Biology Digest

  HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon best known as the host of TV’s “Dr. Oz Show” after rocketing to fame on Oprah Winfrey’s show, announced Tuesday that he is running for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat as a Republican. Oz, 61, will bring his unrivaled name recognition and wealth to a wide-open race that is expected to be among the nation’s most competitive and could determine control of the Senate in next year’s election. Oz — a longtime New Jersey resident — enters a Republican field that is  resetting with an influx of candidates  and a new opportunity to appeal to voters loyal to former President Donald Trump, now that the candidate endorsed by Trump  has just exited the race . In a one-minute video message on social media, Oz casts himself as a sort of champion for people’s health, who “took on the medical establishment to argue against costly drugs and skyrocketing medical bills” and is prepared to fight a government that he...

  SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Starting Monday, the U.S will ban entry to most travelers from several African countries. Vallejo resident, Gray Pimentel arrived from London to the Bay Area on Friday. "I thought things were getting better quite frankly. This is so new, and it was kind of happening while we were there," said Pimentel. As Omicron continues to spread, the UK, Japan, Brazil, Thailand and Singapore are among a growing list of countries imposing restrictions on travelers from South Africa. Carsten missed his flight to Singapore after not meeting the testing requirements before his flight. "It turns out that the test results that I got from a test center were the wrong type of tests and that type of test is not accepted," said Carsten. Strict guidelines are happening across the globe. Edwards Siu is the owner of the travel agency Classic Tour. He is getting flashbacks of the beginning of the pandemic. "We are expecting more business coming in but now it'...

  DETROIT (WXYZ) — Late Monday night, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release that the newly discovered COVID-19 omicron variant has not yet been detected in Michigan, however the department is now actively monitoring for it. Doctors in metro Detroit say when it's here, it will be known. “It is not going to be a huge challenge to discover this variant," said Dr. Teena Chopra, the director of the Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases at Wayne State University. "When we see it, we will know it right away.” The center is sending in samples and  monitoring for signs of omicron  in metro Detroit. “The fact that now this variant has been seen in other countries, more and more samples are going to be tested," Chopra said. "The CDC is testing thousands and thousands of them. So is the state of Michigan and the city of Detroit.” The variant has not yet been found in the U.S. but has been found in neighboring Ontario. Chopra says ...

 

 

  CRISPR gene editing is a popular tool among scientists searching for new targets in treating inflammatory diseases. A team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center used the technology to study the role of metabolism in the functioning of immune cells, and they ended up uncovering a target they believe could be exploited to treat several inflammatory diseases. The CRISPR screen pinpointed MTHFD2, a gene that makes an enzyme vital to the development and functioning of the immune system's T cells. Inhibiting the enzyme or genetically eliminating it was effective in animal models of multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and allergy, the researchers  reported  in the journal Immunity. MTHFD2 is well known in the cancer community, because the enzyme it makes is overexpressed in many tumors. Drugs targeting it had been studied preclinically but never made it into clinical trials.  MTHFD2 is part of what's known as the "one-carbon" metabolism pathway, a ...

  Presented By: Matt Mckenna Sr. Field Applications Scientist, Thermo Fisher Scientific Ketil Pedersen Manager & Staff Scientist, Thermo Fisher Scientific Laura Chapman Staff Scientist, Thermo Fisher Scientific Alexander "Sasha" Vlassov Senior Manager R&D at Thermo Fisher Scientific Webinar: Innovations in Vaccine Research and Development Webinar Abstract: Reducing the spread of highly infectious and deadly diseases within the population, vaccine development is crucial in saving millions of lives each year. As a part of the scientific community working on novel vaccines, you are connected to a legacy that began with breakthroughs in the 18th century, and continues to break the boundaries of precision medicine. Join our Thermo Fisher scientists as we give an overview of vaccine platforms and attributes, and discuss new vaccine research and development workflows in relation to SARS-CoV-2. Emphasis will be placed on the tools and workflows enabling rapid progress in va...