Virology And Gene Therapy

1st human case of H3N8 bird flu reported in 4-year-old boy in China

https://www.livescience.com/first-human-case-h3n8-bird-flu

1st human case of H3N8 bird flu reported in 4-year-old boy in China A 4-year-old boy in China has become the first human case of the H3N8 strain of bird flu, according to news reports.The boy, who lives in Henan province, was exposed to chickens and crows at his home, which could have transmitted the virus, according to news reports. The boy was infected with an avi...

Covid deaths no longer overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated as toll on elderly grows

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/04/29/covid-deaths-unvaccinated-boosters/

Covid deaths no longer overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated as toll on elderly grows The pandemic’s toll is no longer falling almost exclusively on those who chose not to get shots, according to a Post analysis, as the elderly and immunocompromised have a harder time dodging increasingly contagious strains.

Astellas takes $170M hit as DMD gene therapy plan unravels in wake of preclinical data

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/astellas-takes-170m-hit-dmd-gene-therapy-plan-unravels-wake-preclinical-data

Astellas takes $170M hit as DMD gene therapy plan unravels in wake of preclinical data Astellas’ gene therapy strategy is sinking deeper into the mire. | Astellas’ gene therapy strategy is sinking deeper into the mire. Having reviewed the data on its Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) therapies, the Japanese drugmaker has decided to scrap the candidates, triggering a $170 million i...

Four Americans Were Infected With a Virus Variant Seen in Mink

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/health/covid-mink-michigan.html

Four Americans Were Infected With a Virus Variant Seen in Mink The cluster is the first known instance of likely animal-to-human transmission in the United States.

Despite effective treatments, HIV drags on. Experts warn COVID may face the same fate

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/04/19/1093052484/despite-effective-treatments-hiv-drags-on-experts-warn-covid-may-face-the-same-f

Despite effective treatments, HIV drags on. Experts warn COVID may face the same fate HIV remains a problem in the U.S. because people don't use life-saving prevention and treatments. COVID is heading down the same path. Here are insights from people fighting on the frontlines of HIV.

UK, US health officials investigating cases of severe hepatitis with unknown causes in children

Adenovirus 41?

UK, US health officials investigating cases of severe hepatitis with unknown causes in children A slew of acute hepatitis cases among children in the US and UK have public health officials searching for the cause.

Researchers load CAR T cells with oncolytic virus to treat solid cancer tumors

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220413141538.htm

Researchers load CAR T cells with oncolytic virus to treat solid cancer tumors Researchers have devised an immunotherapy technique that combines chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy, or CAR-T cell therapy, with a cancer-killing virus to more effectively target and treat solid cancer tumors.

Autopsies suggest COVID’s smell loss is caused by inflammation, not virus

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/04/covids-theft-of-smell-and-taste-may-be-due-to-berserk-inflammation/

Autopsies suggest COVID’s smell loss is caused by inflammation, not virus In 23 patients who died, researchers found olfactory nerve damage but little virus.

Myopericarditis following COVID-19 vaccination and non-COVID-19 vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(22)00059-5/fulltext

Myopericarditis following COVID-19 vaccination and non-COVID-19 vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis The overall risk of myopericarditis after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine is low. However, younger males have an increased incidence of myopericarditis, particularly after receiving mRNA vaccines. Nevertheless, the risks of such rare adverse events should be balanced against the risks of COVID-19 infec...

MIT Scientists Develop New Regenerative Drug That Reverses Hearing Loss

https://scitechdaily.com/mit-scientists-develop-new-regenerative-drug-that-reverses-hearing-loss/

MIT Scientists Develop New Regenerative Drug That Reverses Hearing Loss MIT spinout Frequency Therapeutics’ drug candidate stimulates the growth of hair cells in the inner ear. The biotechnology company Frequency Therapeutics is seeking to reverse hearing loss — not with hearing aids or implants, but with a new kind of regenerative therapy. The company uses small mo...

COVID-19 vaccine waning and effectiveness and side-effects of boosters: a prospective community study from the ZOE COVID Study

Check the slope of the curves. mRNA skips an amplication step: transcription

COVID-19 vaccine waning and effectiveness and side-effects of boosters: a prospective community study from the ZOE COVID Study After 5 months, vaccine effectiveness remained high among individuals younger than 55 years. Booster doses restore vaccine effectiveness. Adverse reactions after booster doses were similar to those after the second dose. Homologous booster schedules had fewer reported systemic side-effects than hete...

Zoos are moving their birds indoors to protect them against a deadly strain of the avian flu

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/09/us/zoos-bird-flu-spread/index.html

Zoos are moving their birds indoors to protect them against a deadly strain of the avian flu Zoos across the country are moving their birds indoors to protect them from the spread of a contagious and potentially lethal strain of the avian flu.

UPDATED: Bluebird joins the layoff flock to reality as gene therapy biotech sheds staff to save itself

UPDATED: Bluebird joins the layoff flock to reality as gene therapy biotech sheds staff to save itself Bluebird bio is laying off about 30% of its workforce to save itself before the FDA decides the fate of two of its gene therapies in August and September and plans to file for a third approval in the first quarter of next year. The dire situation came into clear

Opinion | FDA Shuts Out Its Own Experts in Authorizing Another Vaccine Booster

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fda-shuts-out-its-own-experts-in-authorizing-another-booster-covid-vaccine-pandemic-science-11649016728

Opinion | FDA Shuts Out Its Own Experts in Authorizing Another Vaccine Booster Decisions like this only reinforce the perception that Covid policy is driven by groupthink and politics.

Iowa’s bird flu death toll tops 13 million

Iowa’s bird flu death toll tops 13 million Two more poultry flocks in Iowa — including one with more than 5 million egg-laying chickens — were infected by a deadly and highly contagious avian influenza, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship reported Friday.The new detections of the virus were in a massive commercial egg...

Myocarditis risk higher after Covid infection than Pfizer or Moderna vaccination, CDC finds

Myocarditis risk higher after Covid infection than Pfizer or Moderna vaccination, CDC finds Even among the highest risk group, teenage boys, the risk of cardiac conditions was higher after Covid infection than Pfizer or Moderna vaccination.

Taysha lays off 35% of staff, narrows R&D focus to keep funding its top gene therapies

Always a debate about the safety of working in academia vs. industry.

Taysha lays off 35% of staff, narrows R&D focus to keep funding its top gene therapies The pink slips keep raining down like confetti in biotech. | The pink slips keep raining down like confetti in biotech. Taysha Gene Therapies is the latest company to decide to slim down, bidding farewell to 35% of its workers and narrowing its R&D focus to extend its cash runway out to the fourth q...

First human challenge study of Covid-19 yields valuable insights about how we get sick

First human challenge study of Covid-19 yields valuable insights about how we get sick It takes just a tiny virus-laden droplet -- about the width of a human blood cell -- to infect someone with Covid-19.

Brawn Before Brains: Mammals Bulked Up To Survive Post-Dinosaur World

Brawn Before Brains: Mammals Bulked Up To Survive Post-Dinosaur World Prehistoric mammals bulked up, rather than develop bigger brains, to boost their survival chances once dinosaurs had become extinct, research suggests. For the first 10 million years after dinosaurs died out, mammals prioritized boosting their body size to adapt to radical shifts in the make-up o

Ivermectin Does Not Reduce Risk of Covid Hospitalization, Large Study Finds

Ivermectin Does Not Reduce Risk of Covid Hospitalization, Large Study Finds “At some point it will become a waste of resources to continue studying an unpromising approach,” one expert said.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Second Booster Dose of Two COVID-19 Vaccines for Older and Immunocompromised Individuals

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-second-booster-dose-two-covid-19-vaccines-older-and

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Second Booster Dose of Two COVID-19 Vaccines for Older and Immunocompromised Individuals FDA authorized a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for older people and certain immunocompromised individuals.

WHO is examining potential hearing problems linked to Covid vaccines

WHO is examining potential hearing problems linked to Covid vaccines A small number of cases of tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, have been reported by people who received Covid vaccines internationally and in the U.S.

Opinion | We Study Virus Evolution. Here’s Where We Think the Coronavirus Is Going.

Opinion | We Study Virus Evolution. Here’s Where We Think the Coronavirus Is Going. What’s next for the coronavirus.

Avian flu found in Minnesota poultry flocks

Avian flu found in Minnesota poultry flocks State officials say the first two cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Minnesota were reported in two poultry flocks.

‘This virus has fooled us before’: Here’s how Fauci predicts stealth Omicron will spread across the U.S.

"According to the CDC, roughly 95% of the U.S. population over the age of 16 has developed antibodies against COVID, due to a combination of vaccination and prior infection. That leaves U.S. adults with an adequate level of immunity against severe infection, although children remain vulnerable."

‘This virus has fooled us before’: Here’s how Fauci predicts stealth Omicron will spread across the U.S. The White House’s chief medical adviser says an uptick in cases doesn’t need to become a surge.

When 2 coronavirus variants meet inside 1 person, a Frankenstein hybrid can be born — NPR

https://apple.news/AMMsranU5S8KydtubsIUolg

When 2 coronavirus variants meet inside 1 person, a Frankenstein hybrid can be born — NPR That's how the so-called "deltacron" variant — a mashup of delta and omicron — came to be. This process of recombining tells us a lot about the possible past and future of SARS-CoV-2.

The alarming rise of complex genetic testing in human embryo selection

The alarming rise of complex genetic testing in human embryo selection Companies are marketing polygenic risk scores as part of IVF well ahead of a full understanding of the potential benefits — or dangers.

‘He Goes Where the Fire Is’: A Virus Hunter in the Wuhan Market

‘He Goes Where the Fire Is’: A Virus Hunter in the Wuhan Market For years, Edward Holmes worried about animal markets causing a pandemic. Now he finds himself at the center of the debate over the origins of the coronavirus.

The 1918 pandemic mistake that changed medicine forever — National Geographic

https://apple.news/AJoZkyibtTp2ILmdzEVEjbw

The 1918 pandemic mistake that changed medicine forever — National Geographic A misunderstanding about the microbe that actually causes the flu created a ripple effect that changed the future of U.S. drug development, clinical trials, and pandemic preparedness.

Research Is Bad News for Allergy Sufferers

This doesn't mean you get to stay out of lab, it means your allergies may get worse.

Research Is Bad News for Allergy Sufferers Study in 'Nature' predicts the allergy season will continue to get longer

Hong Kong's immunized who died of COVID mainly got Sinovac: Ming Pao — FORTUNE

https://apple.news/ABEArRAjzSjuyk928ZmA4MQ

Hong Kong's immunized who died of COVID mainly got Sinovac: Ming Pao — FORTUNE Sinovac was often preferred by the elderly, who believed it may have fewer side effects than immunizations from BioNTech.

Is tinnitus a rare side effect of Covid vaccines? — NBC News

https://apple.news/AF0lfg8wtRC2K362DSx5A4g

Is tinnitus a rare side effect of Covid vaccines? — NBC News A renowned vaccine expert developed life-altering ringing in his ears after his second shot. Now he's calling for research into a possible link.

The controversial quest to make a 'contagious' vaccine

The controversial quest to make a 'contagious' vaccine A new technology aims to stop wildlife from spreading Ebola, rabies, and other viruses. It could prevent the next pandemic by stopping pathogens from jumping from animals to people.

The Center for Regenerative Medicine at Mayo Clinic has new job openings to support Mayo's biomanufacturing drives:

Biomanufacturing Specialist Lead - RSH - CRM Process Development Lab (n=2) 173620BR

Biomanufacturing Senior Specialist - RSH - CRM Process Development Lab (n=3) 173618BR

Biomanufacturing Specialist - RSH - CRM Process Development Lab (n=4) 173617BR

Biomanufacturing Specialist Lead – RSH - CRM Process Development – Biomaterials (n=1) 173648BR

Biomanufacturing Specialist – RSH – CRM Process Development – Biomaterials (n=1) 173649BR

Cell Therapy Dev Tech-I (AZ) 175323BR H

CGMP Manufacturing Manager: 171740BR

Manager of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs – 175631BR

Manager Process Development - Center for Regenerative Medicine 166119BR

Quality Analyst - FDA Reg Mfg (MN) 159370BR

Quality Analyst – FDA Reg Mfg (FL) 175384BR

Sr. Director Advanced Biomanufacturing – Center for Regenerative Medicine 167210BR

Sr. Director of Quality Assurance - Center for Regenerative Medicine 166926BR

Sr. Director of Quality Control – Center for Regenerative Medicine 173401BR

The Puzzling Virus That Infects Almost Everyone — The Atlantic

https://apple.news/A05IKz0xBQderrVlgtqcXzA

The Puzzling Virus That Infects Almost Everyone — The Atlantic For many people, Epstein-Barr virus causes mild initial infection, but it is also linked to cancers and multiple sclerosis. What do we do about it?