Covid-19 is an evil genius. Virologist Peter Kolchinsky explains how

With more than 22 lakh people infected, more than 1.5 lakh dead of the novel coronavirus, health experts all over the world are scrambling to understand just how did this one virus get so potent.

According to world-renowned virologist Peter Kolchinsky, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is nothing short of an "evil genius".

Kolchinsky who spoke to senior editor Shiv Aroor as part of India Today's e-Conclave Corona Series explained how the novel coronavirus developed mechanisms to become a silent killer -- infecting so many so quickly all without a trace.

"There’s something this virus evolved to be able to do that made it more dangerous than the SARS virus. The 2019-nCoV and SARS viruses are somewhat related," he said.

"This one [SARS-CoV-2] evolved to silently infect us...in the upper respiratory area and spread before replicating in our lungs," he added.

To break it down, think of the family of coronaviruses as spiky little buggers floating around in our body. They enter the body through droplets and use their spikes to attach to themselves to proteins in our body's cells.

Once they gain access to the cell, they use the machinery to replicate their numbers.

While the SARS-CoV-1 virus (responsible for the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak) would also enter the body through air droplets, it would target the person's lungs -- very rapidly making the infected ill. Since it made its presence known in a short span of time, it allowed for faster quarantining of patients.

The 2019 edition of the virus is much smarter. It enters the body and makes home in an individual's throat cells. This does not really cause any significant symptoms immediately. The person may remain asymptomatic or even think of it as a minor cold.

Thus a person infected with SARS-CoV-2 will continue moving around, unwittingly infecting more people they come in contact with. Even if the person develops severe symptoms and hospitalised, it will be too late as the virus has already done its job.

Peter Kolchinsky has summed it up for all of us: "SARS-CoV-1 was a comparatively dumb virus. It went straight for the lungs, announced itself before it could spread to others, and so got social distanced into extinction. But SARS-CoV-2, the one plaguing us now, is stealthier, spreading first before revealing itself."

So what's the solution? Social distancing and wearing masks and other protective gear even when you don't think you are infected!

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This California plant may hold promise for treating Alzheimer's

A potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory chemical in a native California shrub may lead to treatment for Alzheimer's disease, say, researchers. The plant called Yerba santa, dubbed as "holy herb" in Spanish by native California tribes, has long been used to treat respiratory ailments, fever and headaches as well as for wounds, sore muscles and rheumatism.

A team of scientists  identified from Yerba santa a molecule called sterubin, with a potent anti-inflammatory impact on brain cells known as microglia. It was also an effective iron remover -- potentially beneficial because iron can contribute to nerve cell damage in ageing and neurodegenerative diseases.

Overall, the compound was effective against multiple inducers of cell death in the nerve cells, said one of the researcher.

"This is a compound that was known but ignored," said the researcher. "Not only did sterubin turn out to be much more active than the other flavonoids in Yerba santa in our assays, it appears as good as, if not better than, other flavonoids we have studied," she added.

To identify natural compounds that might reverse neurological disease symptoms, she applied a screening technique used in drug discovery to a commercial library of 400 plant extracts with known pharmacological properties.

Sterubin was found as Yerba Santa's most active component. Next, the team plans to test sterubin in an animal model of Alzheimer's, then determine its drug-like characteristics and toxicity levels in animals and later in humans. 

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This Could Impair The Immune System

Researchers have now discovered how the fungus -- Aspergillus fumigatus -- knocks out the immune defences, enabling a potentially fatal fungal infection to develop.

While, healthy people usually have no problem if microorganisms find their way into their bodies as their immune defence system will put the spores out of action, a specific type of fungus can threaten lives with a compromised immune system, such as AIDS patients or who are immunosuppressed following an organ transplantation, says a new study.

Researchers have now discovered how the fungus -- Aspergillus fumigatus -- knocks out the immune defences, enabling a potentially fatal fungal infection to develop.

Among other factors, it is gliotoxin -- a potent mycotoxin -- that is responsible for the pathogenicity of Aspergillus fumigatus.

Pathogenicity refers to the ability of an organism to cause disease.

"It was known that this substance has an immunosuppressive effect, which means that it weakens the activity of cells of the immune defence system. However, it had not been clear previously how exactly this happens," said a Professor.

To achieve this, they brought immune cells into contact with synthetically produced gliotoxin. These cells -- neutrophilic granulocytes -- represent the first line of the immune defence system.

Their task is to detect pathogens and eliminate them. As soon as such a cell comes into contact with a pathogen, for example a fungus, it releases specific messenger substances (leukotrienes) into the blood, which attract other immune cells. Once a sufficiently large number of immune cells has gathered, they can render the intruder harmless, findings showed.

This does not happen if the pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus is involved. Gliotoxin ensures that production of the messenger substance leukotrieneB4 in the neutrophilic granulocytes is inhibited, so that they are unable to send a signal to other immune cells. This is caused by a specific enzyme (LTA4 hydrolase) being switched off by the mycotoxin.

"This interrupts communication between the immune cells and destroys the defence mechanism. As a result, it is easy for spores - in this case the fungus - that enter the organism to infiltrate tissues or organs," said the Prof.
THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                                         FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                                     FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                  https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com

 

Migraine may up cardiovascular diseases

People who suffer from a migraine may be at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases including heart attacks, stroke, blood clot and an irregular heart rate, researchers say.

Around one billion people worldwide are affected by a migraine. It has a considerable impact on quality of life and imposes a substantial burden on society.

Although the absolute risks were low, the findings suggest that “a migraine should be considered a potent and persistent risk factor for most cardiovascular diseases in both men and women”, said researchers.

Migraine’s association with cardiovascular disease risk can be attributed to the increased use of anti-inflammatory drugs, by the patients suffering from the headache disorder.

Anti-inflammatory drugs are associated with increased risks of heart problems, while immobilisation related to migraine attacks may be behind the increase in the risk of blood clot.

Current guidelines do not recommend the use of anti-clotting drugs such as aspirin to treat a migraine, but clinicians need to “consider whether patients at particularly high risk of heart disease would benefit from anticoagulant treatment”, the researchers said.

For the study, the team compared data from over 51,000  people who had been diagnosed with a migraine with over 510,000 who were a migraine-free over a 19 year period, from 1995 to 2013.

While a link between a migraine, stroke and heart attacks, have been previously established, the new study showed that a migraine also was positively associated with a blood clot and irregular heart rate.

For example, for every 1,000 patients, 25 patients with a migraine had a heart attack compared with 17 a migraine-free patient while 45 patients with a migraine had an ischaemic stroke (blood clot in the brain) compared with 25 a migraine free patients, the study showed.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.    

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New drug for inherited cancer identified

 Scientists have identified a new drug that can potentially treat an inherited form of cancer that has no cure.

 The new study showed the drug candidate - known as FRAX97 - slowed the proliferation and progression of tumour cells in animal models of Neurofibromatosis type 2.

This inherited type of cancer, caused by mutations in the anti-tumour gene NF2, leads to tumours of the auditory nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain.

 The new compound, originally developed to treat neuro-degenerative disease, targets a protein family known as p21-activated kinases or PAKs.

 These kinases (enzymes that add a phosphate group to other proteins and change their function) play a critical role in the development of Neurofibromatosis type 2. PAK1 has also been implicated in the growth of breast and lung cancers.

 "Our study shows that if we inhibit these kinases we can counter the formation of tumours in this brain disease," said an  associate professor who led the study.

 In the new study, researchers showed that the inhibitor slows down progression of Neurofibromatosis type 2 in animal models and reduces more than 80 per cent of PAK1 activity.

They noted a key challenge in developing drug candidates is finding potential agents that are both potent and highly selective for their targets - limiting its action to the desired arena and reducing unwanted side effects.

 "This inhibitor turned out to be both potent and highly selective," he said.

 "The real question is why. We were able to show that it works through a unique mechanism," he said.

 While the binding site on PAK1 is quite large, it also contains a smaller pocket, a kind of back-room that juts off the larger site.

 The inhibitor not only takes up space in the larger site, but enters the back pocket as well. That extra binding gives the inhibitor its strong selectivity.

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Eat pomegranates to ward off sunburn.

Pomegranates are a rich source of ellagic acid, which can help protect your skin from UVA- and UVB-induced cell damage, according to research. Aim to get the health benefits of pomegranates from whole fruits, which are a more potent form of the skin-protecting acids than juices or supplements.

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GOODNESS OF CHERRIES

A rich source of antioxidants
Cherries are a rich source of antioxidants and they prevent or repair the damage that is done to your body's cells by free radicals. They are also known to be potent anticancer agents. Apart from this, they relieve arthritis pain which is on the rise during the rainy season. Cherries also relieves stress and is known to prevent premature ageing.

Choose the right cherries
Opt for cherries that are plump, have glossy skins and pleasing green stems. Do not select spongy, dull or injured fruit. Small hard cherries lack flavour and juice, although the smaller varieties turn out to be pretty sweet. You might find the cherries to have a tinge of yellow, but still you can purchase them. Make sure that you store the cherries in a plastic bag and keep it in the refrigerator, instead of keeping them outside. Cherries are highly perishable, so use as soon as possible.




ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

ps- those interested in recipes are free to view my blog-

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for info about knee replacement, you can view my blog-

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I've not given details about designs, but those interested are free to mail me for the same.