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Alison Prodzinski

The Flu Virus Can Tell Time. Here's Why You Should Care | Popular Science - 0 views

www.popsci.com/...time-heres-why-you-should-care

shared by Alison Prodzinski on 02 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • Influenza can tell time, and it choreographs its actions according to a strict schedule.
  • The virus has to orchestrate its actions carefully--if it moves too fast, it won’t have time to make new copies of itself, and if it moves too slowly, it might be stopped by immune defenses.
  • To fight it, they tricked the virus into changing the amount of time it took to gather the protein. First, they made it acquire the protein too quickly, which caused the flu to leave the cell before it had made enough copies of itself. In this case, the cells were lung epithelial cells. Then they altered it to leave too late, giving immune cells enough time to respond and kill the virus before it escaped.
  • Alison Prodzinski on 02 Apr 13
     
    Viruses are smarter then we ever imagined!! Researchers have realized that virus have their own time-clock. Virus's take about 8 hours to sufficiently make copies and overtake our bodies. They slowly build in our bodies, before the body actually realizes what is happening - by that time it is too late. Researchers are now tricking viruses into changing the time needed to overtake the body - making the body react quicker and kill the virus. The flu vaccine is still the best way, however, if we can fool the time it takes for a virus to overthrow the body - can we stop it in general? 
Casey Finnerty

The Virus That Learns - Phenomena: The Loom - 0 views

phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/...the-virus-that-learns

microbiology CRISPR

shared by Casey Finnerty on 07 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Likewise, restriction enzymes are a dangerous defense, because they can chop up the distinctive stretches of DNA in a bacterium’s own genes. It avoids attacking itself by capping those sequences in its own DNA, so that the restriction enzymes can’t reach them.
  • Some species can muck up the production of new viruses, stealing their proteins before they can form shells. Others commit suicide upon infection, so as to avoid becoming an incubator for new viruses that would then kill their nearby relatives.
  • CRISPR genes can produce RNA molecules with a matching sequence. They grab onto the virus’s RNA and prevent them from being turned into proteins. The virus factory grinds to a halt.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • The bacteria hold onto an invading virus’s DNA, so that they are now prepared for a fresh attack. And over time, bacteria can build up little libraries of these virus barcodes. 
  • Last year, scientists at Indiana University surveyed the bacteria in people’s mouths and discovered 8,000 different viral barcodes–many of them corresponding to viruses scientists have yet to discover.
  • But if you build up a healthy store of antibodies to various strains of flu, smallpox, and other diseases, all that knowledge dies with you.
  • Not so for bacteria. When a microbe reproduces, it passes down its CRISPR genes and all of their viral barcodes to its descendants–including the ones it acquired in its own lifetime.
  • Last fall, for example, University of Cambridge scientists discovered viruses that carry an antidote for the suicide toxin made by their hosts. When the bacteria want to die, the virus forces them to live on. And just last month, University of Toronto scientists even discovered anti-CRISPR genes in viruses, which the viruses use to shut down the production of virus-killing molecules.
  • the scientists demonstrated that the ICP1 virus uses its CRISPR immune system to attack its host’s virus-attacking genes.
Whitney Hopfauf

Doctors warned to be vigilant for warn new deadly virus sweeping the globe from Middle ... - 0 views

www.dailymail.co.uk/...weeping-globe-Middle-East.html

globe virus virology microbiology

shared by Whitney Hopfauf on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • three confirmed infections in Britain suggests the virus can pass from person to person rather than from animal to humans
  • coronavirus, part of the same family of viruses as the common cold and the deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
  • 60-year-old man who had recently traveled to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and developed a respiratory illness on January 24, 2013. Samples from the man showed he was infected with both the new virus and with H1N1
  • Whitney Hopfauf on 12 Mar 13
     
    While the number of confirmed cases is really low, the unnerving aspect is that 8 of the 14 people infected died. 
Tyrell Varner

Avian virus may be harmful to cancer cells - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...130408142644.htm

virus cancer

shared by Tyrell Varner on 09 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • We modified the virus so that it replicates only in the presence of an active prostate-specific antigen and, therefore, is highly specific to prostate cancer. We also tested its efficacy in a tumor model in vitro," Subbiah said. "The recombinant virus efficiently and specifically killed prostate cancer cells, while sparing normal human cells in the laboratory, but it would take time for this to move from the discovery phase to a treatment for prostate cancer patients."
  • Tyrell Varner on 09 Apr 13
     
    They are looking for commercial entities that are interested in licensing the technology for human clinical trials and treatment. In addition, the researchers have also received a National Institutes of Health exploratory grant to develop the cell type-specific disease virus for several other types of cancer cells, including breast, pancreas, brain, prostate, and multiple myeloma. Although, it will work most effectively in prostate cancer.
Elijah Velasquez

A viral grappling hook: Flu virus attacks like a pirate boarding party - 1 views

phys.org/...rappling-flu-virus-pirate.html

virology influenza

shared by Elijah Velasquez on 24 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Elijah Velasquez on 24 Mar 13
     
    The flu virus carries about 300 to 400 of these hooks and virologists had known that several are needed to fuse the membranes. 4 hooks has recently been identified as the number of hooks required to pull the two membranes together. Without the attachment of 4 hooks the virus is vulnerable to inhibitors which will prevent fusion.
Whitney Hopfauf

Could new flu spark global flu pandemic? New bird flu strain seen adapting to mammals, ... - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...130412192402.htm

pandemic humans virology influenza

shared by Whitney Hopfauf on 16 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • "The human isolates, but not the avian and environmental ones, have a protein mutation that allows for efficient growth in human cells and that also allows them to grow at a temperature that corresponds to the upper respiratory tract of humans, which is lower than you find in birds,
    • Whitney Hopfauf
      Whitney Hopfauf on 30 Apr 13
       
      These are the same researchers who did the infamous bird flu study that was temporarily banned
  • new virus has sickened at least 33 people, killing nine.
  • ...4 more annotations...
    • Whitney Hopfauf
      Whitney Hopfauf on 30 Apr 13
       
      This is so concerning... and yet it seems that the general population is oblivious to the implications of this virus
  • majority of the viruses in the study -- from both humans and birds -- display mutations in the surface protein hemagglutinin, which the pathogen uses to bind to host cells.
  • The same mutation, Kawaoka notes, lets the avian virus thrive in the cooler temperatures of the human upper respiratory system
  • the new strain could be treated with another clinically relevant antiviral drug, oseltamivir.
  • Jenna Veldhuizen on 16 Apr 13
     
    Genetic sequencing of the current H7N9 outbreak in China has revealed the ability of the virus to adapt to a human host
Casey Finnerty

Hilary Koprowski, Developed Live-Virus Polio Vaccine, Dies at 96 - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...-polio-vaccine-dies-at-96.html

poliovirus vaccination virology

shared by Casey Finnerty on 23 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • Casey Finnerty on 23 Apr 13
     
    Fascinating obituary on the scientist who developed the first attenuated virus vaccine for polio. Surprise! It was not Salk nor Sabin.
Megan Rasmussen

Feds blame combination of parasite, virus, bacteria, pesticides for strange bee disappe... - 1 views

www.foxnews.com/...ria-pesticides-for-strange-bee

microbiology virus

shared by Megan Rasmussen on 05 May 13 - No Cached
  • Megan Rasmussen on 05 May 13
     
    A report blames colony collapse disorder on pesticides for possibly damaging the bee's immune system and making them more susceptible to parasites, viruses and bacteria. I know a lot of people are allergic to bees or hate them but check out this quotation: "About one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination." Bees are important!!!
Katelyn Madigan

Viral reactivation a likely link between stress and heart disease - 1 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...130122162331.htm

Virus Stress Heart Disease

shared by Katelyn Madigan on 24 Jan 13 - No Cached
    • Katelyn Madigan
      Katelyn Madigan on 24 Jan 13
       
      It is important not to exaggerate your findings, so I think it is good that they are honest with areas of the research that are still not definitive.
  • enhanced levels of proinflammatory proteins in the blood of patients with acute coronary events and detectable levels of the EBV-related protein
  • having more of one of these proteins in the blood was linked to the presence of antibodies that signal a latent Epstein-Barr virus
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • looked for antibodies against a protein that can be produced even when only partial or incomplete reactivation of Epstein-Barr EBV occurs
  • EBV, a human herpes virus that causes infectious mononucleosis and several different types of tumors
  • Stress is a known predictor of reactivation of EBV, meaning virus reactivation could be a mechanism by which stress leads to chronic inflammation and eventually cardiovascular diseases.
  • viral proteins can induce inflammation, affecting the lining of blood vessels, so that inflammation is in the right place to function as a significant risk factor for heart disease
Whitney Hopfauf

First documented case of child cured of HIV - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...130303172640.htm

virus

shared by Whitney Hopfauf on 04 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Whitney Hopfauf on 04 Mar 13
     
    Exciting when AIDS research takes a step forward. However, is it true that although they cannot detect the virus, it may lie dormant? How sensitive are those tests? There was a case of a man who had HIV and leukemia and so they treated him with a bone marrow transplant from someone who was resistant to HIV. The man was said to be cured but there were later debates on the validity. 
Casey Finnerty

Baby With H.I.V. Is Reported Cured - NYTimes.com - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...-cured-of-hiv-doctors-say.html

HIV microbiology virology immunity

shared by Casey Finnerty on 07 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • If the report is confirmed, the child born in Mississippi would be only the second well-documented case of a cure in the world
  • Typically a newborn with an infected mother would be given one or two drugs as a prophylactic measure. But Dr. Gay said that based on her experience, she almost immediately used a three-drug regimen aimed at treatment, not prophylaxis, not even waiting for the test results confirming infection.
  • Virus levels rapidly declined with treatment and were undetectable by the time the baby was a month old. That remained the case until the baby was 18 months old, after which the mother stopped coming to the hospital and stopped giving the drugs.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • Dr. Gay contacted Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, an immunologist at the University of Massachusetts,
  • Dr. Steven Deeks, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said if the reservoir never established itself, then he would not call it a true cure, though this was somewhat a matter of semantics. “Was there enough time for a latent reservoir, the true barrier to cure, to establish itself?” he said.
  • One hypothesis is that the drugs killed off the virus before it could establish a hidden reservoir in the baby.
  • They found tiny amounts of some viral genetic material but no virus able to replicate, even lying dormant in so-called reservoirs in the body.
  • “For pediatrics, this is our Timothy Brown,” said Dr. Deborah Persaud, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and lead author of the report on the baby. “It’s proof of principle that we can cure H.I.V. infection if we can replicate this case.”
  • Dr. Hannah B. Gay, an associate professor of pediatrics,
  • The results have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
  • The baby, born in rural Mississippi, was treated aggressively with antiretroviral drugs starting around 30 hours after birth, something that is not usually done. If further study shows this works in other babies, it will almost certainly be recommended globally.
  • those reports and this new one could suggest there is something different about babies’ immune systems, said Dr. Joseph McCune of the University of California, San Francisco.
  • the results could lead to a new protocol for quickly testing and treating infants.
Tyrell Varner

How antibodies neutralize mosquito-borne virus - 1 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...130402125044.htm

virus antibodies

shared by Tyrell Varner on 02 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • The findings show the precise structure of the virus-like particle bound to a key part of the antibodies, called the antigen binding fragment, or Fab, which attaches to the heterodimers making up the virus's outer shell. The analyses showed that the antibodies stabilize the viral surface, hindering fusion to the host cell and likely neutralizing infection.
  • "This is the first time the structure of an alphavirus has been examined in this detail,"
  • Tyrell Varner on 02 Apr 13
     
    This could help researchers find a vaccine for this disease, which has symptoms closely related to Dengue Fever.
Jeremiah Williamson

How Parkinson's disease protein acts like a virus - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...130425213758.htm

shared by Jeremiah Williamson on 26 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • Jeremiah Williamson on 26 Apr 13
     
    This finding could possibly lead to new treatment remedies, slowing the onset of Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's works like the cold virus, the protein alpha synuclein breaks out of the lysosome and enters a neuron. The protein aggregates and clumps, causing cell death.
Amanda Bergstedt

Virus blamed in dolphin deaths - 0 views

www.theislanderonline.com.au/...virus-blamed-in-dolphin-deaths

shared by Amanda Bergstedt on 30 Apr 13 - No Cached
  • Amanda Bergstedt on 30 Apr 13
     
    An outbreak of morbillivirus caused the death of 5 dolphins in Gulf St Vincent in the past six weeks. Warmer waters due to the recent algal bloom could play a role in the manifestation of this virus.
loryn_micro

Researchers find avian virus may be harmful to cancer cells | Science Codex - 0 views

www.sciencecodex.com/harmful_to_cancer_cells-109972

shared by loryn_micro on 01 May 13 - No Cached
  • loryn_micro on 01 May 13
     
    Interesting study on the possibility of using the Newcastle disease virus to treat prostate cancer. They modified the virus so that it replicates only in the presence of an active prostate-specific antigen. There are only mild side effects in humans although this is a fatal disease in domestic birds (I remember one of the former companies I worked for working on this vaccine for birds).
loryn_micro

Outbreak Of New SARS-Like Virus Kills 5 In Saudi Arabia : NPR - 0 views

www.npr.org/...-virus-kills-5-in-saudi-arabia

shared by loryn_micro on 02 May 13 - No Cached
  • loryn_micro on 02 May 13
     
    Five more people have died from a new SARS-like virus on the Arabian Peninsula
Casey Finnerty

Cruise Ship Illness: Why Are Ships So Prone to Norovirus Outbreaks? - 0 views

news.nationalgeographic.com/...an-nation-health-science-virus

microbiology virology norovirus

shared by Casey Finnerty on 29 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • The industrial-size servings of food on a cruise ship with hundreds of passengers can be particularly worrisome, since once the virus enters the food it can spread rapidly. Food can also get more easily contaminated with the virus if it sits out for several hours, as is often the case with buffet-style meals.
  • And so many people being in one place eases the virus's spread. "In close quarters it doesn't get away, everything's concentrated," Zimring says.
  • The best defense against gastrointestinal disease, Zimring says, is to wash and sanitize your hands constantly
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • try to be the first person there at the buffet
  • Don't eat tepid food.
  • avoid buffet meals entirely
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