Biology Digest

  A person in California who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the omicron variant, the White House announced Wednesday as scientists continue to study the risks posed by the new virus strain. Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters that the person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29. Fauci said the person was vaccinated but had not received a booster shot and was experiencing “mild symptoms.” A person in California who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the omicron variant, the White House announced Wednesday as scientists continue to study the risks posed by the new virus strain. Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters that the person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29. Fauci said the person was vaccinated but had not received a booster shot and was experiencing “mild sympt

  Public health officials are closely monitoring the mu variant of the coronavirus now circulating in Los Angeles County, though they say the delta variant remains the greatest cause for concern.  Labeled as a “variant of interest” on Aug. 30 by the World Health Organization, the mu variant has been identified in 167 cases to date in L.A. County, the county Department of Public Health said in a  news release  Friday. “The identification of variants like Mu, and the spreading of variants across the globe, highlights the need for L.A. County residents to continue to take measures to protect themselves and others,” Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director, said in a statement. The mu variant was first identified in Colombia in January 2021. It has since popped up in 39 other countries, the L.A. County officials said.  Although further studies are needed to determine if the mu variant is more contagious than other COVID-19 strains, it has been found to have key mutations linked

  SACRAMENTO – Today, the State of California is taking decisive action to combat the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable communities – implementing a first-in-the-nation standard to require all state workers and workers in health care and high-risk congregate settings to either show proof of full vaccination or be tested at least once per week, and encourage all local government and other employers to adopt a similar protocol. “We are now dealing with a pandemic of the unvaccinated, and it’s going to take renewed efforts to protect Californians from the dangerous Delta variant,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “As the state’s largest employer, we are leading by example and requiring all state and health care workers to show proof of vaccination or be tested regularly, and we are encouraging local governments and businesses to do the same. Vaccines are safe – they protect our family, those who truly can’t get vaccinated, our children and our economy. Vaccines are the way we end this

  OpenVaccine Updates: How Eterna players designed superfolder mRNAs and how Stanford researchers tested them - Hannah Wayment-Steele, PhD The first authorized COVID-19 vaccines were based on messenger RNA molecules that promote translation of SARS-CoV-2 antigen proteins. However, these vaccines have been logistically problematic for delivery to developing countries and to rural populations in developed countries. We will talk about how Eterna players designed "superfolder" mRNAs that were predicted to be more resistant to degradation, how researchers at the Das and Barna groups at Stanford validated their increased stability and translation, and what the next frontiers are for designing improved RNA vaccines.

NAPA, Calif. (KRON) – A Napa doctor is under arrest for allegedly selling fake COVID-19 immunization pellets and vaccination cards, according to prosecutors. 41-year-old Julie Mazi claimed the pellets she sold contained the COVID-19 virus and would create an antibody response in patients’ immune systems. Mazi allegedly would then send fake vaccination verification cards and encourage her patients to falsely state they had received the Moderna vaccine on the day they ate the pellets. “Steering through the challenges presented by COVID-19 requires trust and reliance on our medical professionals to provide sage information and guidance,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Hinds.  “According to the complaint, instead of disseminating valid remedies and information, Juli Mazi  profited from unlawfully peddling unapproved remedies, stirring up false fears, and generating fake proof of vaccinations.  We will act to protect trust in the medical developments that are enabling us to emerge from the probl

  Veklury has become routine treatment for severe COVID-19 patients in the U.S., spurring significant sales for Gilead Sciences. Experts have often debated data from the drug’s clinical trials, and now a small study adds points to the arguments voiced by skeptics. Both Veklury, also known as remdesivir, and hydroxychloroquine didn’t significantly clear the virus from hospitalized COVID-19 patients or affect the degree of respiratory failure and inflammation over standard of care after 10 days, according to  a study  published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday. The randomized trial, dubbed NOR-Solidarity, was an independent add-on to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) previously reported 11,200-person  Solidarity trial . That study, released in October, found that Veklury “appeared to have little or no effect on hospitalized COVID-19” when measured by the need for ventilation, the length of hospital stay and overall mortality.  Gilead  responded swiftly  in opposition to t

  Note this is under investigation as of July 2021 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- There’s growing concern in the scientific community that a coronavirus (COVID-19) variant that has yet to reach U.S. shores could be resistant to vaccines,  according to a new report. On Monday, the  New York Post reported  that the Lambda variant, first discovered in Peru last August, could be more resistant to existing coronavirus vaccines than other forms of the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO), which has deemed the Lambda variant one of interest, said that the various mutations present may result in “potential increased transmissibility or possible increased resistance to neutralizing antibodies.” A  recent study  published in Chile, where the variant accounts for about one-third of all coronavirus cases, said that the Lambda variant appears to be more resistant to vaccines than other strains of the virus. “Our data show for the first time that mutations present in the spike protein of the Lambda va

Twenty years of lab conspiracies have came by in a flash   I noticed in recent biology and political talk that the Lab conspiracy in China keeps escalating especially here in the USA. I'm wondering if the conspiracy theories that the politicians keep ranting about as a ploy for the 2022 governor's and congressional elections even understand that here in the USA two decades ago we had the Anthrax attacks. There were FBI investigations at the time saying it came from a lab here in the USA and it was one of the sparking points on why biology majors are the least trusted group to the general public for the past 20 years. I agree it's virtue signaling among politicians in this recent China lab conspiracy in relation to SARS-CoV-2. TWIV 760 and TWIV 761 a Microbe.tv production recently went into discussions on how COVID-19 "Lab Conspiracy" is not true and the evidence the virologists had showed that the virus was naturally occurring. Parts of this escalation on Lab cons

 Growing up as a 6-year-old kid in Utah, I frequently practiced basketball in my driveway, trying to do all of the dribble moves and shots I saw my hero, John Stockton, do on TV, including a simple crossover. It was hard. The ball was too big for my little hands to control. But everything changed in one day — my seventh birthday. My mom got me a vanilla cake with Stockton somehow made in imaged icing on the top, a thrill just to look at, let alone eat. I devoured too much of it, got home from my birthday party (at the Fun Dome, maybe?), and took out a basketball. Now, I could do it. I could do a crossover. Like it was nothing, in fact. (Basically, it is nothing, but don’t tell young Andy that.) I, somehow, had ingested Stockton’s soul, and his skills were now mine. It was magic. I relate this story to you now because Stockton is involved with an anti-vaccine video project based here in Utah — spreading theories that have about as much scientific validity as my “I ate cake-icing Stockto

COLUMBUS, Ohio — No employer, either public or private, could require employees to receive vaccinations under GOP legislation pending in the Ohio House. Also, workers could not be fired as a result of refusing. The measure before the Republican-controlled House Health Committee has attracted multiple opponents of COVID-19 vaccines but goes further in addressing mandatory requirements for all vaccines, such as for the flu. "I believe in vaccines and scientific research. I also recognize that vaccination is a personal choice and that, for a variety of reasons, not all Ohioans can or want to receive vaccines," said Rep. Jennifer Gross, a Republican from West Chester in southwestern Ohio, in introducing the bill on May 18. Gross, a nurse practitioner, told fellow lawmakers she has received other vaccinations but not the one for COVID-19. The legislation does not mention COVID-19. But Gross made multiple references to employers including hospitals requiring proof of the COVID-19 v