Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: biotech/medical

Every day, hundreds of thousands of new COVID-19 cases and thousands of new deaths are still being reported worldwide, creating a need for drugs that can combat the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Now, new research led by investigators at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital points to a well-known and widely available drug called disulfiram (marketed as Antabuse) as a possible treatment for COVID-19.

In the retrospective study, published Oct. 28 in PLOS ONE, patients taking disulfiram for alcoholism were less likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2, and those who did get infected were less likely to die from COVID-19 than those not taking the drug.

New research points to a well-known and widely available drug called disulfiram (marketed as Antabuse) as a possible treatment for COVID-19.

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This month, the UW team upped their game.

Tapping into both AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold, they tweaked the programs to predict which proteins are likely to tag-team and sketched up the resulting complexes into a 3D models.

Using AI, the team predicted hundreds of complexes—many of which are entirely new—that regulate DNA repair, govern the cell’s digestive system, and perform other critical biological functions. These under-the-hood insights could impact the next generation of DNA editors and spur new treatments for neurodegenerative disorders or anti-aging therapies.

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*Food Out Of Thin Air. Just Might Work: Revolutionary protein production from renewable electricity and air.*

Solar Foods was chosen as one of the international winners of @NASA ‘s and @csa_asc ‘s @DeepSpaceFood Challenge Nov 15, 2021!

“I chose one whose cutting-edge technology can literally create food out of thin air,” said Martha Stewart, chef and judge. ## ## See also

**Three Minute Science Presentations that change the world. With examples of FAmeLab, ePatch, Solein ** https://youtu.be/6C8vECI77Oo.

**Zoomers of the Sunshine Coast ** Providing independent, moderated, timely, deep, gentle, clinical & community information regarding Covid19 and other topics. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1632045180447285

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An artificial intelligence-based method for identifying patients who are at risk for atrial fibrillation has been developed by a team led by researchers at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Atrial fibrillation — an irregular and often rapid heart rate — is a common condition that often leads to the formation of clots in the heart that can travel to the brain to cause a stroke. The study was published in Circulation.

The investigators developed the artificial intelligence-based method to predict the risk of atrial fibrillation within the next five years based on results from electrocardiograms (noninvasive tests that record the electrical signals of the heart) in 45,770 patients receiving primary care at MGH.

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It is designed to activate white blood cells found in the lymph nodes on the sides and back of the neck to migrate to the brain and trigger clearance of beta-amyloid plaques — one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s. I-Mab Biopharma (I-Mab) and Jiangsu Nhwa Pharmaceutical (NHWA) are responsible for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of Protollin.

The trial represents the culmination of nearly 20 years of research led by Dr. Howard L. Weiner, co-director of the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at the Brigham.

“The launch of the first human trial of a nasal vaccine for Alzheimer’s is a remarkable milestone,” said Weiner. “Over the last two decades, we’ve amassed preclinical evidence suggesting the potential of this nasal vaccine for AD. If clinical trials in humans show that the vaccine is safe and effective, this could represent a nontoxic treatment for people with Alzheimer’s, and it could also be given early to help prevent Alzheimer’s in people at risk.”

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The short-term effectiveness of a two-dose regimen of the BioNTech/Pfizer mRNA BNT162b2 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine was widely demonstrated. However, long term effectiveness is still unknown. Leveraging the centralized computerized database of Maccabi Healthcare Services (MHS), we assessed the correlation between time-from-vaccine and incidence of breakthrough infection between June 1 and July 27, the date of analysis. After controlling for potential confounders as age and comorbidities, we found a significant 1.51 fold (95% CI, 1.38−1.66) increased risk for infection for early vaccinees compared to those vaccinated later that was similar across all ages groups. The increased risk reached 2.26-fold (95% CI, 1.80−3.01) when comparing those who were vaccinated in January to those vaccinated in April. This preliminary finding of vaccine waning as a factor of time from vaccince should prompt further investigations into long-term protection against different strains.

The duration of effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is not yet known. Here, the authors present preliminary evidence of BNT162b2 vaccine waning across all age groups above 16, with a higher incidence of infection in people who received their second dose early in 2021 compared to later in the year.

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This is why researchers trained computers to predict what designer drugs will emerge onto the scene before they hit the market, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.

With highly-addictive drugs flooding regions throughout the U.S., this program could save countless lives. But it could also unlock an entire “dark matter” world of unknown psychoactive possibilities.

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