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Antibodies that may lead to next-gen vaccines for all Covid strains found

Editor — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 14:58:47 +0000

LOS ANGELES: Scientists have identified antibodies that are effective against many different SARS-CoV-2 variants, an advance that paves the way for next-generation vaccines which could protect from different Covid-19 strains. The antibodies identified in monkeys by a team at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, US are also effective against other SARS viruses like SARS-CoV-1, the highly lethal virus that caused an outbreak in 2003.
The results show that certain animals are more able to make these types of “pan-SARS virus” antibodies than humans, giving scientists clues as to how to make better vaccines.
The findings, published on Thursday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, reveal the antibody structures that produce this more comprehensive immune response.
The researchers found these neutralising antibodies recognise a viral region in the spike protein — which the virus uses to enter and infect the cells — that is relatively more conserved.
This means that the region is present across many different SARS viruses, and is therefore less likely to mutate over time, they said.
The finding may help develop next-generation vaccines that can offer additional protection against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and other SARS-related viruses, according to the researchers.
“If we can design vaccines that elicit the similar broad responses that we have seen in this study, these treatments could enable broader protection against the virus and variants of concern,” said study senior author Raiees Andrabi, an investigator at The Scripps Research Institute.
The researchers immunised rhesus macaque monkeys with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Two shots were administered, resembling a similar strategy used with currently available vaccines in humans.
However, unlike the vaccines, the macaques were shown to have a broad neutralising antibody response against the virus, including variants such as Omicron.
The scientists found these antibodies recognise a conserved region on the edge of the site where the spike protein binds to host cells, called the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor binding site.
This is different than the region where the majority of human antibodies target, which overlaps more with the ACE2 receptor binding site and is more variable to change, they said.
“The antibody structures reveal an important area common to multiple SARS-related viruses,” said study co-senior author Ian Wilson.
“This region to date has rarely been seen to be targeted by human antibodies and suggests additional strategies that can be used to coax our immune system into recognising this particular region of the virus,” Wilson said.
The researchers notes that the macaque’s gene coding for these broad neutralising antibodies — known as IGHV3-73 — is not the same in humans.
The dominant immune response in humans is related to the IGHV3-53 gene, which produces a potent but much narrower neutralising antibody response, they said.
However, the scientists said this finding paves the way to rationally design and engineer vaccines or vaccine-adjuvant combinations that elicit more broad protection against SARS-CoV-2 and its many variants.
“According to our study, the macaques have an antibody gene that offers them more protection against SARS viruses,” said Dennis Burton, a co-senior author of the study.
“This observation teaches us that studying the effect of a vaccine in monkeys can only take us so far but also reveals a new target for our vaccine efforts that we might be able to exploit by advanced protein design strategies,” Burton added.

News Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

‘Extreme heat belt’ to cover middle of US by 2053: Report

Editor — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 14:28:32 +0000

WASHINGTON: An area of intensely warm weather — a so-called “extreme heat belt” — with at least one day per year in which the heat index hits 125 Fahrenheit (52C), is expected to cover a US region home to more than 100 million people by the year 2053, according to a new study.
The research, carried out by nonprofit First Street Foundation, used a peer-reviewed model built with public and third-party data to estimate heat risk at what they called a “hyper-local” scale of 30 square meters.
First Street Foundation’s mission is to make climate risk modeling accessible to the public, government and industry representatives, such as real estate investors and insurers.
A key finding from the study was that heat exceeding the threshold of the National Weather Service’s highest category — called “Extreme Danger,” or above 125F — was expected to impact 8.1 million people in 2023 and grow to 107 million people in 2053, a 13-fold increase.
This would encompass a geographic region stretching from northern Texas and Louisiana to Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin — inland areas far from the more temperate weather often seen near the coasts.
Heat index, also known as the apparent temperature, is what the outside temperature really feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with air temperature.
To create their model, the research team examined satellite-derived land surface temperatures and air temperatures between 2014 and 2020, to help understand the exact relationship between the two measurements.
This information was further studied by factoring in elevation, how water is absorbed in the area, the distance to surface water and the distance to a coast.
The model was then scaled to future climate conditions, using a “middle of the road” scenario envisaged by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in which carbon dioxide levels start falling by mid-century, but do not reach net zero by 2100.
Beyond “Extreme Danger” days, areas across the whole country are expected to experience hotter temperatures, with varying degrees of resilience.
“These increases in local temperatures result in significant implications for communities that are not acclimated to warmer weather relative to their normal climate,” the report said.
For example, a 10 percent temperature increase in the northeastern state of Maine may be as dangerous as a 10 percent increase in the southwestern state of Texas, despite the higher absolute temperatures seen in Texas.
The biggest predicted shift in local temperature occurred in Miami-Dade County, Florida, which currently sees seven days per year at its hottest temperature of 103 Fahrenheit. By 2053, that number is expected to increase to 34 days at 103 degrees.
And the increase in air conditioning use that is likely to result from such temperature spikes will strain energy grids, the report warned, leading to more frequent, longer lasting brownouts.

News & Photo Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bianca Andreescu shrugs off wardrobe malfunction in US Open win

Editor — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 04:38:45 +0000

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NEW YORK: A hasty change of outfit worked wonders for Bianca Andreescu as she powered into the second round of the US Open on Monday.
The 22-year-old Canadian star, winner of the US Open crown in 2019, overcame Harmony Tan 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 to keep alive her dream of a second Grand Slam title.
However the victory was not without drama as a flustered Andreescu scrambled to change her clothing.
The former world number four arrived on court in a navy blue skirt, but with gusts of wind blowing her outfit around, she pleaded with the chair umpire to make a change.
“It’s not my fault, it’s Nike’s fault, this dress is so bad,” Andreescu could be heard complaining. “I need to go. This is so bad.”
She quickly returned to the court wearing shorts and a white top and set about navigating her way past Tan, who made headlines in June when she beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon.
Andreescu later explained her change of outfit after securing victory.
“It was just bothering me on some forehands. I just felt like it was kind of coming up a bit. Obviously the wind didn’t help,” she said.
She said she had pleaded with the umpire not to dock her a bathroom break — which he agreed to — and said she had not intended to criticise kit manufacturer Nike.
“He was very nice to say it was totally okay,” she said. “I could have definitely used a different choice of wording.
“So I apologize to anyone I disrespected. I love Nike and I hope I can be with them for the rest of my life.”

News Courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com