Category Health/Medical

New clues found to common Respiratory Virus

Image: Scientists have solved the structure of a protein that helps a common respiratory virus evade the immune system. The team, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have identified critical parts of the protein that could be targeted with drugs or vaccines, opening up the possibility of preventing or treating an infection that sickens thousands of babies and elderly people every year. Credit: Daisy Leung

Image: Scientists have solved the structure of a protein that helps a common respiratory virus evade the immune system. The team, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have identified critical parts of the protein that could be targeted with drugs or vaccines, opening up the possibility of preventing or treating an infection that sickens thousands of babies and elderly people every year.
Credit: Daisy Leung

“We solved the structure of a protein that has eluded the field for quite some time,” said Daisy Leung, PhD, an assistant professor of pathology and immunology, and of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis...

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Miniature Technology, big Hope for Disease Detection

Image: First, a flexible stamp is inked with the APTES solution (i). The stamp is then pressed onto the glass surface (ii). A microfluidic channel is placed over the APTES pattern on the glass (iii), and the device is ready to be used to immobilize bioreceptors and, eventually, to help make a diagnosis (iv). Credit: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)

Image: First, a flexible stamp is inked with the APTES solution (i). The stamp is then pressed onto the glass surface (ii). A microfluidic channel is placed over the APTES pattern on the glass (iii), and the device is ready to be used to immobilize bioreceptors and, eventually, to help make a diagnosis (iv).
Credit: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)hi nun

Smple printing method to create effective disease detection tools. Currently, microfluidic bioassay devices are the preferred diagnostic tools that allow clinicians to measure the concentration of disease biomarkers within a patient’s biological sample, such as blood...

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New Antiviral Drug Inhibits epidemic SARS, MERS and animal Coronaviruses

 GS-5734 is effective against a diverse array of human and zoonotic CoV in HAE. (A) Neighbor-joining trees created with representatives from all four CoV genogroups showing the genetic similarity of CoV nsp12 (RdRp) and CoV spike glycoprotein, which mediates host tropism and entry into cells. Text color of the virus strain label corresponds to virus host species on the left. The heatmap adjacent to each neighbor-joining tree depicts percent amino acid identity (% A.A. identity) against SARS-CoV or MERS-CoV.

GS-5734 is effective against a diverse array of human and zoonotic CoV in HAE.
(A) Neighbor-joining trees created with representatives from all four CoV genogroups showing the genetic similarity of CoV nsp12 (RdRp) and CoV spike glycoprotein, which mediates host tropism and entry into cells. Text color of the virus strain label corresponds to virus host species on the left. The heatmap adjacent to each neighbor-joining tree depicts percent amino acid identity (% A.A. identity) against SARS-CoV or MERS-CoV.

A new antiviral drug candidate inhibits a broad range of coronaviruses, including the SARS and MERS coronaviruses. The findings support further development of the drug candidate for treating and preventing current coronavirus infections and potential future epidemic outbreaks.

Coronavirus...

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Study of US seniors Strengthens link between Air Pollution and Premature Death

“Air Pollution and Mortality in the Entire Medicare Population,” Qian Di, Yan Wang, Antonella Zanobetti, Yun Wang, Petros Koutrakis, Christine Choirat, Francesca Dominici, Joel D. Schwartz, New England Journal of Medicine, June 29, 2017, doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1702747

“Air Pollution and Mortality in the Entire Medicare Population,” Qian Di, Yan Wang, Antonella Zanobetti, Yun Wang, Petros Koutrakis, Christine Choirat, Francesca Dominici, Joel D. Schwartz, New England Journal of Medicine, June 29, 2017, doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1702747k

Study of US seniors Strengthens link between Air Pollution and Premature Death

A new study of 60 million Americans – about 97% of people age 65 and older in the US – shows that long-term exposure to airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone increases the risk of premature death, even when that exposure is at levels below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) currently established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Harvard T.H...

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