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Study finds more reliable rapid tests for Covid-19

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WASHINGTON: During a recent study, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) developed two rapid diagnostic tests for Covid-19 that are nearly as accurate as the gold-standard test currently used in laboratories.
Unlike the gold standard test, which extracts RNA and uses it to amplify the DNA of the virus, these new tests can detect the presence of the virus in as little as five minutes using different methods. The findings were published in the journal Nature Protocols.
One test is a Covid-19 molecular diagnostic test, called Antisense, which uses electrochemical sensing to detect the presence of the virus. The other uses a simple assay of gold nanoparticles to detect a color change when the virus is present. Both tests were developed by Dipanjan Pan, PhD, Professor of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine and Pediatrics at UMSOM, and his research team. Dr. Pan has a joint appointment at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).
“These tests detect the presence of the virus within 5 to 10 minutes and rely on simple processes that can be performed with little lab training,” said Dr. Pan. They do not require the extraction of the virus’s RNA – which is both complicated and time-consuming.
They also are more reliable than the rapid antigen tests currently on the market, which detect the virus only in those with significantly high viral levels. “These two newer tests are extremely sensitive and can detect the presence of the virus, even in those with low levels of the virus,” Dr. Pan said.
Dr. Pan’s team included UMSOM research fellow Maha Alafeef, UMSOM research associate Parikshit Moitra, PhD, and research fellow Ketan Dighe, from UMBC.
Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registered the laboratory of Dr. Pan as an approved laboratory development site for the Antisense test. The move paves the way for Dr. Pan’s laboratory to begin conducting the test at the university, in research settings, as it undergoes further development.
In February, RNA Disease Diagnostics, Inc. (RNADD) received an exclusive global license from UMB and UMBC to commercialize the test. Dr. Pan serves as an unpaid scientific advisor to the company.
This test detects the virus in a swab sample using an innovative technology called electrochemical sensing. It uses a unique dual-pronged molecular detection approach that integrates electrochemical sensing to rapidly detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
“The final prototype is like a glucometer, which patients with diabetes use at home to measure their blood glucose levels,” said Dr. Pan, “and is just as easy for people to do themselves.”
Dr. Pan and his colleagues, in collaboration with RNA Disease Diagnostics, are launching a study of NBA basketball players in New York City to compare the Antisense test to rapid Covid tests that the NBA is using to monitor Covid infections in its players.
“We would like to see whether our test can yield more reliable results compared to the existing platforms,” he said. “Current antigen-based rapid Covid tests miss infections about 20 percent of the time and also have high rates of false-positive results. Our Antisense test appears to be about 98 percent reliable, which is similar to the PCR test.”
Similar to the Antisense test, the second rapid test also does not require the use of any advanced laboratory techniques, such as those commonly used to extract RNA, for analysis. It uses a simple assay containing plasmonic gold nanoparticles to detect a color change when the virus is present. In April, Dr. Pan and his colleagues published a stepwise protocol in the journal Nature Protocols, explaining how the nano-amplified colorimetric test works and how it can be used.
Once a nasal swab or saliva sample is obtained from a patient, the nucleic acid (bits of genetic material) in the sample is amplified via a simple process that takes about 10 minutes. The test uses a highly specific molecule attached to the gold nanoparticles to detect a particular protein. This protein is part of the genetic sequence that is unique to the novel coronavirus. When the biosensor binds to the virus’s gene sequence, the gold nanoparticles respond by turning the liquid reagent from purple to blue.
“Innovations in Covid-19 testing remain incredibly important even as the epidemic appears to be waning in this country,” said E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. “As we continue to monitor infections in unvaccinated segments of our population and the potential spread of new variants, there will be a vital need for inexpensive rapid tests to ensure that we continue to maintain low infection rates.”





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delta variant: Pfizer, AstraZeneca vaccines protect against Delta variant: Lancet study

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LONDON: The Delta variant of coronavirus, first identified in India, doubles the risk of hospitalisation compared with the Alpha variant first found in the UK, but Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines provide good protection against the strain, says a study published in The Lancet journal.
Researchers at Public Health Scotland and the University of Edinburgh, UK, found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offered better protection against the Delta variant compared to the Oxford-AstraZeneca preventive, known as Covishield in India.
The analysis covered the period from April 1 to June 6, 2021, for the demographic distribution of cases.
The team analysed 19,543 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections over the period of interest, of whom 377 were admitted to hospital for Covid-19 in Scotland.
Around 7,723 community cases and 134 hospitalisations were found to have the Delta variant of coronavirus.
The study found that the Pfizer vaccine offered 92 per cent protection against the Alpha variant and 79 per cent against the Delta strain two weeks after the second dose.
For AstraZeneca’s vaccine, there was 60 per cent protection against Delta compared with 73 per cent for Alpha variant, the researchers said.
They also found that two doses of vaccine provide much better protection against the Delta variant compared to a single dose.
“Risk of Covid-19 hospital admission was approximately doubled in those with the Delta variant of concern (VOC) when compared to the Alpha VOC, with risk of admission particularly increased in those with five or more relevant comorbidities,” the authors of the study noted.
“Both the Oxford–AstraZeneca and Pfizer–BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines were effective in reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and Covid-19 hospitalisation in people with the Delta VOC,” they said.
However, the researchers noted that these effects on infection with Delta variant appeared to be diminished when compared to those with the Alpha VOC.
The authors of the study warned that the vaccine comparison should be interpreted with caution due to differences in the groups which received each type of vaccine, and also in how quickly immunity is developed with each shot.





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Scientists finish sequencing 100% of human genome

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NEW DELHI: The process of human genome sequencing is finally complete, 20 years after researchers first cracked the human gene code.
This should usher in a new era of genomics and sharply increase our understanding of a wide variety of disorders affecting people. It could also lead to better genetic screening that enables quick and specific diagnostic tests to treat various maladies.
In 2001, Celera Genomics and International Human Genome Sequencing published the first drafts of the human genome. That was a breakthrough moment in genomics, allowing scientists to understand human evolution and biology better.
But scientists at that time were not able to decode 15% of the genome sequence because they didn’t have the technology. They made more progress over the years, but even by 2013, 8% of the genome (all genes together) still had not been sequenced.
Now, researchers at the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) consortium, an international collaboration, have sequenced the “first truly complete human reference genome”.
TOI accessed the preprint paper titled ‘The complete sequence of a human genome’ which dubs the new sequence T2T-CHM13.
Human genome is the complete set of the DNA. DNA strands are like a four-letter language — four chemical units or bases that are the alphabet. The ‘letters’ combine specifically with ‘letters’ in the opposite strand to form ‘words’, encoding information. All these ‘words’ are stored in the chromosomes in human cells. If a human genome were a book, it would have around 3-billion words (base pairs) across 22 chapters (chromosomes). So, with 8% of the genome not sequenced, it meant some pages of this book were missing. This has now been plugged.





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China launches four satellites into planned orbits

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BEIJING: China on Friday successfully sent four satellites into planned orbits that will be used for ecological environment monitoring, asteroid resource exploration, disaster prevention and mitigation among others.
The satellites were launched by a Long March-2D rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in northern Shanxi Province at 11:03 am local time, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Among them was the Beijing-3 satellite, a commercial remote sensing satellite developed by China Spacesat Co Ltd. It is used mainly for resource investigation, ecological environment monitoring, urban management, and disaster prevention and mitigation, the CGTN news channel reported.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship with its Long March-2F carrier rocket is being prepared at the launching area of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China Gansu province, on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. (AP)

The other three satellites will be used in researching marine ecological environment observation, asteroid resource exploration, and in-orbit service teaching and training, it said.
On June 3, China successfully launched the first of a new generation meteorological satellites into planned orbit.
The FY-4B satellite will be used in the fields of weather analysis and forecasting, and environmental and disaster monitoring.
It will further strengthen China’s observation and response capability of small and medium scale disaster events and provide information security services for a range of sectors including meteorological, agricultural, aviation, marine and environmental protection, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) had said in a press release.





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Partial eclipse to sweep over northern hemisphere

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PARIS: A solar eclipse will be visible over the Earth’s northern hemisphere on Thursday with parts of Canada and Siberia privy to the best view of the celestial event.
The eclipse will be partial, which means the people in its shadow won’t be plunged into daytime darkness.
Instead, people with the maximum visibility — and necessary protective eyewear — will have a few minutes to glimpse the moon’s silhouette ringed by the sun.
In northwest Canada, northern Russia, northwest Greenland and the North Pole, the sun will be 88 percent obscured by the moon.
The eclipse will be partly visible to observers in northwest North America, parts of Europe including France and the UK, and some of northern Asia.
If skies are clear, Londoners will be able to see the moon cover 20 percent of the sun at its maximum, at 11.13am local time (10:13 GMT).
“The farther southeast people are, the less the sun will be obscured,” Florent Delefie of the Paris Observatory told AFP.
He stressed that people must never look directly at the sun — even with sunglasses or from behind a cloud — warning “retinal burns can be irreversible”.
Those who want to observe the eclipse can purchase special eyewear and the Observatory will also broadcast a close-up view of the event live on its YouTube Channel.





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New dinosaur species discovered in Australia, one of world’s biggest

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BRISBANE: A gigantic dinosaur discovered in Australia‘s outback has been identified as a new species and recognised as one of the largest to ever roam the Earth, according to palaeontologists.
The Australotitan cooperensis, part of the titanosaur family that lived about 100 million years ago, has finally been named and described 15 years after its bones were first uncovered.
It is estimated to have stood at 5-6.5 metres (16-21 feet) high and measured 25-30 metres (82-98 feet) in length — which would make it Australia’s biggest dinosaur.
“Based on the preserved limb size comparisons, this new titanosaur is estimated to be in the top five largest in the world,” said Robyn Mackenzie, a director of the Eromanga Natural History Museum.
The fossilised bones were found on Mackenzie’s family farm in 2006 about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) west of Brisbane in the Eromanga Basin and nicknamed “Cooper”.
Initially kept secret as scientists painstakingly dug up and studied the bones, the skeleton first went on display to the public in 2007.
Scott Hocknull, a palaeontologist at Queensland Museum, said it had been a “very long and painstaking task” to confirm the Australotitan was a new species.
The research, which relied on 3D scan models of bones to compare the dinosaur with its close relatives, was published in the peer-reviewed PeerJ journal Monday.
Numerous other dinosaur skeletons have been found in the same area, Hocknull said, adding that more work was needed as “discoveries like this are just the tip of the iceberg”.





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Climate crisis will have catastrophic impact in India

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NEW DELHI: The climate emergency will have a catastrophic human and economic impact in India. Different threats will interact to devastating effect, as exemplified by cyclones Tauktae and Yaas during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A new review by the global think tank, ODI. The costs of climate change in India, released on Tuesday, laid out how rising temperatures will jeopardies India’s economic development through different channels, including falling agriculture productivity, impact to public health, reduced labour productivity and sea level rise.
The study is a first-ever literature review on the economic costs of climate inaction in India. At one degree Celsius of global warming, the country is already experiencing damages. Flooding in India over the last decade caused $3 billion in economic damage – accounting for 10 per cent of global economic losses from flooding.
The evidence clearly demonstrates that the human and economic costs of climate change will only increase in the coming years, particularly without urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One study finds that India’s GDP in the year 2100 will be reduced by 90 per cent if the world reaches three degrees Celsius of warming.
Angela Picciariello, Senior Research Officer at ODI, said, “India is already feeling the costs of climate change, with many cities reporting temperatures above 48 degrees in 2020 and a billion people facing severe water scarcity for at least a month of the year.
“If action is not taken to cut emissions enough to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the human and economic toll will rise even higher.”
The total cost of heatwaves, flooding, water scarcity, cyclones, sea-level rise and other climate-related hazards will be determined by the direction and level of economic development; the choices made in spatial planning and infrastructure investment; and the way different hazards intersect.
Amir Bazaz, Senior Lead-Practice at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, said: “As we are seeing now with Cyclones Tauktae and Yaas, low-income and other marginalised groups are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. They often live-in dense settlements that lack basic services and infrastructure that could reduce risk.
“Many households also live on hazardous sites such as steep slopes and floodplains. It is therefore crucial to bring climate and development goals together.”
The study found that India’s GDP would be around 25 per cent higher today, were it not for the current costs of global warming. Looking forward, the numbers are even more grim.
Researchers have assessed different mechanisms through which climate change will affect India’s economy, and predict that GDP in 2100 could be reduced by 10 per cent at three degrees Celsius of global warming due to declining agricultural productivity, sea-level rise and increased health expenditure.
They say up to 13.4 per cent at over four degrees Celsius of global warming due to declining labour productivity from temperature and precipitation changes.
Rathin Roy, Managing Director (Research and Policy) at ODI, said “Pursuing a cleaner, more resource-efficient path to development could stimulate a faster, fairer economic recovery for India and help secure India’s prosperity and competitiveness in the long term.
“Lower-carbon options are more efficient and less polluting, producing immediate benefits such as cleaner air, greater energy security and rapid job creation.”
Much depends on India’s policy, investment and diplomatic choices over the next decade.
As the only country in the G20 that currently has a ‘two degrees Celsius compatible’ Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), India is already doing its fair share for climate mitigation.
However, pursuing a more carbon-efficient and resilient pathway would enable India to climate-proof its development gains.
Given India’s low per capita emissions and lower-middle income country status, it may need international support to make it happen.





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Optical illusion of orangutan wins award

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A mind-bending photograph of an orangutan with the sky reflected in water has won first prize in the Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2021 competition.

image copyrightThomas Vijayan

The image, by Canadian photographer Thomas Vijayan, is called The World is Going Upside Down. It beat 8,000 entries from around the globe to win the top prize of £1,500.

“Thomas’s image is really unique, and immediately stood out to the judging panel,” said Will Nicholls, founder of Nature TTL.

“The unique perspective and composition means you are immediately trying to figure out what exactly you are looking at.”

Mr Vijayan took the photo in Borneo, where he selected a tree that was in the water so he could get a good reflection of the sky and create the upside-down effect.

“This image means a lot to me because presently the orangutan population is reducing at an alarming rate,” he said.

“Trees over 1,000 years old – which are a major asset to our planet – are being cut down for palm oil plantation.

“As humans we have a lot of alternative choices to replace the oil, but the orangutans don’t have any options other than losing their home.”

Vijayan’s photo also won first place in the Animal Behaviour category.

Here are winning images from other categories, with descriptions by the photographers.

Animal Behaviour, second place: Fish Caught by Surprise, by Johan Wandrag

image copyrightJohan Wandrag

Taken in South Africa, a fish is caught in the moment it is snapped up by a crocodile.

The look of surprise really made this shot stand out to me.

Camera Traps winner: Silhouetted Wood Mouse, by John Formstone

image copyrightJohn Formstone

An off-camera flash was positioned to the rear of the subject in an effort to create this silhouette.

Camera Traps second place: Pine Marten in an Abandoned Cottage, by James Roddie

image copyrightJames Roddie

A pine marten inside an abandoned cottage in the Scottish Highlands.

Landscapes winner: Tree of Life, by Jay Roode

image copyrightJay Roode

A sense of waiting pervades this valley [in Namibia] where nothing seems to have happened for a thousand years.

The shadow of an ancient camel thorn tree reaches out, like a blackened hand to the delicate tracings of the Tsauchab River; yearning for the life that once was.

Landscapes second place: Bouquet of Flowers, by Fanny Reed

image copyrightFanny Reed

Patterns formed by mineral deposits trapped in lagoons, in Lencois Maranhenses National Park, Brazil.

Small World winner: Dance of the Termites, by James Gifford

image copyrightJames Gifford

The termites from this colony were attracted to a light, but after taking several shots, I realised that I could only capture the effect of the swarm by using a slow shutter speed and gradually panning with the flight of the insects.

As they were all moving in different directions, I had to take hundreds of shots to capture what I wanted.

Meanwhile, I had many termites crawling all over me, but it was worth it in the end.

Small World second place: Nature’s Pitfall, by Samantha Stephens

image copyrightSamantha Stephens

Researchers at the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station in Canada recently discovered that juvenile spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) are being trapped by northern pitcher plants.

Typically, pitchers contain just one salamander prey at a time.

When I saw a pitcher that had two salamanders, both at the same stage of decay and floating at the surface of the pitcher’s fluid, I knew it was a special and fleeting moment.

The Night Sky winner: The Eye, by Ivan Pedretti

image copyrightivan pedretti

On Uttakleiv beach, in Norway, these rocks looked like an eye.

The shot is set against the beautiful colours of the Northern Lights above.

The Night Sky second place: Sleeping Dragon, by Amos Ravid

image copyrightAmos Ravid

Night photography at -25C can be a bit challenging. And yet, it is most enjoyable and satisfying.

This photo is from Ogoy Island in Lake Baikal, Russia. It is also known as the Dragon Island, hence I call it The Sleeping Dragon.

Underwater winner: Manta Space Ship, by Grant Thomas

image copyrightGrant Thomas

The Maldives is one of the only places in the world where you can dive with these majestic animals at night-time.

For this image, I was positioned flat on the sand, watching one manta looping around and around whilst feeding on a cloud of planktonic creatures which had gathered.

Urban Wildlife winner: Winged Family Members, by Kallol Mukherjee

image copyrightKallol Mukherjee

These barn swallows are building their nest right inside this shop in the Himalayas – safely away from predators.

The barn swallow is revered as the goddess of wealth and fortune… they are taken as the harbingers of peace and prosperity.

So people gladly accept the faeces and other nuisances made by the birds.

Urban Wildlife second place: The Fox of Arabia, by Mohammad Murad

image copyrightMohammad Murad

Arabian Red Foxes usually breed in the desert far away from humans; finding breeding foxes close to a city is something really unusual.

I found two dens near Kuwait City.

Land degradation, habitat loss, human impact, and overhunting in the desert may be why these two families decide to risk it all and breed near the city.

Wild Portraits winner: Sleepy Polar Bear, by Dennis Stogsdill

image copyrightDennis Stogsdill

We were watching this rather photogenic polar bear for a while in Svalbard, Norway, when he climbed a ridge and decided to just rest.

All the while the soft afternoon skies created the perfect backdrop for a “sleepy bear”.

Wild Portraits second place: The Cauldron of Creation, by James Gifford

image copyrightJames Gifford

I found this rhino mother and calf resting in the heat of the day in Kalahari, Botswana.

To make the most of the dust, I positioned myself to shoot into the sun, deliberately underexposing to capture the clouds of amber dust.

Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of rhino poaching, I wanted my picture to convey a sense of hope – a new beginning almost – as if these were the first rhinos being forged in a fire of creation.

Under-16 winner: Spoilt for Choice, by Thomas Easterbrook

image copyrightThomas Easterbrook

This photo was taken while we were watching a starling murmuration.

A peregrine came out of nowhere to attack the murmuration and I was pleased to capture it at work!

Under-16 second place: Fight in the Mountains, by Raphael Schenker

image copyrightRaphael Schenker

I took this picture whilst on a long hike in Switzerland.

I saw how the father of these two mountain goats was teaching them how to fight.

All pictures are subject to copyright.



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Then and now: Pandemic clears the air

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In our monthly feature, Then and Now, we reveal some of the ways that planet Earth has been changing against the backdrop of a warming world. Air pollution has long been one of the biggest killers, claiming an estimated seven million victims annually. However, the Covid-19 global pandemic showed how quality we could clear the air once we cut the number of journeys we made…





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Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines appear safe, effective, says study

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JAKARTA: Two vaccines made by China’s Sinopharm appear safe and effective against COVID-19, according to a study published in a medical journal.
Scientists had been waiting for more details about the two vaccines, even though they already are being used in many countries, and one recently won the backing of the World Health Organisation for emergency use.
The report, published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association, concluded the two vaccines are about 73 per cent and 78 per cent effective, as Sinopharm has previously claimed.
Researchers from Sinopharm and its local partners in the Middle East say the trial involved around 40,380 participants with the company’s two vaccines — one developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and the other by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products — and a placebo.
The trial was carried out in four countries — Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan. However, the study provided data for just Bahrain and the UAE.
“There’s nothing very surprising. It’s consistent with what they have claimed previously, but it does not completely eliminate the doubts about Sinopharm,” said Jin Dong-yan, a medical professor at the University of Hong Kong who was not involved with the study.
He raised doubts about how protective the vaccine was based on a recent surge of cases in the island nation of Seychelles, which had vaccinated a large majority of its population with the Sinopharm vaccine.
The study, performed mostly in younger men, had little information about the vaccine’s effectiveness against severe disease. Some experts also expressed concern at the shortage of female participants, with nearly 85 per cent being male.
“It’s important to make sure you have tested it in enough women to be able to start seeing any possible safety concerns,” said Ashley St. John, an associate professor at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.
A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The vaccines, both of which are made with inactivated viruses, have already been given to millions of people across the world.
The World Health Organisation cleared the Beijing Institute of Biological Products’ shot for emergency use in early May, making it the first Chinese vaccine to receive the certification.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in April that China has provided vaccines to more than 100 countries, although it has not identified them. While China has six vaccines in use, the majority of its exports come from two companies: Sinopharm and Sinovac.





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