will send No. 21’s milk to GTC Biotherapeutics for continued testing and trials.
The Massachusetts-based firm originally developed the transgenic malaria vaccine, which proved effective in mice, said William Gavin, GTC vice president of farm operations and chief veterinarian.
The word “transgenic” means “transferring or having genes from another species.” To create the malaria vaccine, DNA coding for the malaria parasite is introduced into the goat genome linked to milk production. The new DNA switches on in the mammary gland only when the animal produces milk, according to GTC.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/A-amp-M-goats-modified-to-carry-malaria-vaccine-3378385.php
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New evidence of genetic ‘arms race’ against malaria
June 13, 2011
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110609122914.htm
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Scientists Identify Promising Transmission Chain-Breaker in the Fight Against Malaria
January 26, 2022
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/scientists-identify-promising-transmission-chain-breaker-in-the-fight-against-malaria
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Platelets kill circulating parasites of all major Plasmodium species in human malaria
September 20, 2018
https://ashpublications.org/blood/article/132/12/1332/39622/Platelets-kill-circulating-parasites-of-all-major
Key Points
- Platelets directly interact with and kill circulating Plasmodium parasites in patients with malaria to help control parasitemia.
- In vitro platelet antiplasmodicidal activity against P knowlesi involves platelet–cell binding and intracellular accumulation of PF4.
Abstract
Platelets are understood to assist host innate immune responses against infection, although direct evidence of this function in any human disease, including malaria, is unknown. Here we characterized platelet–erythrocyte interactions by microscopy and flow cytometry in patients with malaria naturally infected with Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, or Plasmodium knowlesi. Blood samples from 376 participants were collected from malaria-endemic areas of Papua, Indonesia, and Sabah, Malaysia. Platelets were observed binding directly with and killing intraerythrocytic parasites of each of the Plasmodium species studied, particularly mature stages, and was greatest in P vivax patients. Platelets preferentially bound to the infected more than to the uninfected erythrocytes in the bloodstream. Analysis of intraerythrocytic parasites indicated the frequent occurrence of platelet-associated parasite killing, characterized by the intraerythrocytic accumulation of platelet factor-4 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling of parasite nuclei (PF4+TUNEL+ parasites). These PF4+TUNEL+ parasites were not associated with measures of systemic platelet activation. Importantly, patient platelet counts, infected erythrocyte-platelet complexes, and platelet-associated parasite killing correlated inversely with patient parasite loads. These relationships, taken together with the frequency of platelet-associated parasite killing observed among the different patients and Plasmodium species, suggest that platelets may control the growth of between 5% and 60% of circulating parasites. Platelet–erythrocyte complexes made up a major proportion of the total platelet pool in patients with malaria and may therefore contribute considerably to malarial thrombocytopenia. Parasite killing was demonstrated to be platelet factor-4-mediated in P knowlesi culture. Collectively, our results indicate that platelets directly contribute to innate control of Plasmodium infection in human malaria.
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Poison as Medicine
March 24, 2015
The more we learn about how venoms cause their awful damage, the more we realize, medically speaking, how useful they can be.
Bees – and some other species in the order Hymenoptera, such as ants and wasps – are armed with a potent sting that many of us are all too aware of. This is their venom, and it’s a mixture of many compounds. Perhaps the most important is a tiny 26-amino-acid peptide called melittin, which constitutes more than half of the venom of honey bees and is found in a number of other bees and wasps. This little compound is responsible for the burning pain associated with bee stings. It tricks our bodies into thinking that they are quite literally on fire.
When we experience high temperatures, our cells release inflammatory compounds that activate a special kind of channel, TRPV1, in sensory neurons. This ultimately causes the neurons to send a signal to the brain that we’re burning. Melittin subversively makes TRPV1 channels open by activating other enzymes that act just like those inflammatory compounds.
Jellyfish and other creatures also possess TRPV1-activating compounds in their venoms. The endpoint is the same: intense, burning pain.
Despite the wealth of history, the practical application of venoms in modern therapeutics has been minimal. That is, until the past ten years or so, according to Glenn King at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. In 1997, when Ellie was bouncing around from doctor to doctor, King was teasing apart the components of the venom from the Australian funnel-web, a deadly spider. He’s now at the forefront of venom drug discovery.
King’s group was the first to put funnel-web venom through a separation method called high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which can separate out different components in a mixture based on properties like size or charge. “I was just blown away,” he says. “This is an absolute pharmacological goldmine that nobody’s really looked at. Clearly hundreds and hundreds of different peptides.”
Over the course of the 20th century, suggested venom treatments for a range of diseases have appeared in scientific and medical literature. Venoms have been shown to fight cancer, kill bacteria, and even serve as potent painkillers – though many have only gone as far as animal tests. At the time of writing, just six had been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for medical use (one other – Baltrodibin, adapted from the venom of the Lancehead snake – is not FDA approved, but is available outside the US for treatment of bleeding during operations).
The more we learn about the venoms that cause such awful damage, the more we realize, medically speaking, how useful they can be. Like the melittin in bee venom.
Melittin does not only cause pain. In the right doses, it punches holes in cells’ protective membranes, causing the cells to explode. At low doses, melittin associates with the membranes, activating lipid-cutting enzymes that mimic the inflammation caused by heat. But at higher concentrations, and under the right conditions, melittin molecules group together into rings creating large pores in membranes, weakening a cell’s protective barrier and causing the entire cell to swell and pop like a balloon.
Because of this, melittin is a potent antimicrobial, fighting off a variety of bacteria and fungi with ease. And scientists are hoping to capitalize on this action to fight diseases like HIV, cancer, arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
For example, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, have found that melittin can tear open HIV’s protective cell membrane without harming human cells. This envelope-busting method also stops the virus from having a chance to evolve resistance. “We are attacking an inherent physical property of HIV,” Joshua L Hood, the lead author of the study, said in a press statement. “Theoretically, there isn’t any way for the virus to adapt to that. The virus has to have a protective coat.” Initially envisioned as a prophylactic vaginal gel, the hope is that melittin-loaded nanoparticles could someday be injected into the bloodstream, clearing the infection…
Of the seven venom-derived pharmaceuticals on the international market, the most successful, captopril, was derived from a peptide found in the venom of the Brazilian viper (Bothrops jararaca). This venom has been known for centuries for its potent blood-thinning ability – one tribe are said to have coated their arrow tips in it to inflict maximum damage – and the drug has made its parent company more than a billion dollars and become a common treatment for hypertension….
Bryan Fry, a colleague of Glenn King’s at the University of Queensland and one of the world’s most prolific venom researchers, says the captopril family and its derivatives still command a market worth billions of dollars a year. Not bad for something developed in 1970s. “It’s not only been one of the top twenty drugs of all time,” he says, “it’s been one of the most persistent outside of maybe aspirin.”
And it’s not just captopril. Fry points to exenatide, a molecule found in the venom of a lizard, the gila monster, and the newest venom-derived pharmaceutical on the US market. Known by the brand name Byetta, this has the potential to treat type 2 diabetes, stimulating the body to release insulin and slow the overproduction of sugar, helping reverse the hormonal changes caused by the disease….
http://discovermagazine.com/2015/april/00-poison-medicine
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Traditional knowledge of invertebrates used for medicine and magical–religious purposes by traditional healers and indigenous populations in the Plateau Department, Republic of Benin
16 December 2019
https://ethnobiomed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13002-019-0344-x
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Medicinal Uses of Bee Venom
Components of Bee Venom
Scientists do not definitively understand how bee venom, which is a complex mixture of numerous compounds, acts on the human body. However, a number of components of bee venom that have been identified and studied include:
Mellitin
Adolapin
Apamine
Rather than these individual components having an effect, it may be more likely that the body has an immune reaction to bee venom that proves beneficial in certain circumstances.
A Sting or a Shot: Administering Bee Venom
Before the invention of the syringe, bee venom was always administered directly from bees via the bee’s stinger. Today, in some cases, it is still administered in the same way. The live bee is held (with tweezers or some other small instrument) by the person administering the bee venom, who then places the bee on the part of the patient’s body to be treated, at which point the bee reflexively stings. Depending on the condition, the treatment schedule can vary. The venom can also be given via a syringe, rather than directly from the bee.
Allergic Reactions and Drug Interactions
The greatest risk of bee venom therapy is the risk of a severe allergic reaction, including anaphylactic shock , which can cause a person to stop breathing. If not treated immediately, anaphylactic shock can result in death. Though only a small percentage of the population is allergic to bee venom, it is very important that the person is tested for a bee sting allergy before the treatment. The health care professional who gives the bee therapy should also have a bee sting kit on site in case of an emergency.
Considering Bee Venom Therapy
If you are considering bee venom therapy, you must recognize that such therapy is a natural treatment for which, to date, there is no rigorous scientific evidence proving its medicinal effectiveness. Before trying this therapy, talk to your doctor, and remember that this therapy should be used in addition to, not instead of, other treatments prescribed by your doctor. And never have bee venom injections without knowing if you have a bee sting allergy.
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Can Honey Work Better Than Antibiotics?
Oct 12, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrdkIxxLa1M
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Bee Venom Kills HIV
Mar 17, 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNPQecZ8SBI
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Bee sting vaccine opens door to new allergy remedies
January, 2017
A BEE vaccine developed in Australia is opening doors to new remedies for a range of other insect, plant and pollen allergies.
Researchers from Adelaide in South Australia have developed a highly effective vaccine for European honeybee stings using a unique adjuvant.
The trials, which were completed last year, were successful but involved only laboratory tests. In response to these results, researchers are now conducting clinical trials on humans using ant venom therapy followed by sting challenges to further test the effectiveness of the adjuvant in insect sting vaccines.
Insect sting allergies affect more than five per cent of the United States population according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and about 50 million people are affected by nasal allergies.
The delta-inulin could potentially also be used as a nasal vaccine against allergies such as pollen or dust but the research has not yet extended into peanut or other food allergies.
http://www.theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/industries/health/bee-sting-vaccine-opens-door-to-new-allergy-remedies/
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How Wasps Use Viruses to Genetically Engineer Caterpillars
And caterpillars might be using the same viral genes to defend themselves against other viruses.
Sep 17, 2015
- The wasps in question are called braconids. There are more than 17,000 known species, and they’re all parasites. The females lay their eggs in the bodies of still-living caterpillars, which their grubs then devour alive.
As early as 1967, scientists realised that the wasps were also injecting the caterpillars with some kind of small particle, alongside their eggs. It took almost a decade to realise that those particles were viruses, which have since become known as bracoviruses. Each species of braconid wasp has its own specific bracovirus, but they all do the same thing: They suppress the caterpillar’s immune system and tweak its metabolism to favour the growing wasp. Without these viral allies, the wasp grubs would be killed by their host bodies.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/09/parasitic-wasps-genetically-engineer-caterpillars-domesticated-viruses/405874/
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Better Know a Microbe: Archaea
JUN 30, 2017
https://www.labroots.com/trending/microbiology/6328/microbe-archaea
Just call them archaea (ar-kee-uh) – archaebacteria are no more.
Archaea were once considered to be quite similar to bacteria, but these prokaryotes are just weird enough to be classified in their own domain of life – right up there with Eukarya and Bacteria. Woese and Fox made their discovery by scrutinizing over ribosomal RNA fragments, describing how they differed from bacteria and eukaryotes.
The archaea were described in 1977 by Carl Woese and George E. Fox. They insisted that these organisms consituted a third domain of life, in addition to bacteria and eukaryotes, creating a three-domain system.
Most archaea look just like bacteria, but some come in very unique shapes. Haloquadratum walsbyi, as the name suggests, is square-shaped! Their cell walls are also pretty different. Archaeal cells are surrounded by an outer cell wall and a cell membrane that enclose the cytoplasm, somewhat like a Gram-positive bacterium.
The archaeal cell wall and membrane are unique in at least 4 ways. 1) The chirality of glycerol that makes up the phospholipids differs – it is a mirror image to that which makes up bacterial and eukaryotic membranes. 2) The phospholipids contain ether instead of esther linkages. This changes the chemical properties of the membrane. 3) The phospholipids aren’t made of fatty acids, they’re made of isoprenoid chains. Finally, 4) the isoprenoid chains can be linked together, giving the membrane unique qualities – these linkages may provide extra stability, allowing the archaea to live in extreme environments.
When I think of archaea, I think of just that – organisms that live in extreme environments, so-called extremophiles. Many archaea live in hot springs, near thermal vents, or in salty lakes. They can live at temperatures above 100oC and at salinities greater than 25% – that’s hot and salty! Archaea in the genus Methanopyrus can actually reproduce at 122oC! These little guys can also live in very acidic conditions – Picrophilus torridus grows at pH 0. That’s like, as acidic as it gets.
Genetically, archaea are also distinct from eukaryotes and bacteria. Up to 15% of archaeal proteins are unique to archaea – many of these proteins are involved in methanogenesis. On the other hand, gene transcription in archaea is more similar to eukaryotic transcription than bacterial. The archaeal RNA polymerase is quite similar – in structure and function – to eukaryotic RNA polymerase II. That being said, archaeal transcription factors are more similar to bacterial than eukaryotic ones. When it comes to reproduction, archaea reproduce asexually by binary fission, multiple fission, fragmentation, or budding. While the modes of division are similar to bacteria, the archaeal DNA polymerase is more eukaryotic.
For the most part – archaea just want to get along. There are no examples of archaea acting as pathogens or parasites. In one case of mutualism, protozoa and methanogenic archaea interact in the digestive tracts of animals that eat cellulose. The protozoa break down the cellulose to produce hydrogen. Excess hydrogen reduces how much energy the protozoa can produce, so the archaea convert the hydrogen to methane. One methanogen, Methanobrevibacter smithii even lives as a commensal in the human gut!
Finally, we wouldn’t be good humans if we didn’t use archaea to our own advantage, am I right? Because some archaea live in really hot environments, their enzymes have to be able to function in these environments too. Molecular biologists have isolated thermostable DNA polymerases to use for polymerase chain reactions and other applications. Other enzymes – amylases and galactosidases – are used to process food at high temperatures. Last, but not least, archaea are a potential source of new antibiotics. So-called archaeocins are structurally different from typical antibiotics. This means that they may have a unique mode of action that could thwart antibiotic-resistant microbes.
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Viruses of Archaea
Jan 3, 2021
https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Microbiology/Book%3A_Microbiology_(Boundless)/9%3A_Viruses/9.7%3A_Viral_Diversity/9.7H%3A_Viruses_of_Archaea
A virus infecting archaea was first described in 1974. Several others have been described since then. Most have head-tail morphologies and linear double-stranded DNA genomes. Other morphologies have also been described including spindle shaped, rod shaped, filamentous, icosahedral, and spherical. Additional morphological types may exist.
Archaea can be infected by double-stranded DNA viruses that are unrelated to any other form of virus and have a variety of unusual shapes. These viruses have been studied in the most detail in thermophilics, particularly the orders Sulfolobales and Thermoproteales. Two groups of single-stranded DNA viruses that infect archaea have been recently isolated. One group is exemplified by the Halorubrum pleomorphic virus 1 (“Pleolipoviridae”) infecting halophilic archaea and the other one by the Aeropyrum coil-shaped virus.
Figure: Archaeal viral infection: Cell of Sulfolobus infected by virus STSV1 observed under microscopy. Two spindle-shaped viruses were being released from the host cell. The strain of Sulfolobus and STSV1 (Sulfolobus tengchongensis Spindle-shaped Virus 1) were isolated by Xiaoyu Xiang and his colleagues in an acidic hot spring in Yunnan Province, China. At present, STSV1 is the largest archaeal virus to have been isolated and studied. Its genome sequence has been sequenced.
Double-stranded DNA viruses infecting archaea:
Bacteriophages (viruses infecting bacteria) belonging to the families Tectiviridae and Corticoviridae have a lipid bilayer membrane inside the icosahedral protein capsid and the membrane surrounds the genome. The crenarchaeal virus Sulfolobus turreted icosahedral virus has a similar structure.
Species of the order Ligamenvirales and the families Ampullaviridae, Bicaudaviridae, Clavaviridae, Fuselloviridae, Globuloviridae, and Guttaviridae infect hyperthermophilic archaea species of the Crenarchaeota.
Species of the genus Salterprovirus infect halophilic archaea species of the Euryarchaeota.
Single-stranded DNA viruses infecting archaea:
Although around 50 archaeal viruses are known, all but two have double stranded genomes. The first archaeal ssDNA virus to be isolated is the Halorubrum pleomorphic virus 1, which has a pleomorphic enveloped virion and a circular genome. Defenses against these viruses may involve RNA interference from repetitive DNA sequences that are related to the genes of the viruses.
The second single stranded DNA virus infecting Archaea is Aeropyrum coil-shaped virus (ACV). The genome is circular and with 24,893 nucleotides is currently the largest known ssDNA genome. The viron is nonenveloped, hollow, cylindrical, and formed from a coiling fiber. The morphology and the genome appear to be unique. ACV has been suggested to represent a new viral family tentatively called “Spiraviridae” (from Latin spira, “a coil”). The Aeropyrum coil-shaped virus infects a hyperthermophilic (optimal growth at 90-95°C) host. Notably, the latter virus has the largest currently reported ssDNA genome.
Key Points
Archaea can be infected by double-stranded DNA viruses that are unrelated to any other form of virus and have a variety of unusual shapes. These viruses have been studied in most detail in thermophilics, particularly the orders Sulfolobales and Thermoproteales.
Although around 50 archaeal viruses are known, all but two have double stranded genomes; two groups of single-stranded DNA viruses that infect archaea have been recently isolated.
Defenses against these ssDNA viruses may involve RNA interference from repetitive DNA sequences that are related to the genes of the viruses.
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Revealing the Secrets of Motility in Archaea
February 14, 2013
https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2013/02/14/archaellum-structure/
Scientists from Berkeley Lab and the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology analyze a unique microbial motor
The protein structure of the motor that propels archaea has been characterized for the first time by a team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Germany’s Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Terrestrial Microbiology.
The motility structure of this third domain of life has long been called a flagellum, a whip-like filament that, like the well-studied bacterial flagellum, rotates like a propeller. But although the archaeal structure has a similar function, it is so profoundly different in structure, genetics, and evolution that the researchers argue it deserves its own name: archaellum.
This unique motor is highly conserved in all motile archaeal species. Its structure most resembles that of the bacterial Type IV pilus, the filamentary “grappling hook” by which bacteria attach to surfaces and pull themselves along – and which is responsible for pathogenicity in many bacteria, including deadly strains of E. coli.
Since archaea may also be important players in the microbiota of the human gut, knowing the archaellum’s structure will help scientists understand how archaea interact with human cells. The Berkeley Lab-MPI research team reports its findings in the journal Molecular Cell.
Finding the key protein
Sulfolobus acidocaldarius was the model organism used in the analysis, says the research team’s co-leader Sonja-Verena Albers, who heads the MPI’s Molecular Biology of Archaea research group, “because this is one of the few well established model systems in which genetics works well. We have the genetic tools to mutate and precisely modify the Sulfolobus genome. We can combine in vivo experiments with the atomic structure of our proteins to see the effect of modifications.”
A protein called FlaI (pronounced “flah-eye”) was a leading candidate for archaella assembly and rotation, but the team had to find proof. FlaI is an ATPase – an enzyme that releases energy from adenosine triphosphate, or ATP – and was known to be involved in the assembly and function of Type IV pili in bacteria and the secretion of proteins in many microorganisms. But FlaI’s role in archaella was uncertain…
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Nanobiomotors of archaeal DNA repair machineries: current research status and application potential
2014
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4080772/
Abstract
Nanobiomotors perform various important functions in the cell, and they also emerge as potential vehicle for drug delivery. These proteins employ conserved ATPase domains to convert chemical energy to mechanical work and motion. Several archaeal nucleic acid nanobiomotors, such as DNA helicases that unwind double-stranded DNA molecules during DNA damage repair, have been characterized in details. XPB, XPD and Hjm are SF2 family helicases, each of which employs two ATPase domains for ATP binding and hydrolysis to drive DNA unwinding. They also carry additional specific domains for substrate binding and regulation. Another helicase, HerA, forms a hexameric ring that may act as a DNA-pumping enzyme at the end processing of double-stranded DNA breaks. Common for all these nanobiomotors is that they contain ATPase domain that adopts RecA fold structure. This structure is characteristic for RecA/RadA family proteins and has been studied in great details. Here we review the structural analyses of these archaeal nucleic acid biomotors and the molecular mechanisms of how ATP binding and hydrolysis promote the conformation change that drives mechanical motion. The application potential of archaeal nanobiomotors in drug delivery has been discussed.
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Deep-Sea Viruses Destroy Archaea
2016
Viruses are responsible for the majority of archaea deaths on the deep ocean floors, scientists show.
https://www.the-scientist.com/daily-news/deep-sea-viruses-destroy-archaea-32707
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35 Best Archaea images | Microbiology, Alchemy, Cell biology
https://www.pinterest.com/sidenmark/archaea/
Containing Genetically Modified Bacteria
February 9, 2015
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/containing-genetically-modified-bacteria
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How Microbes Clean Up Our Environmental Messes
Aug 29, 2011
The contamination cleanup strategy called bioremediation—using naturally occurring or genetically modified microbes to clean up our messes—is gaining steam, as scientists devise new ways to use bugs against mercury, oil spills, radioactive waste and more.
Genetic Tinkering
For one study published recently in the journal BMC Biotechnology, researchers at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico modified E. coli bacteria (a common lab bacteria) with genes that allowed the microorganisms to not only survive in mercury but to remove it from waste sites. The genes in question produce proteins called metallothionein and polyphosphate kinase that allow the bacterial cells to develop a resistance to mercury and to accumulate large amounts of the heavy metal within the organism, thereby isolating it.
“Mercury is really toxic, and there are no natural organisms that can bioremediate mercury,” says Oscar Ruiz, one of the study’s lead authors. However, there are a few organisms that make it more dangerous. They transform the ionic or elemental mercury, which is discharged from industrial sites such as coal-burning power plants, into the more toxic version, methylmercury. Methylmercury can accumulate in plants and animals, and is most toxic to those at the top of the food chain.
Ruiz’s goal for his transgenic bacteria is for them to sequester mercury contamination before the natural bacteria have a chance to turn it into toxic methylmercury. The modified bacteria wouldn’t be set loose in the wild, as there are strict government regulations about releasing genetically modified organisms into the environment. Instead, these bacteria would do their work in filters that can be brought to contaminated sites and used to filter the mercury out of water. It’s possible they might even be able to recover the mercury for use in other industries.
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Microbes mine treasure from waste
2016
Hard-working microbes are turning wastes into things people need
(Arul Jayaraman’s team grew two species of bacteria together to form this mixed biofilm. One of the species is green and the other red. They are pictured here under a microscope).
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Archaea Are Eaten Too
2012
https://www.astrobio.net/extreme-life/archaea-are-eaten-too/
A team of scientists has documented for the first time that animals can and do consume Archaea – a type of single-celled microorganism thought to be among the most abundant life forms on Earth.
Archaea that consume the greenhouse gas methane were in turn eaten by worms living at deep-sea cold seeps off Costa Rica and the West Coast of the United States. Archaea perform many key ecosystem services including being involved with nitrogen cycling, and they are known to be the main mechanism by which marine methane is kept out of the atmosphere.
The finding of this new study adds a wrinkle to scientific understand of greenhouse gas cycles. Results of the study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, have been published online in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal, a subsidiary of the journal Nature.
“This opens up a new avenue of research,” said Andrew Thurber, a post-doctoral researcher at Oregon State University and lead author on the study. “Archaea weren’t even discovered until 1977, and were thought to be rare and unimportant, but we are beginning to realize that they not only are abundant, but they have roles that have not fully been appreciated.”
Archaea are considered one of the three “domains of life” on Earth, along with bacteria and eukaryota (plants and animals). Despite their abundance, no member of the Archaea domain has been known to be part of a food web.
One of the basic questions scientists have asked is whether this life form could act as a food source for animals. To answer this, the researchers performed a laboratory study during which they fed two types of Archaea to the worms, as well as meals of bacteria, spinach or rice, and the worms thrived on all of the food sources, growing at the same rate.
“That showed us that Archaea can be a viable food source for at least some animals,” Thurber pointed out.
Thurber and his colleagues initially were looking at biological life forms at a cold seep in the deep ocean off Costa Rica, when they opened up a rock and found worms living within the crevices. They found that the worms had been feeding on Archaea, which had, in turn, been consuming methane. They were able to trace the isotopic signature of the methane from the Archaea to the worms.
From what they learned from the Costa Rican study, the scientists also discovered that worms of the same family as those found in the rocks consume methane-munching Archaea at cold seeps off northern California and at Hydrate Ridge off the central Oregon coast, west of Newport. The researchers think the family of worms, the Dorvilleids, uses its teeth to scrape the Archaea off rocks.
The consumption of Archaea by grazers, a process coined “archivory” by Thurber in the article, is particularly interesting because the only way it could be documented was by tracing the isotopic biomarkers from the methane. When the researchers attempted to trace consumption of Archaea through lipid types and other mechanisms, they failed because the chemicals and proteins broke down within the worms.
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Oil-eating Microbes Give Clue To Ancient Energy Source
2008
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080909204546.htm
Microbes that break down oil and petroleum are more diverse than we thought, suggesting hydrocarbons were used as an energy source early in Earth’s history, scientists heard at the Society for General Microbiology’s Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin. These microbes can change the composition of oil and natural gas and can even control the release of some greenhouse gases. Understanding the role of microbes in consuming hydrocarbons may therefore help us access their role in the natural control of climate change.
“Hydrocarbons like oil and natural gas are made up of carbon and hydrogen, they are among the most abundant substances on Earth,” said Dr Friedrich Widdel from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany. “Even though we use them as fuel sources, they are actually very unreactive at room temperature. This makes them difficult to use as a biological energy source, particularly if there is no oxygen around.”
For over 100 years scientists have known that microbes such as bacteria can use hydrocarbons like oil and gas as nutrients. But this process usually requires supplies of oxygen to work at room temperature. “Scientists were always fascinated by the microbes that do this because hydrocarbons are so unreactive,” said Dr Widdel. “But it is even more surprising to find an increasing number of microbes that can digest hydrocarbons without needing oxygen.”
“The striking diversity of micro-organisms that can break down hydrocarbons may reflect the early appearance of these compounds as nutrients for microbes in Earth’s history; Bacteria and archaea living with hydrocarbons therefore may have appeared early in the evolution of life,” said Dr. Widdel.
These bacteria and archaea thrive in the hidden underworld of mud and sediments. You can find them in sunken patches of oil under the sea, in oil and gas seeping out underground, and maybe even in oil reservoirs. Their product, hydrogen sulphide, may nourish an unusual world of simple animal life around such seeps via special symbiotic bacteria.
Scientists have identified particular symbioses between archaea and bacteria that are capable of consuming the greenhouse gas methane before it can escape from the ocean’s sediments. Others that have been discovered contribute to the bioremediation or cleaning up of petroleum contaminated water supplies in underground aquifers.
“This astounding oxygen-independent digestion of hydrocarbons is only possible via unique, formerly unknown enzymes,” said Dr Widdel. “By getting a better understanding of the way these enzymes and microbes are functioning we will also have a better understanding of natural greenhouse gas control and the way hydrocarbons are naturally recycled into carbon dioxide.”
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There are microbes that eat and poo nothing but electricity
All living cells are ultimately powered by electrons. Most species get electrons from food, but some bacteria can survive on nothing but pure electricity
(Archaea were long mistaken for bacteria (Credit: Steve Gchmeissner/Science Photo Library)
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160613-there-are-microbes-that-eat-and-poo-nothing-but-electricity
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Newfound groups of bacteria are mixing up the tree of life
Jun 15, 2015
http://news.berkeley.edu/2015/06/15/newfound-groups-of-bacteria-are-mixing-up-the-tree-of-life/
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Making Drugs Out of Dirt Is Really Hard
January 26, 2015
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/making-drugs-from-dirt-is-really-hard
If you’re looking for new medicines, a good place to search is in the dirt. Many of the molecules that have made human life simpler—like those used in antibiotics—have been found by simply analyzing the ground, where microorganisms work relentlessly to synthesize precious, possibly curative stuff.
The good news is that there are very likely still some useful products buried in the world’s dirt. The less good news is that coming across them is very hard.
A team of biologists of Rockefeller University in New York recently launched the website Drugs from Dirt. The site is a clarion call for people around the world to grab a shovel and send samples of soil to the folks at the university, who will scour them for interesting elements. The same team also published a paper this month in which they underline how recent analyses “suggest the existence of an enormous untapped reservoir of natural-product-encoding biosynthetic gene clusters in the environment.”
I got in touch with Sean Brady, one of the authors of the paper and head of the university’s Laboratory of Genetically Encoded Small Molecules, to ask him what the deal was with dirt and drugs.
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Scientists Can Now Pull the DNA of Ancient Humans Out of Cave Dirt
Apr 27, 2017
The technique will allow researchers to study Neanderthals and other prehistoric people without relying on fossils.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/04/ancient-dna-sediment-neanderthal-denisovan/524433/
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Uncovering Ancient Residual DNA
A look at how ancient events crafted modern human DNA and their potential impact on human health.
https://offers.the-scientist.com/uncovering-ancient-residual-dna-multisponsored-ebook
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Fossils as Medicine: 44-Million-Year-Old Resin May Fight Drug Resistance
April 06, 2021
https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/574919-Fossils-as-Medicine-44-Million-Year-Old-Resin-May-Fight-Drug-Resistance/
With antibiotic-resistance spreading at a dire rate, novel treatments are desperately needed to manage the 3 million yearly infections in the U.S. alone. And while novel is usually synonymous with “new,” scientists at the University of Minnesota are searching in the opposite direction—they’re looking for solutions in fossils of the long-dead.
“Fossils can be an unexpected source of new chemical matter. The compounds you obtain undergo biotransformations over millions of years. That gradual series of reactions can lead to novel structures that we haven’t seen before. These compounds are from species that are now extinct, so their biochemical pathways often vary from ones we see today,” said Elizabeth Ambrose, a professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at University of Minnesota.
Ambrose and graduate student Connor McDermott decided to focus on the medicinal purposes of Baltic amber, as the fossil resin has long been renowned in folk medicine for its anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties.
In their most recent project, the scientists analyzed commercially available Baltic amber samples, as well as some Ambrose herself collected while visiting family in Lithuania. The Baltic Sea region contains the world’s largest deposit of amber, fossilized about 44 million years ago. The resin oozed from now-extinct pines in the Sciadopityaceae family and acted as a defense against microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, as well as herbivorous insects.
For the experimental portion of the study, McDermott said he used a tabletop jar rolling mill to turn the amber pebbles into a homogenous fine powder that could be extracted. Semi-fine powder in hand, McDermott used various solvents and techniques to filter, concentrate and analyze the amber powder extracts by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
While dozens of bioactive compounds were identified in the spectra, three stood out—abietic acid, dehydroabietic acid and palustric acid. The researchers then bought pure samples of the compounds and tested their activity against nine bacterial species, some of which are known to be antibiotic-resistant. They found the compounds to be active against gram-positive bacteria—including MRSA—but not gram-negative bacteria.
“This implies that the composition of the bacterial membrane is important for the activity of the compounds,” explained McDermott.
Interestingly, McDermott was able to get his hands on a Japanese umbrella pine tree, the closest living species to the ancient version that produced the Baltic amber resin. Extracting resin from the needles and stem, McDermott identified sclarene, a molecule that could theoretically undergo the chemical transformations necessary to produce abietic acid.
“There are hundreds to thousands of abietic acid analogues in the extracts [McDermott] found,” said Ambrose during her presentation at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). “They are structurally very similar and difficult to break out; but, it’s a treasure trove of abietic acid analogues and aviates that we haven’t seen anywhere else. It’s unique.”
The chemistry professor pointed to pain, inflammation and infectious disease as three key modalities urgently in need of drug scaffolds. She believes abietic acids and their deriv7656atives could potentially fill this role.
“Baltic amber is really only the beginning, and the compounds we’re looking at in Baltic amber are really only the beginning,” said ambrose. “There’s a lot more work to be done but we really need to start looking at paleopharmaceuticals and these unexpected sources because we’re in dire need of new scaffolds for key disease modalities.”
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Unearthing Unexpected Fossil Usage in Ancient Medicine (Part 2): Dragon Pills to Gods’ Horns
6 July, 2017
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-americas/unearthing-unexpected-fossil-usage-ancient-medicine-part-2-dragon-pills-gods-021481
Additionally, ancient folk once mused that fossils themselves contained miraculous healing properties; having used them as key ingredients in medicinal preparations historically. Today, prominent cultures with roots dating back thousands of years are still handling fossils for therapeutic purposes (even selling them at modern apothecaries). Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a prime living example.
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Engineers invent process to accelerate protein evolution
December 7, 2015
All living things require proteins, members of a vast family of molecules that nature “makes to order” according to the blueprints in DNA.
Through the natural process of evolution, DNA mutations generate new or more effective proteins. Humans have found so many alternative uses for these molecules – as foods, industrial enzymes, anti-cancer drugs – that scientists are eager to better understand how to engineer protein variants designed for specific uses.
Now Stanford engineers have invented a technique to dramatically accelerate protein evolution for this purpose. This technology, described in Nature Chemical Biology, allows researchers to test millions of variants of a given protein, choose the best for some task and determine the DNA sequence that creates this variant.
“Evolution, the survival of the fittest, takes place over a span of thousands of years, but we can now direct proteins to evolve in hours or days,” said Jennifer Cochran, a professor of bioengineering who co-authored the paper with Thomas Baer, director of the Stanford Photonics Research Center.
http://phys.org/news/2015-12-protein-evolution.html
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Recombinant subunit vaccines for soil-transmitted helminths.
2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28770689
Abstract
Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) collectively infect one fourth of all human beings, and the majority of livestock in the developing world. These gastrointestinal nematodes are the most important parasites on earth with regard to their prevalence in humans and livestock. Current anthelmintic drugs are losing their efficacies due to increasing drug resistance, particularly in STHs of livestock and drug treatment is often followed by rapid reinfection due to failure of the immune system to develop a protective response. Vaccines against STHs offer what drugs cannot accomplish alone. Because such vaccines would have to be produced on such a large scale, and be cost effective, recombinant subunit vaccines that include a minimum number of proteins produced in relatively simple and inexpensive expression systems are required. Here, we summarize all of the previous studies pertaining to recombinant subunit vaccines for STHs of humans and livestock with the goal of both informing the public of just how critical these parasites are, and to help guide future developments. We also discuss several key areas of vaccine development, which we believe to be critical for developing more potent recombinant subunit vaccines with broad-spectrum protection.
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Regulation of Genetically Engineered Microorganisms Under FIFRA, FFDCA and TSCA
2012
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/ch4-wozniak-etal-fifra-ffdca-tsca-112012_0.pdf
Abstract
Since the dawn of civilization, humans have utilized microbial organisms of various sorts for food and agricultural production. More recently, microbes have been used for pesticidal, and environmental management purposes. With the advent of the development of recombinant DNA technology to genetically alter microbes, it became necessary for Federal regulators to assess the appropriate level, format, and application of their regulatory authorities. In 1986, the Office of Science and Technology Policy issued the Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology. The Coordinated Framework constituted a comprehensive regulatory policy for biotech-nology that, in essence, concluded that no new statutory authorities were necessary to effectuate a robust and ef fi cient regulatory program for the products of biotechnology. The Framework articulated a division of regulatory responsibilities for the various agencies then involved with agricultural, food, and pesticidal products. Thus, in accordance with the Framework, USDA APHIS regulates microbes that are plant pests under the Plant Protection Act (PPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) regulates microorganisms and other genetically engineered constructs intended for pesticidal purposes and subject to the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). The U.S. EPA also regulates certain genetically engineered microorganisms used as biofertilizers,
bioremediation agents, and for the production of various industrial compounds including biofuels under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The focus of this chapter is the regulatory process for approval of the use of genetically engi-neered microbes under the oversight of the U.S. EPA. We will also consider instances where organisms may be exempted from oversight and the outlook for the applica-tion of GE microbes in the future. This chapter does not seek to serve as a guide-book for navigating the details of the regulatory process, but rather as an overview of key considerations in risk assessment and risk management.
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Coronavirus treatment: Vaccines/drugs in the pipeline for COVID-19
30 March 2020
https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/analysis/coronavirus-mers-cov-drugs/
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SARS-CoV, Mers-CoV and COVID-19: what differences from a dermatological viewpoint?
2020
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32526085/
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Fact check: MERS and COVID-19 are related coronaviruses but not the same
June 28, 2021
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/06/28/fact-check-mers-and-covid-19-related-but-not-same/7782398002/
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How do SARS and MERS compare with COVID-19?
April 2020
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-do-sars-and-mers-compare-with-covid-19
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Staph infection turf study yields insight in coronavirus survivability on fields
May 12, 2021
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-staph-infection-turf-yields-insight.html
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Detecting MRSA Infections in COVID-19 Patients
October 12, 2020
https://einsteinmed.org/research-briefs/2436/detecting-mrsa-infections-in-covid-19-patients/
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How coronavirus compares to MRSA
March 26, 2020
The truth is that neither the coronavirus nor MRSA are the last of the sports outbreaks
https://theundefeated.com/features/coronavirus-mrsa-contagious-diseases-in-sports/
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Revolutionary New UVC Technology Destroys MRSA and COVID-19 in Just 6 Seconds
Aug. 17, 2021
S. FALLSBURG, N.Y., Aug. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — SafeTOUCH® UVC says their breakthrough technology is going viral. AND bacterial.
Their exclusive UVC door and light switch hardware safely and automatically sterilize pathogens in just 6 seconds.
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/revolutionary-new-uvc-technology-destroys-mrsa-and-covid-19-in-just-6-seconds-1030738224?op=1
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How dangerous is it to get both MRSA and COVID-19?
June 29th 2020
https://wlos.com/news/news-13-investigates/how-dangerous-is-it-to-get-both-mrsa-and-covid-19
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Newly discovered trick used by MRSA superbug may aid vaccine development
June 24, 2021
https://phys.org/news/2021-06-newly-mrsa-superbug-aid-vaccine.html
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1,000-year-old onion and garlic eye remedy kills MRSA
30 March 2015
A 1,000-year-old treatment for eye infections could hold the key to killing antibiotic-resistant superbugs, experts have said.
Scientists recreated a 9th Century Anglo-Saxon remedy using onion, garlic and part of a cow’s stomach.
They were “astonished” to find it almost completely wiped out methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA.
Their findings will be presented at a national microbiology conference.
The remedy was found in Bald’s Leechbook – an old English manuscript containing instructions on various treatments held in the British Library.
Anglo-Saxon expert Dr Christina Lee, from the University of Nottingham, translated the recipe for an “eye salve”, which includes garlic, onion or leeks, wine and cow bile.
Experts from the university’s microbiology team recreated the remedy and then tested it on large cultures of MRSA.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-32117815
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Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in respiratory cultures and diagnostic performance of the MRSA nasal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia
August 26, 2020
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/infection-control-and-hospital-epidemiology/article/prevalence-of-methicillinresistant-staphylococcus-aureus-mrsa-in-respiratory-cultures-and-diagnostic-performance-of-the-mrsa-nasal-polymerase-chain-reaction-pcr-in-patients-hospitalized-with-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid19-pneumonia/6B583E9951EB3ECA816C3E6C6E041E01
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COVID-19-associated opportunistic infections: a snapshot on the current reports
2021
Abstract
Treatment of the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a complicated challenge, especially among patients with severe disease. In recent studies, immunosuppressive therapy has shown promising results for control of the cytokine storm syndrome (CSS) in severe cases of COVID-19. However, it is well documented that immunosuppressive agents (e.g., corticosteroids and cytokine blockers) increase the risk of opportunistic infections. On the other hand, several opportunistic infections were reported in COVID-19 patients, including Aspergillus spp., Candida spp., Cryptococcus neoformans, Pneumocystis jiroveci (carinii), mucormycosis, Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Strongyloides stercoralis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Toxoplasma gondii. This review is a snapshot about the main opportunistic infections that reported among COVID-19 patients. As such, we summarized information about the main immunosuppressive agents that were used in recent clinical trials for COVID-19 patients and the risk of opportunistic infections following these treatments. We also discussed about the main challenges regarding diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19-associated opportunistic infections (CAOIs).
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Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in COVID-19: an overlooked clinical entity—Response to “Pneumocystis pneumonia risk among viral acute respiratory distress syndrome related or not to COVID 19”
06 December 2021
https://ccforum.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13054-021-03836-7
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Cryptococcemia in a patient with COVID‐19: A case report
Dec 2020
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7869327/
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Cryptococcosis in HIV infection of man: an epidemiological and immunological indicator?
1996
Cryptococcosis is an epidemiological and immunological indicator due to the absence of Cryptococcus neoformans as a saprophyte in immunocompetent humans and the advantage of specific C. neoformans culture. On this basis, a report is presented on the CD4 lymphocyte count of 36 AIDS patients suffering from cryptococcosis and other concomitant or missing opportunistic AIDS-defining infections. In 26 out of 36 patients, i.e. 72%, a CD4 lymphocyte count of < or = 50/microL (mean value 39.5%) was found. Cryptococcosis as the sole opportunistic infection was diagnosed in 5 cases (13.9%). In 31 cases, various combinations of AIDS-associated diseases were found: Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) (n = 19), cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) (n = 10), Kaposi’s sarcoma (n = 6), Mycobacterium avium intracellulare infection (MAI) (n = 5), pneumonia (n = 2), toxoplasmosis (n = 2), Candida esophagitis (n = 1), tuberculosis (n = 1), lambliasis (n = 1), salmonellosis (n = 1) and wasting syndrome (n = 5). The conspicuous simultaneous occurrence or succession of pneumocystosis and cryptococcosis and the contrasting absence of aspergillosis and mucormycosis (zygomycosis) are commented. Based on the present observations in HIV-infected persons in Berlin, a CD4 lymphocyte count of < 150/microL may be used as a parameter indicating a predisposition for cryptococcosis as an airborne AIDS-defining infection. Attention is drawn to bird droppings as the sole habitat of C. neoformans and accidental niche of various other microorganisms.
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Cryptococcal Meningoencephalitis in an HIV-Negative Host Infected with COVID-19
2021
https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2021.203.1_MeetingAbstracts.A2432
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High mortality co-infections of COVID-19 patients: mucormycosis and other fungal infections
2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34036149/
Abstract
Severe COVID-19 disease is associated with an increase in pro-inflammatory markers, such as IL-1, IL-6, and tumor necrosis alpha, less CD4 interferon-gamma expression, and fewer CD4 and CD8 cells, which increase the susceptibility to bacterial and fungal infections. One such opportunistic fungal infection is mucormycosis. Initially, it was debated whether a person taking immunosuppressants, such as corticosteroids, and monoclonal antibodies will be at higher risk for COVID-19 or whether the immunosuppresive state would cause a more severe COVID-19 disease. However, immunosuppressants are currently continued unless the patients are at greater risk of severe COVID-19 infection or are on high-dose corticosteroids therapy. As understood so far, COVID-19 infection may induce significant and persistent lymphopenia, which in turn increases the risk of opportunistic infections. It is also noted that 85% of the COVID-19 patients’ laboratory findings showed lymphopenia. This means that patients with severe COVID-19 have markedly lower absolute number of T lymphocytes, CD4+T and CD8+ T cells and, since the lymphocytes play a major role in maintaining the immune homeostasis, the patients with COVID-19 are highly susceptible to fungal co-infections. This report is intended to raise awareness of the importance of early detection and treatment of mucormycosis and other fungal diseases, such as candidiasis, SARS-CoV-2-associated pulmonary aspergillosis, pneumocystis pneumonia and cryptococcal disease, in COVID-19 patients, to reduce the risk of mortality.
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Alterations in Fecal Fungal Microbiome of Patients With COVID-19 During Time of Hospitalization until Discharge
October 2020
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016508520348526
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Fungal Co-infections Associated with Global COVID-19 Pandemic: A Clinical and Diagnostic Perspective from China
July 2020
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32737747/
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Evaluation of bacterial co-infections of the respiratory tract in COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU
2020
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32873235/
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They recovered from Covid, only to die of ‘black fungus.’ What we know about the disease sweeping India
May 24, 2021
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/21/india/black-fungus-mucormycosis-covid-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html
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Potentially fatal ‘black fungus’ infections on the rise in India’s COVID-19 patients
May 10, 2021
https://www.livescience.com/black-fungus-infection-coronavirus-india.html
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A second crisis is killing survivors of India’s worst Covid wave
July 24, 2021
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/24/health/india-black-fungus-covid-intl-hnk-dst/index.html
Srinivas S. lies on a gurney in an operating theater in St John’s Hospital in Bengaluru as surgeons carefully remove bits of blackened tissue and rotten bone from his face.
The 41-year-old driver is one of more than 45,000 Indians infected with black fungus — or mucormycosis — since the start of the country’s second Covid-19 wave in late March.
Like Srinivas, the vast majority of sufferers — around 85% — were Covid-19 patients, according to India’s Health Ministry. By July, more than 4,300 people had died from the fungal infection.
Srinivas’s sister Shyamala V. sits by his bed and considers what life will be like for her brother’s wife and two young sons, ages 2 and four months, if he becomes one of them.
“I am very scared for him; he has two small kids. Who will look after them?” she said.
Srinivas S. went to four hospitals before they diagnosed his black fungus infection.
Srinivas S. went to four hospitals before they diagnosed his black fungus infection.
Black fungus is India’s second Covid crisis. Before this year, the infection was rare in India, though it was around 80 times more common there than in developed countries.
It’s caused by mucormycetes, a type of fungi, that people are exposed to every day, but when their immune systems have been battered by Covid they become more vulnerable to infection. Unless treated quickly, black fungus can cause permanent damage to the face, loss of vision and death — it has a mortality rate of over 50%.
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FUNGUS HELL: Thousands need eyes removed after deadly outbreak of Covid-induced ‘black fungus’ in India
22 May 2021
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15034860/covid-black-fungus-india-eyes-removed/
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The “black fungus” that’s infecting COVID-19 patients in India, explained
May 11, 2021
Doctors in India are seeing vast increases in cases of mucormycosis. Here’s what we know
https://www.salon.com/2021/05/11/mucormycosis-india-covid-19-explainer/
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Mucormycosis: the black fungus hitting Covid-19 patients
19th May 2021
Fungal infections can be devastating. And one in particular – mucormycosis – is adding to the burden of suffering in a country already in a deep Covid-19 crisis. We’ve seen reports from India of infections with mucormycosis, often termed “black fungus”, in patients with Covid-19, or who are recovering from the coronavirus.
As of March this year 41 cases of Covid-19-associated mucormycosis had been documented around the world, with 70% in India. Reports suggest the number of cases is now much higher, which is unsurprising given the current wave of Covid-19 infections in India.
But what is mucormycosis, and how is it linked with Covid-19?
What is mucormycosis?
Mucormycosis, formerly known as zygomycosis, is the disease caused by the many fungi that belong to the fungal family “Mucorales”. Fungi in this family are usually found in the environment – in soil, for example – and are often associated with decaying organic material such as fruit and vegetables.
The member of this family most often responsible for infections in humans is called Rhizopus oryzae. In India though, another family member called Apophysomyces, found in tropical and subtropical climates, is also common.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210519-mucormycosis-the-black-fungus-hitting-indias-covid-patients
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Covid ‘perfect storm’ as more patients hit by fungal infections
July 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/01/covid-perfect-storm-as-more-patients-hit-by-fungal-infections
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FACT CHECK: Is Covid-19 a bacterial infection and not a virus..
Jun 12, 2020
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/times-fact-check/news/fact-check-is-covid-19-a-bacterial-infection-and-not-a-virus/articleshow/76338501.cms
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VERIFY: Is coronavirus caused by a bacterial infection?
June 3, 2020
Experts say the claim is false, but it requires context.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/verify-no-the-coronavirus-is-not-caused-by-a-bacterial-infection/285-a6eff053-d284-4cda-85bb-5a5208fefaf5
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Singapore discovering COVID-19 is a bacteria and not a virus is another conspiracy theory
June 8, 2021
https://www.oneindia.com/fact-check/singapore-discovering-covid-19-is-a-bacteria-and-not-a-virus-is-another-conspiracy-theory-3270557.html
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COVID-19 severity linked to gut bacteria in first-of-its-kind study
January 11, 2021
https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/gut-bacteria-microbiome-covid19-severity-coronavirus-inflammation/
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Gut bacteria differences between Black and white women linked to insulin sensitivity
January 19, 2022
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-gut-bacteria-differences-black-white.html
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Could prebiotic snacks boost healthy gut bacteria in obesity?
July 6, 2021
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/could-prebiotic-snacks-boost-healthy-gut-bacteria-in-obesity
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NIH scientists show how tularemia bacteria trick cells to cause disease
May 30, 2018
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-scientists-show-how-tularemia-bacteria-trick-cells-cause-disease
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COVID-19 Virus May Activate Dormant Bacterial Infections, Tuberculosis: Study
Jun 17, 2021
https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/covid-19-virus-may-activate-dormant-bacterial-infections-tuberculosis-study
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COVID-19 could accelerate activation of dormant tuberculosis (TB)
May 10 2020
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200510/COVID-19-could-accelerate-activation-of-dormant-tuberculosis-(TB).aspx
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COVID-19 Could Activate Latent Tuberculosis
September 22, 2020
https://newscenter.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news_story.aspx?sid=78173
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Association of the past epidemic of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with mortality and incidence of COVID-19
June 18, 2021
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0253169
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Pathology of TB/COVID-19 Co-Infection: The phantom menace
2020 Nov 17
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33246269/
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Role of latent tuberculosis infections in reduced COVID-19 mortality: Evidence from an instrumental variable method analysis
2020 Aug 26
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33254521/
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Valley Fever with similar symptoms to COVID-19 new health threat to Borderland
July 2021
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/valley-fever-with-similar-symptoms-to-covid-19-new-health-threat-to-borderland/ar-AALBlsG
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Your COVID-19 symptoms could be valley fever. Here’s what you need to know
8/8/2020
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/your-covid-19-symptoms-could-be-valley-fever-heres-what-you-need-to-know/ar-BB17J5La
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Valley Fever cases on the rise and COVID’s not helping when it comes to diagnosing it
Feb 22, 2021
https://www.azfamily.com/news/continuing_coverage/coronavirus_coverage/valley-fever-cases-on-the-rise-and-covids-not-helping-when-it-comes-to-diagnosing/article_933980dc-7569-11eb-9720-5ff24317b573.html
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Microbial co-infections in COVID-19: Associated microbiota and underlying mechanisms of pathogenesis
2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33962007/
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Coronavirus pathogenesis and the emerging pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2005
https://cancerres.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/16339739/Coronavirus_pathogenesis_and_the_emerging_pathogen_severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_
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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus pathogenesis, disease and vaccines: an update
2004
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15577575/
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The Molecular Basis of COVID-19 Pathogenesis, Conventional and Nanomedicine Therapy
2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34064039/
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Potential Roles of the Renin-Angiotensin System in the Pathogenesis and Treatment of COVID-19
2020
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33204713/
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COVID-19 and Typhoid: Can Someone Get Typhoid When Infected With Coronavirus
Apr 29, 2021
https://www.onlymyhealth.com/covid-19-and-typhoid-can-someone-get-typhoid-when-infected-with-coronavirus-1619683985
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Diagnosis confusion over typhoid, COVID-19; deaths double in Jharkhand’s Bokaro
May 10, 2021
https://in.news.yahoo.com/diagnosis-confusion-over-typhoid-covid-114451166.html
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Typhoid and Covid-19: All you need to know
December 10, 2020
Exposure to contaminated water, unhygienic food etc. is the prime of source of typhoid, says Dr Gaurav Jain, Consultant, internal medicine, Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital
https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/typhoid-and-covid-19-fever-7097849/
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Does tetanus vaccination contribute to reduced severity of the COVID-19 infection?
2020 Nov 28
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7695568/
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Three women in India get rabies shot instead of Covid-19 vaccine as cases surge, overtaking Brazil
April 2021
India is the fastest country in the world to administer 100 million doses of the vaccine, but is reporting more than 130,000 cases per day
Authorities have allowed hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees to flock to the River Ganges for the Kumbh Mela festival
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3129236/three-women-india-get-rabies-shot-instead-covid-19
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Jefferson scientists tout dual COVID-19-rabies vaccine to meet ‘unprecedented’ scale of pandemic
April 07, 2020
Discussions underway with manufacturer as researchers hope to move toward human clinical trial
https://www.phillyvoice.com/jefferson-covid-19-vaccine-rabies-coravax-coronavirus-pandemic-philadelphia/
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Rabies virus-based COVID-19 vaccine CORAVAX™ induces high levels of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2
October 16, 2020
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-020-00248-6
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Rabies vaccine, treatment can be given along with that of COVID-19: APCRI
08th June 2021
It said that post-stray animal bite cases, anti-rabies vaccines and rabies immunoglobulins/ rabies monoclonal antibodies must be administered, even if the person has received any dose.
http://cms.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/health/2021/jun/08/rabies-vaccine-treatment-can-be-given-along-with-that-of-covid-19-apcri-2313037.html
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A Novel Vaccine Employing Non-Replicating Rabies Virus Expressing Chimeric SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Domains: Functional Inhibition of Viral/Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Complexes
May 2020
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32463026/
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Peru hospital workers accused of charging patients $21K per bed
Jul 26, 2021
https://www.postguam.com/the_globe/world/peru-hospital-workers-accused-of-charging-patients-21k-per-bed/article_ba63830e-eaaa-11eb-bfb2-3316e6ab64d9.html
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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rabies reemergence in Latin America: The case of Arequipa, Peru
May 2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34019548/
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Amid COVID-19 surge, foot-and-mouth disease strikes animals in Arunachal Pradesh
April 24, 2021
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/amid-covid-19-surge-foot-and-mouth-disease-strikes-animals-in-arunachal-pradesh/article34399797.ece
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Hirsutism, Amphetamines, COVID-19 Viral Shedding, Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease
May 2020
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2020/0515/p589.html
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Research Roundup: Covid; MRSA; Community-Acquired Pneumonia; Alzheimer’s; Decompensated Cirrhosis
Mar 18 2021
https://khn.org/morning-breakout/research-roundup-covid-mrsa-community-acquired-pneumonia-alzheimers-decompensated-cirrhosis/
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Exploring a viral connection to primary biliary cirrhosis
19 February 2015
UAlberta researcher defies convention to reveal a new trigger for a rare disease
https://www.ualberta.ca/medicine/news/2015/february/exploring-a-viral-connection-to-primary-biliary-cirrhosis.html
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Research Roundup: COVID; Brain Death; MRSA; Sinusitis; And More
Aug 2020
https://khn.org/morning-breakout/research-roundup-covid-brain-death-mrsa-sinusitis-and-more/
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On the trail of a medical mystery: Scientists zero in on elevated MRSA susceptibility after liver transplants
September 30, 2021
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-09-trail-medical-mystery-scientists-elevated.html
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ContraFect Initiates Expanded Access to Exebacase for the Treatment of MRSA Bloodstream Infections in COVID-19 Patients
Oct 26, 2020
https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/contrafect-initiates-expanded-access-to-exebacase-for-the-treatment-of-mrsa-bloodstream-infections-in-covid-19-patients/
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Coronavirus isolated from humans
Abstract
Disclosed herein is a newly isolated human coronavirus (SARS-CoV), the causative agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Also provided are the nucleic acid sequence of the SARS-CoV genome and the amino acid sequences of the SARS-CoV open reading frames, as well as methods of using these molecules to detect a SARS-CoV and detect infections therewith. Immune stimulatory compositions are also provided, along with methods of their use.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US7776521B1/en
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Repurposing existing drugs for the treatment of COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 infection: A review describing drug mechanisms of action
2020 Oct 22
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33191206/
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Study identifies FDA-approved drugs that are effective in suppressing SARS-CoV-2 replication
Sep 10 2021
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210910/Study-identifies-FDA-approved-drugs-that-are-effective-in-suppressing-SARS-CoV-2-replication.aspx
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What Are the Most Promising Treatments for COVID-19?
Jul 20, 2020
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/what-are-the-most-promising-treatments-for-covid-19/
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Treatments for COVID-19
December 23, 2021
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/treatments-for-covid-19
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Host-modifying drugs against COVID-19: some successes, but not yet the breakthrough
03 November 2021
https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1462-2920.15828?af=R
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Drugs and Vaccine Prescribed and Directly Used for COVID-19 Treatment
https://verification.fda.gov.ph/covid19_drug_vaccinelist.php?start=1
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A materials-science perspective on tackling COVID-19
2020
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7556605/
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Curcumin as a Potential Treatment for COVID-19
2021 May 7
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC8138567/
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Withaferin A: a potential therapeutic agent against COVID-19 infection
2020
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32684166/
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Treat COVID-19 Patients With Regadenoson
October 28, 2020
The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Know the risks and potential benefits of clinical studies and talk to your health care provider before participating. Read our disclaimer for details.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04606069
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Ronapreve: new COVID-19 treatment has just been authorised – here’s everything you need to know
August 26, 2021
https://theconversation.com/ronapreve-new-covid-19-treatment-has-just-been-authorised-heres-everything-you-need-to-know-166530
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Research team finds new dual benefit mode of action for a drug candidate to fight COVID-19
(Zapnometinib or ATR-002)
Atriva Therapeutics
January 14, 2022
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-team-dual-benefit-mode-action.html
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MiNK Therapeutics Announces 77% Survival Rate in Intubated Patients with COVID-19 Respiratory Failure Treated with AgenT-797
Nov 12, 2021
https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/mink-therapeutics-announces-77-percent-survival-rate-in-intubated-patients-with-covid-19-respiratory-failure-treated-with-agent-797/
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Two Common Over-the-Counter Compounds Reduce COVID-19 Virus Replication by 99% in Early Testing
December 12, 2021
https://scitechdaily.com/two-common-over-the-counter-compounds-reduce-covid-19-virus-replication-by-99-in-early-testing/
A pair of over-the-counter compounds has been found in preliminary tests to inhibit the virus that causes COVID-19, University of Florida Health researchers have found.
The combination includes diphenhydramine, an antihistamine used for allergy symptoms. When paired with lactoferrin, a protein found in cow and human milk, the compounds were found to hinder the SARS-CoV-2 virus during tests in monkey cells and human lung cells.
The findings by David A. Ostrov, Ph.D., an immunologist and associate professor in the UF College of Medicine’s department of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine and his colleagues, are published in the journal Pathogens.
“We found out why certain drugs are active against the virus that causes COVID-19. Then, we found an antiviral combination that can be effective, economical, and has a long history of safety,” Ostrov said…
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Research team finds new dual benefit mode of action for a drug candidate to fight COVID-19
January 14, 2022
A research team led by Prof. Stephan Ludwig, a virologist at the Institute of Virology at the University of Münster, has found a new dual attack mode of action while working on the development of a drug candidate against SARS-CoV-2 infections. This could constitute the basis for a broadly effective drug to fight COVID-19. The data, which have now been published in the journal Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, provided the basis for the approval issued by the German Institute of Drugs and Medicinal Products for a clinical study currently being worked on.
The drug can not only inhibit the proliferation of SARS-CoV-2 viruses in cells, but also reduce the exaggerated immune response which represents a serious problem in severe cases of COVID. “In the results we have published, we have been able for the first time to show such a dual action for an anti-COVID-19 agent,” explains Stephan Ludwig, who has overall responsibility for the research work. The team is collaborating with researchers at the Universities of Würzburg and Tübingen, the German Primate Centre in Göttingen, and the ‘Atriva Therapeutics’ start-up established by scientists of the Universities of Münster, Tübingen and Gießen.
The active agent in question, called Zapnometinib or ATR-002, which was originally under development as anti-flu medication, was effective in a variety of cell culture models—including activity against all tested variants of SARS-CoV-2, which also implies a broad applicability in facing up to any coming variants in the future. Animal testing to confirm these findings are currently under-way. “Positive results from the still ongoing clinical study in humans might already lead to an emergency approval this year for a new, broadly effective COVID-19 medication. The benefit is clear,” says Stephan Ludwig.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-team-dual-benefit-mode-action.html
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Here are 3 drugs in development to fight coronavirus, 2 vaccines and one ‘passive’ vaccine
March 19, 2020
Many companies are working on vaccines, but these are the three that experts say are closest to being tested, approved and available to the U.S. public.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/here-are-3-drugs-development-fight-coronavirus-2-vaccines-one-n1163191
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Lipid-lowering drug TriCor dramatically cuts treatment time for severe COVID-19 patients
Aug 23 2021
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210823/Lipid-lowering-drug-TriCor-dramatically-cuts-treatment-time-for-severe-COVID-19-patients.aspx
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Ascendo developing solution to rapid virus mutations
Jun 21, 2021
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2021/06/21/2003759517
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BRIEF-Eiger Biopharma Sees COVID-19 Pandemic Delaying D-LIVR Study Enrollment
April 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-eiger-biopharma-sees-covid-19-pand-idUSFWN2BP1D7
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Eiger Shares Nosedive On COVID-19 Study Results
September 28, 2020
https://www.benzinga.com/general/biotech/20/09/17679525/eiger-shares-nosedive-on-covid-19-study-results
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Eiger Down on Disappointing Results From Coronavirus Study
September 29, 2020
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/eiger-down-disappointing-results-coronavirus-114211282.html
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Eiger to add Peginterferon Lambda to Covid-19 trial in Brazil
04 May 2021
https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/news/company-news/eiger-peginterferon-lambda-trial/
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Eiger BioPharmaceuticals Announces First Patients Dosed with Peginterferon Lambda in Phase 3 TOGETHER Study of Newly Diagnosed COVID-19 Outpatients
Jul 06, 2021
https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/eiger-biopharmaceuticals-announces-first-patients-dosed-with-peginterferon-lambda-in-phase-3-together-study-of-newly-diagnosed-covid-19-outpatients/
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Eiger Announces FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Avexitide for Treatment of Congenital Hyperinsulinism
05 August 2021
https://pipelinereview.com/index.php/2021080578913/Proteins-and-Peptides/Eiger-Announces-FDA-Breakthrough-Therapy-Designation-for-Avexitide-for-Treatment-of-Congenital-Hyperinsulinism.html
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What Is Congential Hyperinsulinism?
October 02, 2020
Congenital hyperinsulism (CHI), otherwise referred to as persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy (PHHI) and familial hyperinsulinism is a rare genetic disorder in which the pancreas produces too much insulin, resulting in hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). On average, it occurs once every 50,000 births.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/congential-hyperinsulinemia-5071509
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Diabetes Patients With Covid-19 Experience Blood Glucose Fluctuations: When To Contact Your Doctor
May 3, 2021
https://www.thehealthsite.com/news/many-diabetes-patients-with-covid-19-experience-blood-glucose-fluctuations-when-to-contact-your-doctor-811145/
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Coronavirus: Here’s how COVID is affecting blood sugar levels
May 20, 2021
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/signs-that-covid-has-affected-your-blood-sugar-levels/articleshow/82769945.cms
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Covid-19 can mess up with your sugar levels: Get your glucose levels checked after recovery
February 25, 2021
https://www.thehealthsite.com/news/covid-19-can-mess-up-with-your-sugar-levels-get-your-glucose-levels-checked-after-recovery-798134/
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COVID-19 May Spike Blood Sugar, Raising Death Risk
July 13, 2020
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200713/covid-19-may-spike-blood-sugar-raising-death-risk#1
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How Blood Sugar Can Trigger a Deadly Immune Response in the Flu and Possibly COVID-19
April 24, 2020
Glucose metabolism plays a key role in the cytokine storm seen in influenza, and the link could have potential implications for novel coronavirus infections.
Influenza and COVID-19 infections can trigger an out-of-control immune response involving molecules called cytokines. An illustration of interleukin-4, a cytokine involved in allergic response, is shown here.
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Diabetes Patients Face Serious COVID-19 Complications
May 7, 2020
Doctors say it may be critically important to control blood sugar
https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2020/diabetes-and-the-coronavirus.html
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Dear Doctor: Having diabetes can make an older person more susceptible to breakthrough COVID infection
Nov. 30, 2021
https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2021/11/dear-doctor-having-diabetes-can-make-an-older-person-more-susceptible-to-breakthrough-covid-infection.html
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Doctor: Keep Blood Sugar Low to Help Prevent Severe COVID Symptoms
2021
https://newstalk1290.com/doctor-keep-blood-sugar-low-to-help-prevent-severe-covid-symptoms/
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Hospitalized COVID-19 patients fare worse when they have high blood sugar
March 21, 2021
High blood sugar linked to higher risk of death in patients with and without diabetes
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210321215449.htm
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Brain Memory Signals Linked to Blood Sugar Levels in New Research
August 21, 2021
https://scitechdaily.com/brain-memory-signals-linked-to-blood-sugar-levels-in-new-research/
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Cinnamon linked to blood sugar control in prediabetes, study finds
July 21, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/21/health/cinnamon-prediabetes-wellness/index.html
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The Effect of Cinnamon on Glucose of Type II Diabetes Patients
2013
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3924990/
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Diabetes treatment: Can cinnamon lower blood sugar?
March 19, 2021
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/expert-answers/diabetes/faq-20058472
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How Cinnamon Lowers Blood Sugar and Fights Diabetes
March 22, 2017
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cinnamon-and-diabetes
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Cinnamon compound could be useful supplement to dexamethasone in COVID-19 treatment
Jun 17 2021
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210617/Cinnamon-compound-could-be-useful-supplement-to-dexamethasone-in-COVID-19-treatment.aspx
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The effect of single low-dose dexamethasone on blood glucose concentrations in the perioperative period: a randomized, placebo-controlled investigation in gynecologic surgical patients
2013
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259153146_The_Effect_of_Single_Low-Dose_Dexamethasone_on_Blood_Glucose_Concentrations_in_the_Perioperative_Period_A_Randomized_Placebo-Controlled_Investigation_in_Gynecologic_Surgical_Patients
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Dexamethasone and Hypoglycemia – a phase IV clinical study of FDA data
2021
https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/dexamethasone/hypoglycemia/
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Managing blood sugar in dexamethasone-treated COVID-19 Patients: UK Guidance
Aug 24, 2020
https://medicaldialogues.in/diabetes-endocrinology/guidelines/managing-blood-sugar-in-dexamethasone-treated-covid-19-patients-uk-guidance-68856
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Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19
February 25, 2021
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2021436
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Dexamethasone and COVID-19: All Patients Are Not Alike
2020
https://www.aps.anl.gov/APS-Science-Highlight/2020-11-02/dexamethasone-and-covid-19-all-patients-are-not-alike
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Efficacy of Dexamethasone Treatment for Patients With ARDS Caused by COVID-19 (DEXA-COVID19)
2020
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04325061
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Between the Lines: 5 Ways Climbers Cheat
June 18, 2020
What is “cheating” when it comes to using performance enhancers or drugs like dexamethasone?
https://www.rockandice.com/tuesday-night-bouldering/between-the-lines-gimme-that-dex/
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What Is “Dex” in Mountain Climbing?
05 December, 2018
https://www.sportsrec.com/8408292/what-is-dex-in-mountain-climbing
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Dexamethasone: Therapeutic potential, risks, and future projection during COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Jan 8
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7836247/
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Dexamethasone for COVID-19? Not so fast
2020
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32551464/
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COVID-19 Therapy: Corticosteroids including dexamethasone and hydrocortisone
2020
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/covid-19-therapy-corticosteroids-including-dexamethasone-and-hydrocortisone/
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Methylprednisolone versus dexamethasone for Covid-19 patients: an analysis of a published clinical trial
August 2021
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353723390_Methylprednisolone_versus_dexamethasone_for_Covid-19_patients_an_analysis_of_a_published_clinical_trial
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Dexamethasone and tocilizumab treatment considerably reduces the value of C-reactive protein and procalcitonin to detect secondary bacterial infections in COVID-19 patients
05 August 2021
https://ccforum.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13054-021-03717-z
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Methylprednisolone Significantly Better Than Dexamethasone for COVID-19
June 2, 2021
https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/home/topics/covid19/methylprednisolone-significantly-better-than-dexamethasone-for-covid-19/
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Methylprednisolone or dexamethasone, which one is superior corticosteroid in the treatment of hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a triple-blinded randomized controlled trial
April 2021
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8035859/
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Dexamethasone vs methylprednisolone high dose for Covid-19 pneumonia
2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34033648/
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COVID-19 and DexamethasoneA Potential Strategy to Avoid Steroid-Related Strongyloides Hyperinfection
July 30, 2020
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2769100
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A parasitic infection that can turn fatal with administration of corticosteroids
17 December 2020
https://www.who.int/news/item/17-12-2020-a-parasitic-infection-that-can-turn-fatal-with-administration-of-corticosteroids
Healthcare workers in tropical and sub-tropical settings where strongyloidiasis is prevalent or caring for patients who have travelled to such areas, need to maintain a high level of awareness about the use of corticosteroids, including when this class of anti-inflammatories is given to patients suspected of infection with SARS-CoV-2.
Strongyloidiasis – a parasitic worm infection – is estimated to affect millions of people and is associated with marginalized communities who often walk barefoot. While it is frequently subclinical, immunosuppression resulting from diseases such as AIDS, lymphoma and leukemia or from continued use of corticosteroids can convert it into a severe and deadly “hyperinfection” syndrome.
Risks in an era of COVID-19
The current COVID-19 pandemic serves to highlight the risk of using systemic corticosteroids and, to a lesser extent, other immunosuppressive therapy, in populations with significant risk of underlying strongyloidiasis. Cases of strongyloidiasis hyperinfection in the setting of corticosteroid use as COVID-19 therapy have been described1,2 and draw attention to the necessity of addressing the risk of iatrogenic strongyloidiasis hyperinfection syndrome in infected individuals prior to corticosteroid administration.
Although this has gained importance in the midst of a pandemic where corticosteroids are one of few therapies shown to improve mortality3, its relevance is much broader given that corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive therapies have become increasingly common in treatment of chronic diseases (e.g. asthma or certain rheumatologic conditions).
The risk of strongyloidiasis and corticosteroid use further becomes globally relevant as at-risk populations include not only those residing in endemic areas but also migrant communities in non-endemic areas.
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Strongyloides hyperinfection and its association with COVID-19 treatment
March 23, 2021
https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20210317/strongyloides-hyperinfection-and-its-association-with-covid19-treatment
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Risk of Strongyloides Hyperinfection Syndrome when prescribing dexamethasone in severe COVID-19.
31 Jan 2021
https://europepmc.org/article/MED/33535106
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Strongyloides infection manifested during immunosuppressive therapy for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia
2020 Sep 10
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32910321/
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Case Report: Disseminated Strongyloidiasis in a Patient with COVID-19
2020
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32830642/
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The steroid dexamethasone is the first drug shown to reduce COVID-19 deaths
June 16, 2020
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/steroid-dexamethasone-reduce-covid-19-coronavirus-deaths
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WHO Revises COVID-19 Guidelines After Study Shows Steroids Save Lives
September 02, 2020
https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/who-revises-covid-19-guidelines-after-study-shows-steroids-save-lives
The World Health Organization issued new guidelines Wednesday on the use of lifesaving drugs, hours after a study showed that inexpensive steroids cut death rates in the sickest COVID-19 patients.
The WHO guideline panel made a “strong” recommendation for the use of corticosteroid drug therapy, given orally or through an IV, for COVID-19 patients in critical and serious condition.
The panel made a conditional recommendation against using the same steroids in people with milder COVID-19 cases.
The WHO guidelines were developed in collaboration with the nonprofit Magic Evidence Ecosystem Foundation and were based on the results from eight randomized clinical trials with 7,184 participants.
One of the analyses was published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
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High-dose steroids for the treatment of severe COVID-19: a new therapeutic tool?
2021
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11739-021-02722-y
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High-dose steroids for the treatment of severe COVID-19
2021
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8047517/
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Moderate, high dose steroids linked to more severe COVID-19
May 21, 2020
https://www.healio.com/news/rheumatology/20200520/moderate-high-dose-steroids-linked-to-more-severe-covid19
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Potential risk for developing severe COVID-19 disease among anabolic steroid users
2021
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33637513/
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Potential risk for developing severe covid 19 disease among anabolic steroid users CORD-Papers
2021-06-28
https://covid19-data.nist.gov/pid/rest/local/paper/potential_risk_for_developing_severe_covid_19_disease_among_anabolic_steroid_users
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Do Steroid Meds Up My Risk of COVID-19 or Getting Sicker From It?
January 11, 2021
Individuals who take oral corticosteroids regularly for asthma, arthritis, and other conditions may be at a higher risk for COVID-19. Doctors say it’s still critical that people continue taking these meds to keep underlying health problems under control.
https://www.everydayhealth.com/coronavirus/do-steroid-meds-up-my-risk-of-covid-19-or-getting-sicker-from-it/
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Nasal steroids could help ease severe COVID symptoms, according to local doctor
April 5, 2021
https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/nasal-steroids-could-help-ease-severe-covid-symptoms-according-to-local-doctor/289-aff5c87f-baf9-42ec-91bb-824c33a364fb
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The Role of Steroids in the Management of COVID-19 Infection
August 02, 2021
Abstract
Steroids are anti-inflammatory drugs that have been utilized in a wide range of clinical illnesses, including rheumatologic, autoimmune, inflammatory, and numerous lung diseases. Because of the inhibition of the inflammatory cascade, corticosteroids are beneficial in many pulmonary disorders, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), laryngotracheobronchitis, interstitial lung diseases, severe pneumonia, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. We will report a case of a COVID-19 patient treated with remdesivir, antibiotics, and steroids. We will also discuss the role of steroids in the management of COVID-19 patients.
https://www.cureus.com/articles/64316-the-role-of-steroids-in-the-management-of-covid-19-infection
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Effects of steroids on covid vaccine, effects of steroids used for covid treatment
2021
https://fleetbud.com/effects-of-steroids-on-covid-vaccine-effects-of-steroids-used-for-covid-treatment/
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Anabolic steroids and covid vaccine, anabolic steroids cycles for sale
2021
https://fleetbud.com/anabolic-steroids-and-covid-vaccine-anabolic-steroids-cycles-for-sale/
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Steroids are a powerful Covid-19 treatment. We need to learn to use them better.
Dec 9, 2020
Doctors must optimize treatments for deadly inflammation in Covid-19 patients to save more lives.
https://www.vox.com/21604005/covid-19-treatment-dexamethasone-inflammation-cytokine-storm
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Common steroid has saved the lives of 1.4m Covid patients around the world, experts reveal
22 March 2021
A common steroid which costs around 50p a day can cut Covid deaths by a third
The drug was made available to patients on English hospital wards last June
Steroid cuts death rates and hospital stays when combined with an arthritis drug
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9391395/Common-steroid-saved-lives-1-4m-Covid-patients-world-experts-reveal.html
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Are You Taking Any Immunosuppressive Drugs? They May Reduce COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy
June 4, 2021
Steroids can reduce the body’s response to COVID-19vaccines
Steroids, also known as corticosteroids, are anti-inflammatory medicines used to treat a range of inflammatory conditions. These medications also reduce the activity of the immune system. Prednisone and dexamethasone are steroids that may be prescribed for conditions like arthritis, colitis, asthma, bronchitis, skin problems, allergies, and sinus infections.
https://www.thehealthsite.com/news/are-you-taking-any-immunosuppressive-drugs-they-may-reduce-covid-19-vaccine-efficacy-817872/
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Prophylactic Corticosteroid to Prevent COVID-19 Cytokine Storm
2020
Brief Summary:
This is a Phase II pilot exploratory study designed to investigate if prophylactic treatment with short term steroids administered to high risk Covid-19 patient might prevent cytokine storm and progression to respiratory failure. High risk is defined based on serologic markers of inflammation that include abnormalities of Interleukin 6 (IL-6), Ferritin , D-dimer, Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), as well as lymphopenia and impaired O2 saturation prior to or on the 7th day of first symptom of Covid-19.
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Potential Prophylactic Treatments for COVID-19
2021 Jul 2
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8310088/
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Corticosteroids Improve Survival in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients
https://ccm.pitt.edu/?q=content/corticosteroids-improve-survival-critically-ill-covid-19-patients
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Association Between Administration of Systemic Corticosteroids and Mortality Among Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19A Meta-analysis
September 2, 2020
The WHO Rapid Evidence Appraisal for COVID-19 Therapies (REACT) Working Group
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2770279
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Studies, WHO back steroid use in very ill COVID-19 patients
Sep 02, 2020
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/09/studies-who-back-steroid-use-very-ill-covid-19-patients
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Corticosteroids Should Be First Line of Treatment For Severe COVID-19, WHO Says
September 12, 2020
https://www.verywellhealth.com/who-recommends-corticosteroids-severe-covid-19-5077300
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Corticosteroids in COVID-19 ARDS
Evidence and Hope During the Pandemic
2020
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2770275
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WHO updates clinical care guidance with corticosteroid recommendations
2 September 2020
https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/who-updates-clinical-care-guidance-with-corticosteroid-recommendations
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Inhaled corticosteroids: A rapid review of the evidence for treatment or prevention of COVID-19
June 22, 2020
https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/inhaled-corticosteroids-a-rapid-review-of-the-evidence-for-treatment-or-prevention-of-covid-19/
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COVID-19 and inhaled corticosteroids—another piece in an expanding puzzle
March 04, 2021
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(21)00076-X/fulltext
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Corticosteroids During Covid-19 Viral Pneumonia Related to SARS-Cov-2 Infection (CORTI-Covid)
2020
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04344288
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Early Use of Corticosteroids in Non-critical Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia (PREDCOVID)
2020
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04451174
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COVID-19 pneumonia: do not leave the corticosteroids behind!
2021 Mar 12
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7958644/
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COVID-19, Asthma, and Inhaled Corticosteroids: Another Beneficial Effect of Inhaled Corticosteroids?
2020
https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.202005-1651ED
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Altimmune ditches COVID-19 nasal spray vaccine, halts therapeutic enrollment after trial setbacks
Jun 29, 2021
Five months after the FDA put its intranasal COVID-19 vaccine trial on hold, Altimmune is ditching the candidate after early trial results disappointed. And in a double dose of bad news, the company is halting enrollment on its therapeutic program.
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/altimmune-to-ditch-covid-19-nasal-spray-vaccine-and-stop-enrollment-therapeutic-program
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Nasal Vaccine May Be the Secret Weapon Against New COVID-19 Variants
December 10, 2021
https://scitechdaily.com/nasal-vaccine-may-be-the-secret-weapon-against-new-covid-19-variants/
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Intranasal flu vaccine with nanoparticles offers robust protection, researchers find
January 29, 2022
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-intranasal-flu-vaccine-nanoparticles-robust.html
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Covid-19: What is the Zydus Cadila’s new DNA nasal vaccine?
28th December 2021
https://www.siasat.com/covid-19-what-is-the-zydus-cadilas-new-dna-nasal-vaccine-2249381/
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Corticosteroid Nasal Spray in COVID-19 Anosmia
2020
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04484493
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New Research Suggests Terpenes And CBD Work 2X’s Better For Covid-19 Inflammation Than Corticosteroid
July 2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilyearlenbaugh/2020/07/21/new-research-suggests-terpenes-and-cbd-work-3xs-better-for-covid-19-inflammation-than-corticosteroid/?sh=27844c6c4e95
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Inhaled budesonide in the treatment of early COVID-19 (STOIC): a phase 2, open-label, randomised controlled trial
April 09, 2021
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(21)00160-0/fulltext
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Corticosteroids may effectively treat children who develop a serious disorder after COVID-19
Jun 16 2021
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210616/Corticosteroids-may-effectively-treat-children-who-develop-a-serious-disorder-after-COVID-19.aspx
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Corticosteroid therapy in pregnant women with COVID-19
Mar 29 2021
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210329/Corticosteroid-therapy-in-pregnant-women-with-COVID-19.aspx
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Corticosteroids
August 4, 2021
https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/immunomodulators/corticosteroids/
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Impact of Corticosteroids in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outcomes: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
2020 Oct 28
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33129791/
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Two types of steroid found to save lives of some Covid-19 patients
2020
Analysis of seven trials finds dexamethasone and hydrocortisone should be given in severe cases
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/sep/02/two-types-of-steroid-found-to-save-lives-of-some-covid-19-patients
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Dexamethasone steroid treatment for Covid-19 reduces menstrual bleeding
August 04 2021
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dexamethasone-steroid-treatment-for-covid-19-reduces-menstrual-bleeding-ngdfv8j6n
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Hydrocortisone for COVID-19 and Severe Hypoxia (COVID STEROID)
2021
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04348305
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Steroids Improve Survival in Very Ill COVID-19 Patients
9/2/2020
https://www.upmc.com/media/news/090220-upmc-pitt-remap-steroid-jama
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Can an inhaled steroid help COVID-19 patients feel better faster? UB study aims to find out
Jun 16th 2020
https://www.wnypapers.com/news/article/current/2020/06/16/141956/can-an-inhaled-steroid-help-covid-19-patients-feel-better-faster-ub-study-aims-to-find-out
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Not enough data to back use of inhaled steroids for Covid-19: EU regulator
May 27, 2021
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/not-enough-data-to-back-use-of-inhaled-steroids-for-covid-19-eu-regulator
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Steroids Use in Non-Oxygen requiring COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
August 4, 2021
https://www.docwirenews.com/abstracts/steroids-use-in-non-oxygen-requiring-covid-19-patients-a-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-2/
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Early use of steroids during Covid-19 may be causing drop in oxygen, as per AIIMS chief Randeep Guleria
May 04 2021
Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/national/early-use-of-steroids-during-covid-19-may-be-causing-drop-in-oxygen-as-per-aiims-chief-randeep-guleria-982175.html
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Steroids only for COVID-19 patients with low oxygen levels
May 26, 2021
Secondary microbial infections like black fungus can be caused by excessive and prolonged use of steroids to treat COVID-19, which suppress natural immunity, say pulmonologists Rajani Bhat and Lancelot Pinto
https://www.eastmojo.com/coronavirus-updates/2021/05/26/steroids-only-for-covid-19-patients-with-low-oxygen-levels/
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Low Oxygen Symptoms: Signs You May Not Be Getting Enough Oxygen
September 18, 2019
https://www.inogen.com/blog/signs-your-loved-one-may-not-be-getting-enough-oxygen/
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Pollution Science 101 
