Lab Researchers Force Coronavirus To Mutate — And Get Unsettling Results
The study, which has not yet been published in a scientific journal, found that the virus became invisible to disease-fighting antibodies. Other research and scientific news includes advances on antibodies, the latest tech, celebrity cancer therapy and antibiotics use.
The New York Times:
The Coronavirus Could Dodge Some Treatments, Study Suggests
In a laboratory in New York City, researchers coaxed a key piece of the coronavirus — its infamous outer “spike” — to mutate so that it became invisible to disease-fighting antibodies, according to a new study that has not yet been published in a scientific journal. The provocative finding should not set off alarm bells, experts said. The altered spikes were not attached to the real coronavirus, which mutates at a much slower pace than most laboratory viruses. But the study does underscore the need for treatments and vaccines that attack the virus in different ways, so that if the pathogen manages to evade one approach, another will be waiting in the wings. (Wu, 7/28)
The Hill:
Coronavirus Relatives May Pose Threat To Humans: Study
The coronavirus circulating across the globe may have close relatives that have not yet been discovered, a hint that the current pandemic will not be the last one to threaten humans. New research published Tuesday in the journal Nature Microbiology finds the current strain, known in the scientific literature as SARS-CoV-2, diverged genetically from other known viruses that circulated in bats between 40 and 70 years ago. (Wilson, 7/28)
NPR:
Antibodies From Recovered COVID-19 Patients Being Tested As Way To Prevent Infection
If you're bitten or scratched by an animal with rabies, your doctor can give you a shot to prevent the virus from taking hold in you and causing an infection. The same concept is now being put to the test for the coronavirus. Most people who get sick with COVID-19 produce antibodies in their blood that seem protect them from re-infection. A study is now underway to see whether an infusion of those antibodies can protect someone who has been exposed to the virus and is at high risk of infection. (Harris, 7/29)
In tech news —
The Wall Street Journal:
Could You Have Covid-19? Soon Your Smartwatch Or Smart Ring Might Tell You
A drip of snot… Could be Covid? A slight chill… Probably Covid. A single cough… Yep, Covid! I’m no hypochondriac, but I spend a lot of time wondering if once-typical bodily ailments are signs of the coronavirus sweeping the planet. Or at least I did, before I turned my body into a symptom-tracking Covid-19 computer. For the past three weeks I’ve worn an Oura ring, Fitbit, Garmin fitness band and Apple Watch, along with two high-tech skin patches, all packed with sensors. They’ve sent hundreds of temperature readings, blood oxygen levels, heart beats—even cough counts—to my phone. All to find out if I have Covid-19. (I don’t. Confirmed with a real fun nasal-swab test.) (Stern, 7/28)
Houston Chronicle:
Houston Pediatrics Research Group Wants To Fund COVID-19 Medical Tech For Kids
A group of Houston physicians and scientists want to fund medical devices that could save children’s lives if they come down with COVID-19. The Southwest National Pediatric Device Consortium is trying to entice scientists to develop technologies that would help in the fight against COVID-19. Through grant funding, up to $25,000 per applicant, the group will provide cash for researchers trying to create medical devices that would help what Executive Director Dr. Chester Koh said is a vulnerable population. (Wu, 7/28)
In other news —
Stat:
Celebs Tried Soon-Shiong's Cancer Therapy. Can It Work In A Clinical Trial?
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s pancreatic cancer went into remission. “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, diagnosed last year with the same disease, has said his “numbers are going in the right direction.” Both celebrities attribute their improvement to the same experimental immunotherapy treatment being developed by the physician and billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong. (Robbins and Feuerstein, 7/29)
CIDRAP:
Global Use Of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics Rising, Data Show
Global consumption of antibiotics that have a greater potential for driving antibiotic resistance nearly doubled from 2000 to 2015, according to a new analysis in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The study, led by researchers from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), looked at global antibiotic consumption patterns using antibiotic sales data and the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe) antibiotic classification framework, introduced in 2017 to provide an indirect indication of the appropriateness of antibiotic use at national and global levels. (Dall, 7/28)
