In April 2021, The Lancet reported evidence of UK’s first effective drug to treat COVID-19 in patients at home, inhaled budesonide, showing the treatment can reduce recovery time by a median of three days. The treatment has since been included in clinical guidelines for treating early-stage COVID-19 across the UK, Canada and India. Dr. Richard Bartlett shared…
Tag: Research
International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research reports “Worse Than the Disease? Reviewing Some Possible Unintended Consequences of the mRNA Vaccines Against COVID-19”
Operation Warp Speed brought to market in the United States two mRNA vaccines, produced by Pfizer and Moderna. Interim data suggested high efficacy for both of these vaccines, which helped legitimize Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA. However, the exceptionally rapid movement of these vaccines through controlled trials and into mass deployment raises multiple…
MDPI reports “SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Elicits Cell Signaling in Human Host Cells: Implications for Possible Consequences of COVID-19 Vaccines”
The world is suffering from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 uses its spike protein to enter the host cells. Vaccines that introduce the spike protein into our body to elicit virus-neutralizing antibodies are currently being developed. In this article, we note that human host…
ASTMH reports “COVID-19 Infection in the Human Reproductive Tract of Men and Nonpregnant Women”
SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped non-segmented positive-sense RNA virus, classified as a beta coronavirus, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), reported as a SARS-CoV-2 receptor, is expressed in different human tissues (lung, intestine, and kidney) and in the testis, ovaries, uterus, and vagina. This suggests a potential risk to the human reproductive tract…
David Martin reports “When Science Sold Out”
We’ll have a dive into the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act and what impact it has on today’s gene therapy agenda
PLOS One reports “How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data”
The frequency with which scientists fabricate and falsify data, or commit other forms of scientific misconduct is a matter of controversy. Many surveys have asked scientists directly whether they have committed or know of a colleague who committed research misconduct, but their results appeared difficult to compare and synthesize. This is the first meta-analysis of…
JCI Insight reports “Anti–spike IgG causes severe acute lung injury by skewing macrophage responses during acute SARS-CoV infection”
Newly emerging viruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome CoVs (MERS-CoV), and H7N9, cause fatal acute lung injury (ALI) by driving hypercytokinemia and aggressive inflammation through mechanisms that remain elusive. In SARS-CoV/macaque models, we determined that anti–spike IgG (S-IgG), in productively infected lungs, causes severe ALI by skewing inflammation-resolving…
Newsweek reports “COVID Lockdowns May Have No Clear Benefit vs Other Voluntary Measures, International Study Shows”
Astudy evaluating COVID-19 responses around the world found that mandatory lockdown orders early in the pandemic may not provide significantly more benefits to slowing the spread of the disease than other voluntary measures, such as social distancing or travel reduction. The peer reviewed study was published in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation on January 5, and…
NY Times reports “Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last Years, New Data Hint”
Blood samples from recovered patients suggest a powerful, long-lasting immune response, researchers reported. How long might immunity to the coronavirus last? Years, maybe even decades, according to a new study — the most hopeful answer yet to a question that has shadowed plans for widespread vaccination. Eight months after infection, most people who have recovered still…
IOC Press reports “Aluminum and Amyloid-β in Familial Alzheimer’s Disease”
Genetic predispositions associated with metabolism of the amyloid-β protein precursor underlie familial Alzheimer’s disease; a form of dementia characterized by early disease onset and elevated levels of cortical amyloid-β. Human exposure to aluminum is linked to the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease and recent research measured a high content of aluminum in brain tissue in familial…