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☆ Biotech startup Seed Health is betting its profits on AI-powered medical science
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

On Thursday, Seed Health launched CODA, a computational biology platform funded by its consumer business profitability. Seed Health has been in the business of microbiome scientific breakthroughs since its founding in 2015, but its biggest success to-date may have been becoming profitable as a bioscience startup. Katz's co-founder and co-CEO at Seed Health, Raja Dhir, said CODA and the accompanying data set will help to standardize microbiome science methods, which has long been an issue in the field. CODA's first applications are in metabolic health, brain health, longevity, and menopause, research areas chosen because they have already been identified as areas of human health where early CODA data displayed the strongest evidence. Seed Health has been working on several efforts around pioneering microbiome science for human and planetary health, and many in the field believe the approach is destined to have wider applications.

Persons: Katz, Ara Katz, Eran Segal, Eric Topol, transcriptome, Katz's, Raja Dhir, Dhir, Arpana Gupta, Goodman, There's, Segal, Joseph Petrosino, Petrosino Organizations: Seed, Seed Health, CNBC, Weizmann Institute of Science, Scripps Research Institute, UCLA, Luskin Microbiome, Baylor College of Medicine, Center, Metagenomics, Microbiome Research

Scientists are keeping an eye on the new lineage, named BA.2.86, because it has 36 mutations that distinguish it from the currently-dominant XBB.1.5 variant. So far there is no evidence that BA.2.86 spreads faster or causes more serious illness than previous versions. COVID infections and hospitalizations have been rising in the U.S., Europe and Asia, with more cases in recent months attributed to the EG.5 "Eris" subvariant, a descendant of the Omicron lineage that originally emerged in November 2021. But many countries have drastically reduced testing of patients and their efforts to analyze the genomes of the viruses causing new COVID cases. Updated COVID booster shots now being developed have been designed to target the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.

Persons: Emily Elconin, Wesley Long, Eric Topol, Topol, Long, Moderna, Eris, Deena Beasley, Nancy Lapid, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Moderna Inc, Pfizer, World Health Organization, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, CDC, EG, Omicron, Houston Methodist Hospital, Scripps Research, COVID, U.S, Pfizer Inc, Thomson Locations: Waterford , Michigan, U.S, Europe, Asia, United States, Israel, Denmark, La Jolla , California

☆ What to Know About the New Dominant Covid Variant
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Dana G. Smith | More About Dana G. Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The variant was identified in China in February 2023 and was first detected in the United States in April. It is a descendant of the Omicron variant XBB.1.9.2 and has one notable mutation that helps it to evade antibodies developed by the immune system in response to earlier variants and vaccines. That advantage may be why EG.5 has become the dominant strain worldwide, and it could be one reason Covid cases have started to rise again. Diagnostic tests and treatments such as Paxlovid continue to be effective against it, Dr. Pekosz said. “My main concern is for the people at high risk,” Dr. Topol said.

Persons: Pekosz, Eric Topol, Topol, ” Organizations: EG, Scripps Research Locations: China, United States, La Jolla, Calif

International researchers published a pre-print report based on their interpretation of the data on Monday, after leaks of their findings in the media last week and a meeting with the World Health Organization involving both the Chinese and international scientists. The data comprised new sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and additional genomic data based on samples taken from the Huanan market in Wuhan in 2020, according to the international researchers who accessed it. "This adds to the body of evidence identifying the Huanan market as the spillover location of Sars-CoV-2 and the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic," said the report. As of March 11, it was no longer accessible on the database, where it was found by the international scientists, their report said. "Other raw sequencing data from environmental samples from the Huanan market exist and could contain further clues," Debarre told Reuters.

☆ Data released by China suggests COVID-19 virus may have come from raccoon dogs and 'strengthens' Wuhan wet-market theory
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Newly released genetic data from Wuhan has found raccoon dog DNA blended with the COVID-19 virus. Since the first COVID-19 death in Wuhan on January 11, 2020, the virus has killed 6,873,477 people worldwide. This suggests that the virus may have infected the animals, according to the scientists. "We continue to call on China to be transparent in sharing data and to conduct the necessary investigations and share the results. Since the first COVID-19 death — which was recorded in Wuhan, China, on January 11, 2020 — the virus has killed 6,873,477 people around the world, according to WHO data.

☆ Watch Jim Cramer's full interview with Dr. Eric Topol
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch Jim Cramer's full interview with Dr. Eric TopolCramer interviewed Dr. Eric Topol, founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, on Thursday.

☆ Dr. Topol discusses new Covid variant, stresses the importance of getting vaccinated, masking and testing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDr. Topol discusses new Covid variant, stresses the importance of getting vaccinated, masking and testingCramer spoke with Dr. Eric Topol, founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, on Thursday.

☆ The CDC is considering testing airline poop and toilet waste for COVID-19 as anxieties rise about China's virus spread
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US is considering testing airline wastewater for COVID-19 to track the virus. Wastewater tests showed the presence of COVID-19 variants up to two weeks before people tested positive using nasal swabs. Three infectious disease experts told Reuters that testing wastewater collected on airplanes would be more effective at tracking the virus than testing travelers on entry. According to the South China Morning Post, the Malaysian government has announced that they will start screening toilet water on flights from China to track the virus. They will not, however, be testing travelers upon arrival to Malaysia.

☆ U.S. considers airline wastewater testing as Covid surges in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The United States this week also expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. "Previous Covid-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," she wrote. French researchers reported in July that airplane wastewater tests showed requiring negative Covid tests before international flights does not protect countries from the spread of new variants. They found the omicron variant in wastewater from two commercial airplanes that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021 even though passengers had been required to take Covid tests before boarding. Osterholm and others said mandatory testing before travel to the United States is unlikely to keep new variants out of the country.

The United States this week also expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. "Previous COVID-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," she wrote. French researchers reported in July that airplane wastewater tests showed requiring negative COVID tests before international flights does not protect countries from the spread of new variants. They found the Omicron variant in wastewater from two commercial airplanes that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021 even though passengers had been required to take COVID tests before boarding. Osterholm and others said mandatory testing before travel to the United States is unlikely to keep new variants out of the country.

☆ An early-stage HIV vaccine is showing positive results. If it works, it would be first successful HIV vaccine after almost 40 years of research.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An early trial for an experimental HIV vaccine candidate has shown promising results. 97% of recipients in a phase 1 study showed immune system activity in response to the vaccine. Researchers have been trying to create an HIV vaccine for nearly 40 yearsHIV is notoriously difficult to vaccinate against. By evolving and changing quickly, it can avoid the immune system by making itself harder to recognize. "That's sort of a whole new way of thinking about how to make a vaccine," Schief said.

☆ HIV vaccine candidate induces immune response in early clinical trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —An experimental HIV vaccine has been found to induce broadly neutralizing antibodies among a small group of volunteers in a Phase 1 study. “We know that broadly neutralizing antibodies are a potentially effective strategy to prevent HIV,” del Rio said. “However, the incorporation of many different shots into an HIV vaccine regimen is unappealing. More than 20 HIV vaccine clinical trials are ongoing around the world, according to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. But having an HIV vaccine available would make protection against the virus more accessible, he said.

☆ Covid-19 rebound may be more common in people who take Paxlovid, early study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Covid-19 rebound also seems to be more common in people who take Paxlovid compared with those who don’t take the antiviral, although it can happen in either circumstance. In the past few months, instances of Covid-19 rebound have peppered headlines. That study found rebound happened about twice as frequently in people taking Paxlovid as in those who took the placebo. Among the 127 who took Paxlovid, about 14% saw their viral loads climb again after treatment. At least one study has documented a case of a person with rebound Covid-19 who took Paxlovid and passed the infection to an infant.

☆ Factbox: What are the new BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 coronavirus variants, and why it matters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Julie Steenhuysen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The following describes the new coronavirus subvariants and how they may impact people. WHAT ARE BQ.1 AND BQ.1.1? In early July, BA.5 became the dominant subvariant of the coronavirus circulating in the United States, but in October it started giving way to BQ.1 and BQ.1.1. A study of blood from three dozen adults showed the shot increased neutralizing antibodies against the BA.4/BA.5 Omicron subvariants by fourfold compared with the original shot after one month. read moreIt is not yet clear whether that will translate into higher protection against the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants, but their close relationship to BA.5 may work in the booster's favor.

☆ Updated Covid-19 boosters offer protection, but new studies suggest they don't offer an edge against Omicron
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Similar immune responsesThe studies have important limitations, and they aren’t the final word on the updated boosters. In Barouch’s study, antibody concentrations were 15 times higher after the original boosters, rising from 184 to 2,829. They were 17 times higher after the updated shots, jumping from 211 to 3,693. After waiting the recommended three months since his last Covid-19 infection, President Joe Biden got an updated booster Tuesday and urged eligible Americans to do the same. Worobey says that when the strains are combined as they are in the updated boosters, they actually end up competing.

☆ Quick and stealthy new Covid-19 variants are poised to drive a winter surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —A flurry of new Covid-19 variants appears to be gaining traction globally, raising fears of a winter surge. As the US moves into the fall, Covid-19 cases are dropping. But virus experts fear that the downward trend may soon reverse itself, thanks to this gaggle of new variants. Lumped together, the variants accounted for almost 1 in 3 new Covid-19 infections nationwide last week, according to the latest estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The updated bivalent booster vaccines and antiviral drugs like Paxlovid are expected to continue to be protective against severe outcomes from Covid-19 infections caused by the new variants.

☆ If You’re Hunting for Heresy, You Aren’t a Scientist
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Allysia Finley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo stirred a hornet’s nest when he released an analysis of state death and vaccine records that showed young men experienced an 84% increased risk of cardiac death within four weeks of receiving an mRNA vaccine. Actually, that’s unfair to hornets. They aren’t as mindless or vicious as the self-anointed experts attacking Dr. Ladapo. Eric Topol , director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and one of America’s leading Covid scolds, condemned Dr. Ladapo’s study as “baseless, reckless, and irresponsible” because it seemingly contradicted the expert consensus that myocarditis caused by vaccines is “ typically mild and fully resolves in nearly all affected” (emphasis added).

☆ Is the Pandemic ‘Over,’ or Not?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden finally dared to say it on Sunday, declaring in an interview on CBS ’s “60 Minutes” that the “pandemic is over.” Various public-health eminences are saying he’s wrong, but his comments recognize the reality of the disease at this stage and the public mood. The trouble is that his Administration still hasn’t lifted its official finding of a Covid public-health emergency. Eric Topol , the Scripps Research Translational Institute director who is one of America’s leading Covid scolds, tweeted “Wish this was true. What’s over is @POTUS’s and our government’s will to get ahead of it, with magical thinking on the new bivalent boosters. Ignores #LongCovid, inevitability of new variants, and our current incapability for blocking infections and transmission.”

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