thescientist--2020-12-15--FDA Clears Genetic Modification in Pigs for Biomedicine and Food

The US Food and Drug Administration granted approval yesterday ( December 14 ) for a genetically modified line of pigs that marks the first time a GM animal has been given the regulatory greenlight for both therapeutic development and food consumption , the agency says in a statement .
The alteration knocks out alpha-gal , a sugar molecule on the surface of cells , and could help minimize allergic reactions to pork and reduce the risk of organ rejection in transplant patients .
The move represents a “ a tremendous milestone for scientific innovation , ” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FDA strongly supports advancing innovative animal biotechnology products that are safe for animals , safe for people , and achieve their intended results.
” Pigs with the genetic modification are known as GalSafe pigs and are made by Revivicor Inc , a subsidiary of the US biotech United Therapeutics .
Research in the mid-2010s indicated that the knockout made transplants from the pigs less likely to be rejected by primate recipients .
The director of the FDA ’ s Center for Veterinary Medicine , Steven Solomon , told reporters in a conference call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ GalSafe pigs for therapeutic purposes will still have to seek approval for their applications .
“ I think that people need to be careful , ” Solomon said , STAT reports .
“ That ’ s why in part , it ’ s going to require further evaluation for xenotransplantation , xenograft , or the other activities by the medical products centers and FDA.
” As far as food production is concerned , the statement notes that the meat is safe for consumption by the general population , adding that Revivicor “ intends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail order , rather than in supermarkets.
” The agency ’ s evaluation also concluded that GalSafe pigs presented low risk to the environment , with an impact that “ is no greater than from conventional pigs.
” It adds that “ no animal safety concerns were noted for GalSafe pigs beyond those that would be expected in well-managed , commercial swine populations.
” Multiple other efforts to develop genetically engineered pigs are underway around the world , including some alterations designed to make pigs grow faster , and others aimed at making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus ( PRRSV ) .

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The US Food and Drug Administration granted approval yesterday (December 14) for a genetically modified line of pigs that marks the first time a GM animal has been given the regulatory greenlight for both therapeutic development and food consumption, the agency says in a statement. The alteration knocks out alpha-gal, a sugar molecule on the surface of cells, and could help minimize allergic reactions to pork and reduce the risk of organ rejection in transplant patients.
The move represents a “a tremendous milestone for scientific innovation,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn says in the statement. “The FDA strongly supports advancing innovative animal biotechnology products that are safe for animals, safe for people, and achieve their intended results.”
Pigs with the genetic modification are known as GalSafe pigs and are made by Revivicor Inc, a subsidiary of the US biotech United Therapeutics. Research in the mid-2010s indicated that the knockout made transplants from the pigs less likely to be rejected by primate recipients.
See “Xenotransplant Record”
The director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, Steven Solomon, told reporters in a conference call yesterday that developers who want to use GalSafe pigs for therapeutic purposes will still have to seek approval for their applications. “I think that people need to be careful,” Solomon said, STAT reports. “That’s why in part, it’s going to require further evaluation for xenotransplantation, xenograft, or the other activities by the medical products centers and FDA.”
As far as food production is concerned, the statement notes that the meat is safe for consumption by the general population, adding that Revivicor “intends to sell meat from GalSafe pigs by mail order, rather than in supermarkets.”
The agency’s evaluation also concluded that GalSafe pigs presented low risk to the environment, with an impact that “is no greater than from conventional pigs.” It adds that “no animal safety concerns were noted for GalSafe pigs beyond those that would be expected in well-managed, commercial swine populations.”
Multiple other efforts to develop genetically engineered pigs are underway around the world, including some alterations designed to make pigs grow faster, and others aimed at making the animals more resistant to lethal viruses such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV).
See “The Superpowers of Genetically Modified Pigs”


thescientist--2020-12-15--The Top Retractions of 2020

The Top Retractions of 2020

As 2020 was the year of the pandemic , COVID-19 loomed large in the world of retractions , too .
According to our tracker in early December , 39 articles about the novel coronavirus have been retracted from preprint servers or peer-reviewed journals so far—a number we ’ re confident will grow .
( That number does not include the retraction of an article from a Johns Hopkins student newspaper claiming that COVID-19 has had “ relatively no effect on deaths in the United States.
” ) That ’ s out of a total of more than 1,650 retractions catalogued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our picks for the most significant pandemic-related retractions : 1The most spectacular flameouts involved a pair of articles that appeared in two of the world ’ s most prestigious medical journals .
Both The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine were forced to remove articles that relied on data from a questionable firm called Surgisphere , which refused to share its results with coauthors and the editors involved .
( The Lancet also retracted and replaced an editorial it had published that had cited the ill-fated paper . )
Before it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lancet had tremendous influence , leading to the suspension of clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine .
A third , influential Surgisphere study was taken down from the SSRN server at the request of a coauthor .
The withdrawal of the preprint , which was about potential benefits of the antiparasitic drug ivermection , received little fanfare , let alone a retraction notice .
2 Although The Lancet article ’ s conclusions on hydroxychloroquine were ultimately disregarded , numerous studies to follow determined that the drug is ineffective against COVID-19 .
The dubious therapy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taken , was also the subject of this preprint , which was withdrawn in May—but not before the Fox TV personality Laura Ingraham touted the study , as did Didier Raoult , the French scientist whose work with hydroxy early in the pandemic sparked widespread , if misguided , optimism about its use .
A version of the paper that relied much less heavily on hydroxychloroquine in its conclusions was published in October in a special issue of a journal that Raoult edited .
( So far , none of Raoult ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , although an Elsevier-commissioned review of one of them found it to have “ major methodological shortcomings ” and be “ fully irresponsible.
” He did have an obviously unrelated 2013 paper retracted this year from PLOS ONE for suspicious images . )
3Hydroxychloroquine also was at the heart of a clever “ sting ” operation by a pair of researchers in Europe who were alarmed by what they believed to be predatory behavior by the Asian Journal of Medicine and Health ( AJMH ) , which had published a roundly criticized paper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sham paper in the AJMH purporting to find that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was “ unexpectedly deadlier than push-scooters , ” and that hydroxychloroquine might be the “ unique solution.
” The journal reacted indignantly to being called out , retracting the hoax article , but left the initial paper intact—which was fine with the jokesters , one of whom told us , “ yes the article deserves to be withdrawn—but it should NEVER have been published in the first place , that ’ s the beauty of the story.
” 4The same week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Annals of Internal Medicine backtracked on a highly-cited paper it published in April that purported to find that masks were ineffective at preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 .
The article , which became a media—and social media—star , was woefully light on data , based in fact on just four subjects .
5If lack of data was a problem for some papers , others suffered from a complete lack of common sense .
Like this article , which claimed that COVID-19 resulted from 5G telecom energy .
The quickly retracted paper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paper of 2020 ” from data-sleuth Elisabeth Bik .
6In the category of “ not retracted but should never have been published , ” we ’ ll offer up this book chapter , which claims that the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic hitched a ride to Earth on a meteorite .
7Sticking with fantastical thinking , Science of the Total Environment must have been in that headspace when it published this paper claiming that wearing amulets could ward off COVID-19 ( pro tip : they don ’ t ) .
After an uproar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ article called for its retraction , although the journal has yet to definitively remove—or replace—the work .
8PLOS ONE issued an expression of concern for a paper it published in September suggesting that vitamin D might protect against severe COVID-19 .
The move came after criticism on Twitter by Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz , an epidemiologist in Sydney who pointed out , among other issues , that the study relied on a small number of patients and appeared to show a null result .
9After a preprint they relied on for epidemiological data from China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ London corrected a paper that , in the words of The Washington Post , “ helped upend U.S. and U.K. coronavirus strategies.
” The study projected that COVID-19 would kill half a million people in the UK , and more than 2 million in the US , if restrictions were not put into place , which prompted the UK government to implement social distancing and isolation measures .
The authors told us they were confident that data available later had affirmed their overall findings .
10Cellular & Molecular Immunology took three days to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infect white blood cells—similar to HIV ’ s strategy—and then took three months to retract it after a researcher sent them a letter critiquing the study .
The critic , Leonardo Ferreira , tweeted that “ no primary # human # Tcells were used & the # flowcytometry data for # viral # infection were egregiously misinterpreted.
” In the time before it was retracted , according to Altmetric , it earned coverage in New York magazine and other mainstream outlets , and was the subject of thousands of tweets .
Ivan Oransky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Retraction Watch .
Email them at team @ retractionwatch.com , follow them on Twitter @ RetractionWatch , and sign up for their daily newsletter .

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As 2020 was the year of the pandemic, COVID-19 loomed large in the world of retractions, too. According to our tracker in early December, 39 articles about the novel coronavirus have been retracted from preprint servers or peer-reviewed journals so far—a number we’re confident will grow. (That number does not include the retraction of an article from a Johns Hopkins student newspaper claiming that COVID-19 has had “relatively no effect on deaths in the United States.”) That’s out of a total of more than 1,650 retractions catalogued to date in 2020. Here are our picks for the most significant pandemic-related retractions:
1The most spectacular flameouts involved a pair of articles that appeared in two of the world’s most prestigious medical journals. Both The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medicine were forced to remove articles that relied on data from a questionable firm called Surgisphere, which refused to share its results with coauthors and the editors involved. (The Lancet also retracted and replaced an editorial it had published that had cited the ill-fated paper.) Before it was discredited, the paper in The Lancet had tremendous influence, leading to the suspension of clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine. A third, influential Surgisphere study was taken down from the SSRN server at the request of a coauthor. The withdrawal of the preprint, which was about potential benefits of the antiparasitic drug ivermection, received little fanfare, let alone a retraction notice.
2 Although The Lancet article’s conclusions on hydroxychloroquine were ultimately disregarded, numerous studies to follow determined that the drug is ineffective against COVID-19. The dubious therapy, which President Donald Trump boasted of having taken, was also the subject of this preprint, which was withdrawn in May—but not before the Fox TV personality Laura Ingraham touted the study, as did Didier Raoult, the French scientist whose work with hydroxy early in the pandemic sparked widespread, if misguided, optimism about its use. A version of the paper that relied much less heavily on hydroxychloroquine in its conclusions was published in October in a special issue of a journal that Raoult edited. (So far, none of Raoult’s papers on the drug have been retracted, although an Elsevier-commissioned review of one of them found it to have “major methodological shortcomings” and be “fully irresponsible.” He did have an obviously unrelated 2013 paper retracted this year from PLOS ONE for suspicious images.)
3Hydroxychloroquine also was at the heart of a clever “sting” operation by a pair of researchers in Europe who were alarmed by what they believed to be predatory behavior by the Asian Journal of Medicine and Health (AJMH), which had published a roundly criticized paper heralding the drug. They published a sham paper in the AJMH purporting to find that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was “unexpectedly deadlier than push-scooters,” and that hydroxychloroquine might be the “unique solution.” The journal reacted indignantly to being called out, retracting the hoax article, but left the initial paper intact—which was fine with the jokesters, one of whom told us, “yes the article deserves to be withdrawn—but it should NEVER have been published in the first place, that’s the beauty of the story.”
4The same week as the Lancet and NEJM Surgisphere retractions, the Annals of Internal Medicine backtracked on a highly-cited paper it published in April that purported to find that masks were ineffective at preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The article, which became a media—and social media—star, was woefully light on data, based in fact on just four subjects.
5If lack of data was a problem for some papers, others suffered from a complete lack of common sense. Like this article, which claimed that COVID-19 resulted from 5G telecom energy. The quickly retracted paper earned the title of the “worst paper of 2020” from data-sleuth Elisabeth Bik.
6In the category of “not retracted but should never have been published,” we’ll offer up this book chapter, which claims that the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic hitched a ride to Earth on a meteorite.
7Sticking with fantastical thinking, Science of the Total Environment must have been in that headspace when it published this paper claiming that wearing amulets could ward off COVID-19 (pro tip: they don’t). After an uproar on Twitter, the coauthors of the article called for its retraction, although the journal has yet to definitively remove—or replace—the work.
8PLOS ONE issued an expression of concern for a paper it published in September suggesting that vitamin D might protect against severe COVID-19. The move came after criticism on Twitter by Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, an epidemiologist in Sydney who pointed out, among other issues, that the study relied on a small number of patients and appeared to show a null result.
9After a preprint they relied on for epidemiological data from China was withdrawn, researchers at Imperial College London corrected a paper that, in the words of The Washington Post, “helped upend U.S. and U.K. coronavirus strategies.” The study projected that COVID-19 would kill half a million people in the UK, and more than 2 million in the US, if restrictions were not put into place, which prompted the UK government to implement social distancing and isolation measures. The authors told us they were confident that data available later had affirmed their overall findings.
10Cellular & Molecular Immunology took three days to accept a paper about how COVID-19 might infect white blood cells—similar to HIV’s strategy—and then took three months to retract it after a researcher sent them a letter critiquing the study. The critic, Leonardo Ferreira, tweeted that “no primary #human #Tcells were used & the #flowcytometry data for #viral #infection were egregiously misinterpreted.” In the time before it was retracted, according to Altmetric, it earned coverage in New York magazine and other mainstream outlets, and was the subject of thousands of tweets.
It wasn’t all COVID-19 1Some journals used 2020 to purge what readers perceived to be offensive articles. In June, the venerable German title Angewandte Chemie retracted (without saying as much, until later) an essay by Brock University researcher Tomáš Hudlický, which lamented efforts to diversify his field. Sixteen members of the journal’s editorial board resigned in protest, and two were suspended. 2The Journal of Vascular Surgery found itself in hot water after publishing an article arguing that physicians who posted pictures of themselves in casual clothes or bathing suits were acting in a “potentially unprofessional” manner. The essay, panned as out of touch and misogynistic, triggered the #medbikini movement on Twitter—and, eventually, an apology from the journal. 3Among the authors of the 5G–COVID-19 paper was Massimo Fioranelli, whose name also appeared on five other now-retracted articles in a special issue of the Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences devoted to global dermatology. One of those asserted that “A black hole at the center of earth plays the role of the biggest system of telecommunication for connecting DNAs, dark DNAs and molecules of water on 4+N- dimensional manifold.” 4One notable case was that of Jonathan Pruitt, a scientist in Canada who studies the sociology of spiders. Earlier this year, one of Pruitt’s coauthors became concerned about the veracity of his data, setting off an investigation that has led to eight retractions and counting. 5 The Pruitt case was one of at least a few examples in which affected scientists publicized their retractions widely, in a refreshing move. “I’m starting the year off with something I didn’t expect to ever do: I’m retracting a paper,” Kate Laskowski, a Pruitt coauthor, announced on her blog. And Nobel Prize winner Frances Arnold of Caltech announced a retraction from Science before the retraction notice was even published.
Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus are the founders of Retraction Watch. Email them at team@retractionwatch.com, follow them on Twitter @RetractionWatch, and sign up for their daily newsletter.


thescientist--2020-12-15--T Cells: A New Hope for Lasting Protection against SARS-CoV-2

Many immunologists are looking at T cells to understand the potential for lasting immunity to SARS-CoV-2 .
In this webinar @ @ @ @ @ Sette and Shane Crotty will present the latest findings in T cell function following SARS-CoV-2 @ @ @ @ @ vaccine development and lasting immune memory .
• CD4+ and CD8+ T cell recognition of @ @ @ @ @ and potential cross-reactivity with common cold coronaviruses • Implications of the T cell response against @ @ @ @ @ viral escape • How the nature of the acute immune response correlates with COVID-19 severity @ @ @ @ @ Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research La Jolla Institute @ @ @ @ @ PhD Professor Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research La Jolla Institute for Immunology

FREE Webinar
Tuesday, January 12, 2020
2:30 - 4:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time
Register Now
Many immunologists are looking at T cells to understand the potential for lasting immunity to SARS-CoV-2. In this webinar from The Scientist, Alessandro Sette and Shane Crotty will present the latest findings in T cell function following SARS-CoV-2 infection and the implications for vaccine development and lasting immune memory.
Topics to be covered
CD4 + and CD8 + T cell recognition of SARS-CoV-2 sequences in unexposed individuals and potential cross-reactivity with common cold coronaviruses
and CD8 T cell recognition of SARS-CoV-2 sequences in unexposed individuals and potential cross-reactivity with common cold coronaviruses Implications of the T cell response against SARS-CoV-2 for vaccine design and viral escape
How the nature of the acute immune response correlates with COVID-19 severity
Factors affecting COVID-19 immune response duration and memory
Register Now
Meet the Speakers:
Alessandro Sette, PhD
Professor
Center for Autoimmunity and Inflammation
Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
Shane Crotty, PhD
Professor
Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research
La Jolla Institute for Immunology


thescientist--2020-12-15--Editor's Picks of The Scientist's Best Infographics of 2020

Interplay between the immune system and the brain Although immune cells are largely locked out of the central nervous system , they can still keep a close watch on cellular trash being removed from the brain to scan for infection or injury .
And conversely , immune cells also send signals of their own that influence brain function .
The bacteria of the infant gut The microbial communities living in the gastrointestinal tracts of newborn babies have changed a lot in the past century , with beneficial Bifidobacterium species becoming far less prominent , especially among formula-fed infants .
Understanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ probiotics that can restore a more historic microbiome .
In the mid-1990s , more than 40 gray wolves were released into Yellowstone National Park , and in the years and decades that followed , researchers attributed the ecosystem ’ s rejuvenation to the reintroduction of the apex predators .
But the nature of the wolves ’ influence is still debated .
Now , efforts are ongoing to repeat the experiment and try to get to the bottom of how predators affect their environments .
Mouse neurons associated with a new memory can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ control over their activity .
Specifically , scientists typically add channelrhodopsin to neurons in a memory network such that they can activate them with blue light .
In this way , animals can be prompted to recall something or even to remember an experience that never happened .
Sex differences in bird coloration is in the genes In many bird species , males are more brightly colored than females .
In some finches , the gene BCO2 , which encodes a carotenoid-destroying enzyme , appears to explain this sexual dimorphism , often being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feathers .
As the Earth ’ s atmosphere warms , Arctic ice is melting and sea levels are rising .
This pushes salt water further into terrestrial ecosystems , killing forests and threatening farms .
The result is a migration of wetland tree species into deciduous and pine forests further inland .
New neurons in the adult brain Just before the turn of the century , scientists confirmed that adult human brains do in fact generate new neurons .
Two decades later , the field of neurogenesis research is beginning to understand how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ networks to influence learning and memory .

Although immune cells are largely locked out of the central nervous system, they can still keep a close watch on cellular trash being removed from the brain to scan for infection or injury. And conversely, immune cells also send signals of their own that influence brain function.
The microbial communities living in the gastrointestinal tracts of newborn babies have changed a lot in the past century, with beneficial Bifidobacterium species becoming far less prominent, especially among formula-fed infants. Understanding why that is has helped researchers develop probiotics that can restore a more historic microbiome.
In the mid-1990s, more than 40 gray wolves were released into Yellowstone National Park, and in the years and decades that followed, researchers attributed the ecosystem’s rejuvenation to the reintroduction of the apex predators. But the nature of the wolves’ influence is still debated. Now, efforts are ongoing to repeat the experiment and try to get to the bottom of how predators affect their environments.
Mouse neurons associated with a new memory can be permanently altered by researchers to give them control over their activity. Specifically, scientists typically add channelrhodopsin to neurons in a memory network such that they can activate them with blue light. In this way, animals can be prompted to recall something or even to remember an experience that never happened.
In many bird species, males are more brightly colored than females. In some finches, the gene BCO2, which encodes a carotenoid-destroying enzyme, appears to explain this sexual dimorphism, often being expressed in female feathers but not male feathers.
As the Earth’s atmosphere warms, Arctic ice is melting and sea levels are rising. This pushes salt water further into terrestrial ecosystems, killing forests and threatening farms. The result is a migration of wetland tree species into deciduous and pine forests further inland.
Just before the turn of the century, scientists confirmed that adult human brains do in fact generate new neurons. Two decades later, the field of neurogenesis research is beginning to understand how those new neurons integrate into existing neural networks to influence learning and memory.


thescientist--2020-12-15--Profiling 1.3 Million Brain Cells

Profiling 1.3 Million Brain Cells

Single-cell RNA sequencing has transformed scientific research , enabling scientists to measure whole transcriptome data at a single-cell resolution in @ @ @ @ @ advances enable researchers to capture and process hundreds to millions of cells to provide a @ @ @ @ @ populations .
Download this application note from 10x Genomics to discover • How scientists used @ @ @ @ @ 1.3 million cells from mammalian brains • How to characterize complex biological tissues at a @ @ @ @ @ and software that detect major cell types and subtypes within a single experiment • How @ @ @ @ @ without enrichment strategies

Single-cell RNA sequencing has transformed scientific research, enabling scientists to measure whole transcriptome data at single-cell resolution in complex biological systems. New advances enable researchers to profile complex cell populations by capturing and processing hundreds to millions of cells to provide a complete profile of complex cell populations.
Download this application note from 10x Genomics to discover


thescientist--2020-12-16--New SARS-CoV-2 Variant Spreading Rapidly Through in UK

As public health officials worldwide mount vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 , a new SARS-CoV-2 variant has rapidly taken hold in the UK , leading scientists to investigate if it carries any implications for the transmissibility of the virus , severity of infection , and success of a vaccine , though experts say it is unlikely to hamper vaccination efforts .
As of December 13 , 1,108 COVID-19 cases with the new variant had been identified , predominantly in the south and east of England , says Public Health England in a statement on Monday ( December 14 ) .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus have been observed in some areas where there is also a high incidence of COVID-19 , ” the statement notes .
“ It is not yet known whether the variant is responsible for these increased numbers of cases.
” “ We are still dealing with very thin evidence at the moment about this variant , ” Sharon Peacock , the director of the UK COVID-19 Genomics Consortium ( COG-UK ) , which randomly sequences positive COVID-19 samples around from the UK and discovered this variant , tells The Independent .
The group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ September and began following its spread , but what surprised some experts was its sudden prevalence .
“ This lineage came up quite rapidly , ” Nick Loman , a professor of microbial genomics at the University of Birmingham and a contributor to COG-UK , tells The Washington Post , noting that there were a “ striking ” number of mutations in the new variant , compared to the one or two he ’ s seen in other strains .
Still , he notes that there is no proof yet that this variant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ illness .
Scientists detected 17 mutations in the variant , which scientists have named “ VUI – 202012/01 , ” most in the segment of the virus ’ s genome that codes for the spike protein that surrounds the virus and allows it to bind to cellular receptors and infiltrate cells .
Jeremy Farrar , the director of the Wellcome Trust biomedical research foundation , released a statement on Monday , calling the development “ potentially serious , ” though he cautioned that the implications for transmission of the virus and the efficacy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The pressure on the virus to evolve is increased by the fact that so many millions of people have now been infected , ” he says .
“ Most of the mutations will not be significant or cause for concern , but some may give the virus an evolutionary advantage , which may lead to higher transmission or mean it is more harmful.
” COG-UK scientists stress that mutations are very common and that lineages arise and disappear quickly , according to a statement the group released on Monday .
There are few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it “ does sort of seem to have come out of nowhere , ” Loman tells The Independent .
This variant is not the first that scientists have detected in the novel coronavirus—the 614G variant that contains a spike protein mutation overtook the 614D variant in the spring .
The mutation does not appear to cause more severe cases of COVID-19 , but multiple studies indicate that it could be more contagious .
In the fall , another variant that scientists feared could be less sensitive to antibodies took hold in mink @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the culling of millions of minks to prevent the variant from spreading to humans .
Even as the virus mutates , experts are quick to point out that it ’ s unlikely that it would mutate in such a way that would render a vaccine ineffective .
“ It seems hard to see that this virus is going to be able to evolve its way away from vaccine efficacy , ” Egon Ozer , an infectious diseases expert at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University , tells the Post .

Update (December 21): More than 40 countries have restricted UK arrivals while experts continue to investigate the implications of the variant. Oxford University epidemiologist Peter Horby, who chairs the UK New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, tells a Science Media Centre briefing on Monday, “We now have high confidence that this variant does have a transmission advantage.” Despite the new findings, epidemiologists tell The New York Times that mutations are to be expected and that it would take a matter of years, not months, for a strain to evolve enough to render the current vaccines ineffective.
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TOLGART
As public health officials worldwide mount vaccination campaigns against COVID-19, a new SARS-CoV-2 variant has rapidly taken hold in the UK, leading scientists to investigate if it carries any implications for the transmissibility of the virus, severity of infection, and success of a vaccine, though experts say it is unlikely to hamper vaccination efforts.
As of December 13, 1,108 COVID-19 cases with the new variant had been identified, predominantly in the south and east of England, says Public Health England in a statement on Monday (December 14). “High numbers of cases of the variant virus have been observed in some areas where there is also a high incidence of COVID-19,” the statement notes. “It is not yet known whether the variant is responsible for these increased numbers of cases.”
“We are still dealing with very thin evidence at the moment about this variant,” Sharon Peacock, the director of the UK COVID-19 Genomics Consortium (COG-UK), which randomly sequences positive COVID-19 samples around from the UK and discovered this variant, tells The Independent.
The group first identified the new variant in late September and began following its spread, but what surprised some experts was its sudden prevalence.
“This lineage came up quite rapidly,” Nick Loman, a professor of microbial genomics at the University of Birmingham and a contributor to COG-UK, tells The Washington Post, noting that there were a “striking” number of mutations in the new variant, compared to the one or two he’s seen in other strains. Still, he notes that there is no proof yet that this variant is spreading faster or causing more severe illness.
Scientists detected 17 mutations in the variant, which scientists have named “VUI – 202012/01,” most in the segment of the virus’s genome that codes for the spike protein that surrounds the virus and allows it to bind to cellular receptors and infiltrate cells.
Jeremy Farrar, the director of the Wellcome Trust biomedical research foundation, released a statement on Monday, calling the development “potentially serious,” though he cautioned that the implications for transmission of the virus and the efficacy of vaccines were still unclear.
“The pressure on the virus to evolve is increased by the fact that so many millions of people have now been infected,” he says. “Most of the mutations will not be significant or cause for concern, but some may give the virus an evolutionary advantage, which may lead to higher transmission or mean it is more harmful.”
COG-UK scientists stress that mutations are very common and that lineages arise and disappear quickly, according to a statement the group released on Monday.
There are few examples of the variant in other countries and it “does sort of seem to have come out of nowhere,” Loman tells The Independent.
This variant is not the first that scientists have detected in the novel coronavirus—the 614G variant that contains a spike protein mutation overtook the 614D variant in the spring. The mutation does not appear to cause more severe cases of COVID-19, but multiple studies indicate that it could be more contagious.
In the fall, another variant that scientists feared could be less sensitive to antibodies took hold in mink farms, leading several countries to call for the culling of millions of minks to prevent the variant from spreading to humans.
Even as the virus mutates, experts are quick to point out that it’s unlikely that it would mutate in such a way that would render a vaccine ineffective. “It seems hard to see that this virus is going to be able to evolve its way away from vaccine efficacy,” Egon Ozer, an infectious diseases expert at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, tells the Post.


thescientist--2020-12-16--Peering into the Cell

Peering into the Cell

Scientists use a wide variety of methods to probe the inner workings of cells , and some of the most @ @ @ @ @ through a microscope .
Recently , microscopy has facilitated fascinating cell biology discoveries that are @ @ @ @ @ Download this ebook from The Scientist 's Creative Services team to see how researchers use @ @ @

Scientists use a wide variety of methods to probe the inner workings of cells, and some of the most striking and straightforward views come through a microscope. Recently, microscopy has facilitated fascinating cell biology discoveries that are both informative and beautiful.
Download this ebook from The Scientist's Creative Services team to see how researchers use microscopy to explore


thescientist--2020-12-16--What’s Killing Killer Whales? Autopsies Reveal a Role for Humans

While the stench of a dead , bloated killer whale that ’ s washed ashore might steer away your average beachgoer , for Stephen Raverty of the Ministry of Agriculture in Canada it ’ s an invitation to collect data .
Raverty , a veterinary pathologist , carefully examines each one he ’ s called to dissect , knowing that they retain invaluable information about the overall health of orcas in the Pacific ocean .
Raverty says the data on killer whale deaths give clues to what factors might be keeping the Pacific populations on the endangered and threatened species @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Climate Change as a Culprit in Gray Whale Deaths ” For decades , researchers have been performing necropsies on beached orcas , but , until now , no one has amassed all of those data to assess the health of the populations and whether human activities , such as fishing or shipping , may harm the animals .
In a study published this month in PLOS ONE , Raverty , veterinarian Joseph Gaydos of the University of California , Davis , and colleagues reviewed the pathology reports of 53 orcas that stranded between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other data on 35 orca strandings between 2001 and 2017 .
The orcas ranged in age from infants to older adults , and in every age category , there was evidence of orcas dying after being struck by ships or entangled in or impaled by fishing gear .
Infectious disease and congenital defects also caused deaths , but the data are clear : “ Humans are killing orcas directly , ” Gaydos says .
The Scientist spoke with Raverty and Gaydos about the findings .
The Scientist : In your paper , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been evaluated to understand causes and trends in orca mortality .
Why do this now ?
Joseph Gaydos : We ’ ve seen how valuable this type of data analysis is for understanding shifts in populations of marine mammals such as gray whales .
We had the data for orcas so we decided to use it to develop a baseline for understanding the health of the northern resident killer whale population off the west coast of Canada , which is threatened , and the southern resident population off the coast of the US @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and what ’ s leading to the deaths of the stranded animals .
TS : How can the data help identify human causes of death and how to mitigate them ?
Stephen Raverty : Necropsies on killer whales provide information on how each animal died , and collectively what are the leading causes of death .
Blunt force trauma from ship strikes , for example , is quite obvious based on the bruises on an animal .
There have been anecdotal stories of orcas being struck or even pulled into the propeller of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there wasn ’ t a pattern of evidence that ship strikes , or other human activities , repeatedly caused death .
Since there ’ s blunt force trauma or death by fishing gear , a hook in an orca ’ s throat , for example , documented in the necropsies across the age classes of orcas and across time , it ’ s clear humans are contributing to the death of the animals .
We might be able then to use that information to influence human activity and reduce killer whale deaths from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : What was most surprising to see in the necropsy data ?
JG : That humans are directly killing killer whales .
I think most people thought that humans ’ influence on the animals might be indirect—disturbances from ships , things such as sonar , or overfishing of salmon , affecting the orcas ’ diet .
But we have to realize that adding back salmon , for example , is only part of the solution .
A successful conservation strategy has to include steps to address these direct causes of death , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : How can you use this data going forward ?
SR : Necropsy data are important to understanding the health and causes of death of the stranded animals .
As part of the research , we developed a body condition index , which assesses the health of the animal when it died .
It goes beyond measuring only the thickness of the animal ’ s blubber , which scales with the length from nose to the tip of the tail of the animal .
The body score index takes into account the girth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in addition to blubber thickness .
That approach provides a more objective way to examine the nutritional health of the animal and is a technique that could be adopted around the world when studying stranded orcas and determining what killed them .
JG : To add to that , the study shows that performing these postmortem examinations is worth the effort .
It shows that continuing to perform necropsies on killer whales helps us better monitor their health and understand what we can do to protect them .
S. Raverty et al.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ body condition index in stranded killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) in the northeastern Pacific and Hawaii from 2004 to 2013 , ” PLOS ONE , doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242505 , 2020 .
Editor ’ s note : The interview was edited for brevity .

Postmortem examination of J34, an 18-year-old male southern resident killer whale that stranded near Sechelt, British Columbia, on December 21, 2016, shows he died from trauma from a collision with a ship. Data in this study and a past one indicate that vessel strikes are an underappreciated killer of killer whales in the eastern Pacific ocean. PAUL COTTRELL / FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA
While the stench of a dead, bloated killer whale that’s washed ashore might steer away your average beachgoer, for Stephen Raverty of the Ministry of Agriculture in Canada it’s an invitation to collect data. Raverty, a veterinary pathologist, carefully examines each one he’s called to dissect, knowing that they retain invaluable information about the overall health of orcas in the Pacific ocean. Raverty says the data on killer whale deaths give clues to what factors might be keeping the Pacific populations on the endangered and threatened species lists.
See “Clues Point to Climate Change as a Culprit in Gray Whale Deaths”
For decades, researchers have been performing necropsies on beached orcas, but, until now, no one has amassed all of those data to assess the health of the populations and whether human activities, such as fishing or shipping, may harm the animals. In a study published this month in PLOS ONE, Raverty, veterinarian Joseph Gaydos of the University of California, Davis, and colleagues reviewed the pathology reports of 53 orcas that stranded between 2004 and 2013, as well as other data on 35 orca strandings between 2001 and 2017. The orcas ranged in age from infants to older adults, and in every age category, there was evidence of orcas dying after being struck by ships or entangled in or impaled by fishing gear. Infectious disease and congenital defects also caused deaths, but the data are clear: “Humans are killing orcas directly,” Gaydos says.
Stephen Raverty (top) and Joseph Gaydos (bottom) Courtesy of Stephen Raverty and Joseph Gaydos
The Scientist spoke with Raverty and Gaydos about the findings.
The Scientist: In your paper, you note that necropsy findings have never before been evaluated to understand causes and trends in orca mortality. Why do this now?
Joseph Gaydos: We’ve seen how valuable this type of data analysis is for understanding shifts in populations of marine mammals such as gray whales. We had the data for orcas so we decided to use it to develop a baseline for understanding the health of the northern resident killer whale population off the west coast of Canada, which is threatened, and the southern resident population off the coast of the US and Canada, which is endangered, and what’s leading to the deaths of the stranded animals.
TS: How can the data help identify human causes of death and how to mitigate them?
Stephen Raverty: Necropsies on killer whales provide information on how each animal died, and collectively what are the leading causes of death. Blunt force trauma from ship strikes, for example, is quite obvious based on the bruises on an animal. There have been anecdotal stories of orcas being struck or even pulled into the propeller of boats, but before this study, there wasn’t a pattern of evidence that ship strikes, or other human activities, repeatedly caused death. Since there’s blunt force trauma or death by fishing gear, a hook in an orca’s throat, for example, documented in the necropsies across the age classes of orcas and across time, it’s clear humans are contributing to the death of the animals. We might be able then to use that information to influence human activity and reduce killer whale deaths from these kinds of direct interactions.
TS: What was most surprising to see in the necropsy data?
JG: That humans are directly killing killer whales. I think most people thought that humans’ influence on the animals might be indirect—disturbances from ships, things such as sonar, or overfishing of salmon, affecting the orcas’ diet. But we have to realize that adding back salmon, for example, is only part of the solution. A successful conservation strategy has to include steps to address these direct causes of death, as well as the indirect ones.
An emaciated female killer whale (ID# 20081021) washed ashore in Hawaii in 2008. The dip behind the head, the protrusion of the ribs, and a thin tail suggest she was in poor nutritional health when she died. NOAA/NMFS/PIRO Permit # 932-1489-09; Raverty et al., 2020
TS: How can you use this data going forward?
SR: Necropsy data are important to understanding the health and causes of death of the stranded animals. As part of the research, we developed a body condition index, which assesses the health of the animal when it died. It goes beyond measuring only the thickness of the animal’s blubber, which scales with the length from nose to the tip of the tail of the animal. The body score index takes into account the girth of the animal relative to its length, in addition to blubber thickness. That approach provides a more objective way to examine the nutritional health of the animal and is a technique that could be adopted around the world when studying stranded orcas and determining what killed them.
JG: To add to that, the study shows that performing these postmortem examinations is worth the effort. It shows that continuing to perform necropsies on killer whales helps us better monitor their health and understand what we can do to protect them.
S. Raverty et al., “Pathology findings and correlation with body condition index in stranded killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the northeastern Pacific and Hawaii from 2004 to 2013,” PLOS ONE, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242505, 2020.
Editor’s note: The interview was edited for brevity.


thescientist--2020-12-16--Eight Proteins Turn Mouse Stem Cells into Egglike Cells

ABOVE : An ovarian organoid made of egg-like cells ( blue ) generated from stem cells in culture with mouse ovarian somatic cells .
COURTESY OF NOBUHIKO HAMAZAKI A core set of eight proteins can transform stem cells from mice into cells that look a lot like immature egg cells called oocytes .
The egglike cells could not undergo meiosis to cut the total chromosomes in half as they should , but they could be fertilized by sperm and then divide until they hit the eight-cell stage of embryonic development , researchers report today ( December 16 ) in Nature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go directly from stem cells to oocytes .
I think that is exciting , ” Petra Hajkova , a developmental epigeneticist at Imperial College London who was not involved in the study , tells The Scientist .
The work , she notes , will help researchers explore the basic biology of oocyte development .
In the future , says study coauthor Nobuhiko Hamazaki of Kyushu University , the research could aid in cloning endangered animals or helping women with mitochondrial diseases to have healthy children .
Oocytes are a rare cell type in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about them , Hamazaki says , which is what led him and his colleagues to probe how they develop .
Past studies had documented gene expression changes essential for the transition from very early stage reproductive cells called primordial germ cells to oocytes .
Hamazaki and colleagues built on that work with an additional gene expression analysis to identify 27 candidate transcription factors that played a role in that transition .
To test the function of each transcription factor , the team used pluripotent embryonic stem cells ( ESCs ) , knocking out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ factors one by one .
“ Making knocked out ESCs is relatively easier than making knocked out mice , although still making 27 knockout ESCs was laboring , ” Hamazaki says .
The experiments revealed eight transcription factors that were essential to oocyte development : NOBOX , FIGLA , TBPL2 , SOHLH1 , STAT3 , DYNLL1 , SUB1 , and LHX8 .
The team then cultured another set of embryonic stem cells and overexpressed the genes that produce those transcription factors , which pushed those cells into an oocyte-like state .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ germ cells , but we could make oocytes from non-germ cells , ” he explains .
“ At first , I was so surprised that I could not believe my results , so I repeated the experiment again and again and when I got the same results , I was finally convinced.
” In additional experiments , the egglike cells did not go on to divide into daughter cells with half a set of chromosomes , which would make them viable for reproduction .
But when the team introduced wildtype mouse sperm into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into a mass of eight cells before becoming unviable , possibly because the cells had too many chromosomes , the researchers write .
Richard Schultz , a cell biologist at the University of California , Davis , who was not involved in the study , says the work to identify the core set of transcription factors that can drive embryonic stem cells into a state where they look like oocytes is impressive .
But the egglike cells don ’ t undergo meiosis , so they are not functional .
“ It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent there .
We haven ’ t gotten one-hundred percent there ” to understanding the factors essential for maturation of germline egg cells to oocytes and then to viable eggs with half their chromosomes .
Despite not working out the pathway to meiosis , the work “ enabled us to produce a large number of oocytes .
We believe that this technology can accelerate basic biological research on oocytes , which are still one of the most mysterious cell types , ” Hamazaki says .
He explains that the work could improve animal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oocytes produced by the team ’ s technique .
The plasma of the induced oocytes does not show any abnormalities , so it could also be valuable for use in reproductive technologies for women with mitochondrial disease .
Children inherit the disease from their mothers , but the use of an enucleated stem cell–derived oocyte , which might have healthy mitochondria , to serve as a carrier of a cell nucleus from an affected mother ’ s oocyte could be a workaround for this issue , he explains .
“ That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hajkova says , “ but it shows how these oocytes could be very useful.
” N. Hamazaki et al.
, “ Reconstitution of the oocyte transcriptional network with transcription factors , ” Nature , doi:10.1038/s41586-020-3027-9 , 2020 .

ABOVE: An ovarian organoid made of egg-like cells (blue) generated from stem cells in culture with mouse ovarian somatic cells.
COURTESY OF NOBUHIKO HAMAZAKI
A core set of eight proteins can transform stem cells from mice into cells that look a lot like immature egg cells called oocytes. The egglike cells could not undergo meiosis to cut the total chromosomes in half as they should, but they could be fertilized by sperm and then divide until they hit the eight-cell stage of embryonic development, researchers report today (December 16) in Nature.
“This demonstrates that you can go directly from stem cells to oocytes. I think that is exciting,” Petra Hajkova, a developmental epigeneticist at Imperial College London who was not involved in the study, tells The Scientist. The work, she notes, will help researchers explore the basic biology of oocyte development. In the future, says study coauthor Nobuhiko Hamazaki of Kyushu University, the research could aid in cloning endangered animals or helping women with mitochondrial diseases to have healthy children.
Oocytes are a rare cell type in the body and not much is known about them, Hamazaki says, which is what led him and his colleagues to probe how they develop. Past studies had documented gene expression changes essential for the transition from very early stage reproductive cells called primordial germ cells to oocytes. Hamazaki and colleagues built on that work with an additional gene expression analysis to identify 27 candidate transcription factors that played a role in that transition. To test the function of each transcription factor, the team used pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs), knocking out or inactivating the genes encoding the transcription factors one by one. “Making knocked out ESCs is relatively easier than making knocked out mice, although still making 27 knockout ESCs was laboring,” Hamazaki says.
This demonstrates that you can go directly from stem cells to oocytes. I think that is exciting. —Petra Hajkova, Imperial College London
The experiments revealed eight transcription factors that were essential to oocyte development: NOBOX, FIGLA, TBPL2, SOHLH1, STAT3, DYNLL1, SUB1, and LHX8. The team then cultured another set of embryonic stem cells and overexpressed the genes that produce those transcription factors, which pushed those cells into an oocyte-like state.
“It’s believed that oocytes develop from germ cells, but we could make oocytes from non-germ cells,” he explains. “At first, I was so surprised that I could not believe my results, so I repeated the experiment again and again and when I got the same results, I was finally convinced.”
In additional experiments, the egglike cells did not go on to divide into daughter cells with half a set of chromosomes, which would make them viable for reproduction. But when the team introduced wildtype mouse sperm into the culture, the oocytes did divide into a mass of eight cells before becoming unviable, possibly because the cells had too many chromosomes, the researchers write.
Richard Schultz, a cell biologist at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the study, says the work to identify the core set of transcription factors that can drive embryonic stem cells into a state where they look like oocytes is impressive. But the egglike cells don’t undergo meiosis, so they are not functional. “It’s a big step, but only ninety-five percent there. We haven’t gotten one-hundred percent there” to understanding the factors essential for maturation of germline egg cells to oocytes and then to viable eggs with half their chromosomes.
Despite not working out the pathway to meiosis, the work “enabled us to produce a large number of oocytes. We believe that this technology can accelerate basic biological research on oocytes, which are still one of the most mysterious cell types,” Hamazaki says. He explains that the work could improve animal cloning because of the vast number of oocytes produced by the team’s technique. The plasma of the induced oocytes does not show any abnormalities, so it could also be valuable for use in reproductive technologies for women with mitochondrial disease. Children inherit the disease from their mothers, but the use of an enucleated stem cell–derived oocyte, which might have healthy mitochondria, to serve as a carrier of a cell nucleus from an affected mother’s oocyte could be a workaround for this issue, he explains.
“That’s kind of the long vision,” Hajkova says, “but it shows how these oocytes could be very useful.”
N. Hamazaki et al., “Reconstitution of the oocyte transcriptional network with transcription factors,” Nature, doi:10.1038/s41586-020-3027-9, 2020.


thescientist--2020-12-16--New SARS-CoV-2 Variant Spreading Rapidly in UK


thescientist--2020-12-17--Insects Pass Antiviral Immunity to Offspring

Insects don ’ t make the cells and antibodies characteristic of the vertebrate adaptive immune response .
As a result , scientists assumed for years that insects rely on innate immune defenses that are neither heritable nor directed at any pathogen in particular .
Over the last 20 years , though , evidence has emerged that invertebrates do inherit some types of immunity from their parents , but it ’ s still not clear how or how often it happens .
In a study published December 15 in Cell Reports , researchers show that fruit flies ( Drosophila melanogaster ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immunity to viruses to their progeny for multiple generations .
“ The authors present a very thorough set of experiments that detail the existence of this transfer of some kind of immunological memory to the offspring from generation to generation , ” says Barbara Milutinović , a postdoc at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria who did not participate in the work .
Some scientists still discuss immunity in Drosophila as though it ’ s only innate and not tailored to certain pathogens , she adds , but “ this study shows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ something really specific going on.
” Maria Carla Saleh , an immunologist at Institut Pasteur in Paris , and her colleagues set out to understand immunity in insects because mosquitoes while the vectors of so many viruses that make people sick , they themselves are unharmed by these infections .
“ The same virus will produce a fatal disease in humans , but the mosquito will be super happy , ” she says .
They focused on so-called persistent viral infections : those with high viral titers but no fitness costs for their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ persistent infections might make it possible to push the mosquito out of this persistent state—either toward succumbing to the pathogen or clearing it , she explains .
In Saleh ’ s lab , researchers often work with fruit flies because they have similar immune systems to mosquitoes and fruit flies are much easier to work with .
In 2018 , the team showed that D. melanogaster that were exposed to a virus as larvae successfully fought it off as adults whereas naïve adults didn ’ t .
The next question was whether or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be passed from parent to offspring , too .
In the new study , Saleh and colleagues injected female fruit flies with either recombinant Sindbis virus or a mock injection of the same volume containing no virus .
Sindbis virus is carried by mosquitoes in Europe , Asia , Africa , and Australia .
Infections are usually mild in people and may include arthritis , fever , and rash .
In contrast , Sindbis in fruit flies produces high viral titers but doesn ’ t make them sick , nor does it pass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ received the injection , the females mated and laid eggs .
Once the next generation reached adulthood , the researchers injected the new generation with the same recombinant Sindbis virus .
The flies whose mothers had been infected with virus ended up with lower viral titers and lower activity of the reporter gene engineered into the virus than did the offspring of mothers that were mock infected before mating .
The researchers determined that the protective effects of a virus infection in the founder generation persisted at least five generations .
They saw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they repeated the experiments with three other positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses , but not with a double-stranded RNA virus or a negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus .
To determine whether or not intact virus was necessary for antiviral immunity in the progeny , the researchers constructed double-stranded RNA corresponding to two different parts of the Sindbis virus , which mimics intermediate forms of the virus created during viral replication .
When injected into female flies , this chunk of double-stranded RNA also protected their offspring from subsequent viral challenges .
“ That was mind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system is recognizing that this double-stranded RNA .
.
.
is exogenous or that that is something that you should create immunity against , ” says Saleh .
Next , the authors either injected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with chikungunya virus—a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that can cause headaches , muscle pain , and joint swelling in people—or fed them an infected blood meal .
When the researchers subsequently exposed the mosquitoes ’ offspring to the virus , the insects had lower viral titers than those whose mothers had been mock infected .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ colleagues showed that viral DNA corresponding to some portion of a viral RNA sequence was present in adult flies after they ’ d been exposed to a virus as larvae .
On a hunch that viral DNA was playing a role in the transgenerational immunity they ’ d observed in the new study , the authors looked at levels of both viral DNA and RNA in flies that had been infected with one of two positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses and in their progeny .
They found both viral RNA , as expected for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the mothers , but the offspring did not have any viral RNA , just viral DNA .
“ Definitely the information seems to be being transmitted as DNA , ” says Saleh .
But “ the paper opens a lot of questions .
For example , this protection or this transmission of antiviral immunity , we could only observe it for positive single-stranded RNA viruses .
Why ?
” Previous work has shown “ that these sorts of mechanisms that confer some kind of memory exist in invertebrates—or at least some invertebrates—and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what we ’ re used to seeing in the vertebrate immune system , ” says Matt Ballinger , a biologist at Mississippi State University who did not participate in the study .
“ Probably for the next five years or ten years , [ the field ] is going to be working on trying to figure out exactly how that happens .
They presented quite a few new steps , just in this paper alone , that are worth following up on.
” In addition to the focused questions about viral DNA and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this , there are human health implications for this work , according to Bryony Bonning , an insect biologist at the University of Florida who did not participate in the study .
“ There are several viruses with single-stranded RNA genomes that are transmitted to humans by mosquitoes , ” including dengue , chikungunya , Zika , yellow fever , and West Nile viruses , says Bonning .
“ Understanding how the mosquito might have an immune mechanism to suppress the replication of these human viruses .
.
.
you could imagine that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on that , there might be something that could be used to try to suppress the transmission of the viruses to humans.
” J.A .
Mondotte et al.
, “ Evidence for long-lasting transgenerational antiviral immunity in insects , ” Cell Reports , doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108506 , 2020 .

ABOVE: © ISTOCK.COM,
SUNDRY PHOTOGRAPHY
Insects don’t make the cells and antibodies characteristic of the vertebrate adaptive immune response. As a result, scientists assumed for years that insects rely on innate immune defenses that are neither heritable nor directed at any pathogen in particular. Over the last 20 years, though, evidence has emerged that invertebrates do inherit some types of immunity from their parents, but it’s still not clear how or how often it happens. In a study published December 15 in Cell Reports, researchers show that fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) pass immunity to viruses to their progeny for multiple generations.
“The authors present a very thorough set of experiments that detail the existence of this transfer of some kind of immunological memory to the offspring from generation to generation,” says Barbara Milutinović, a postdoc at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria who did not participate in the work. Some scientists still discuss immunity in Drosophila as though it’s only innate and not tailored to certain pathogens, she adds, but “this study shows us . . . that there is something really specific going on.”
Maria Carla Saleh, an immunologist at Institut Pasteur in Paris, and her colleagues set out to understand immunity in insects because mosquitoes, while the vectors of so many viruses that make people sick, they themselves are unharmed by these infections. “The same virus will produce a fatal disease in humans, but the mosquito will be super happy,” she says. They focused on so-called persistent viral infections: those with high viral titers but no fitness costs for their insect hosts. Understanding the basis of persistent infections might make it possible to push the mosquito out of this persistent state—either toward succumbing to the pathogen or clearing it, she explains.
Definitely the information seems to be being transmitted as DNA. —Maria Carla Saleh, Institut Pasteur
In Saleh’s lab, researchers often work with fruit flies because they have similar immune systems to mosquitoes and fruit flies are much easier to work with. In 2018, the team showed that D. melanogaster that were exposed to a virus as larvae successfully fought it off as adults whereas naïve adults didn’t. The next question was whether or not this sort of immune priming could be passed from parent to offspring, too.
In the new study, Saleh and colleagues injected female fruit flies with either recombinant Sindbis virus or a mock injection of the same volume containing no virus. Sindbis virus is carried by mosquitoes in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Infections are usually mild in people and may include arthritis, fever, and rash. In contrast, Sindbis in fruit flies produces high viral titers but doesn’t make them sick, nor does it pass from mother to offspring. After they received the injection, the females mated and laid eggs. Once the next generation reached adulthood, the researchers injected the new generation with the same recombinant Sindbis virus. The flies whose mothers had been infected with virus ended up with lower viral titers and lower activity of the reporter gene engineered into the virus than did the offspring of mothers that were mock infected before mating.
The researchers determined that the protective effects of a virus infection in the founder generation persisted at least five generations. They saw similar levels of transgenerational antiviral protection when they repeated the experiments with three other positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, but not with a double-stranded RNA virus or a negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus.
To determine whether or not intact virus was necessary for antiviral immunity in the progeny, the researchers constructed double-stranded RNA corresponding to two different parts of the Sindbis virus, which mimics intermediate forms of the virus created during viral replication. When injected into female flies, this chunk of double-stranded RNA also protected their offspring from subsequent viral challenges. “That was mind blowing because it means that somehow the system is recognizing that this double-stranded RNA . . . is exogenous or that that is something that you should create immunity against,” says Saleh.
Next, the authors either injected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with chikungunya virus—a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that can cause headaches, muscle pain, and joint swelling in people—or fed them an infected blood meal. When the researchers subsequently exposed the mosquitoes’ offspring to the virus, the insects had lower viral titers than those whose mothers had been mock infected.
In their 2018 study, Saleh and colleagues showed that viral DNA corresponding to some portion of a viral RNA sequence was present in adult flies after they’d been exposed to a virus as larvae. On a hunch that viral DNA was playing a role in the transgenerational immunity they’d observed in the new study, the authors looked at levels of both viral DNA and RNA in flies that had been infected with one of two positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses and in their progeny. They found both viral RNA, as expected for a current infection, and viral DNA in the mothers, but the offspring did not have any viral RNA, just viral DNA.
“Definitely the information seems to be being transmitted as DNA,” says Saleh. But “the paper opens a lot of questions. For example, this protection or this transmission of antiviral immunity, we could only observe it for positive single-stranded RNA viruses. Why?”
Previous work has shown “that these sorts of mechanisms that confer some kind of memory exist in invertebrates—or at least some invertebrates—and they maybe just look quite different to what we’re used to seeing in the vertebrate immune system,” says Matt Ballinger, a biologist at Mississippi State University who did not participate in the study. “Probably for the next five years or ten years, [the field] is going to be working on trying to figure out exactly how that happens. They presented quite a few new steps, just in this paper alone, that are worth following up on.”
In addition to the focused questions about viral DNA and how the positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses do this, there are human health implications for this work, according to Bryony Bonning, an insect biologist at the University of Florida who did not participate in the study.
“There are several viruses with single-stranded RNA genomes that are transmitted to humans by mosquitoes,” including dengue, chikungunya, Zika, yellow fever, and West Nile viruses, says Bonning. “Understanding how the mosquito might have an immune mechanism to suppress the replication of these human viruses . . . you could imagine that downstream, if you get a handle on that, there might be something that could be used to try to suppress the transmission of the viruses to humans.”
J.A. Mondotte et al., “Evidence for long-lasting transgenerational antiviral immunity in insects,” Cell Reports, doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108506, 2020.


thescientist--2020-12-17--New Protocol Advances Toward Lab-Made Universal Red Blood Cells

ABOVE : A red blood cell generated from a human induced pluripotent stem cell BENOIT MALLERET , DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY , YONG LOO LIN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE , NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a steep drop in blood donations , leading blood centers in the US to raise the alarm about critical shortages , laying bare the fragility of the current blood supply .
For years , scientists anticipating disruptions to the blood supply—due to issues such as emerging pathogens that can be transmitted through blood or the rapidly aging population , which could drastically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the future—have been working on developing ways to produce blood in factories in order to provide an alternative source of the vital substance .
In a study published December 10 in Stem Cell Reports , Steve Oh , the director of the Stem Cell Bioprocessing group at the Agency for Science , Technology and Research ( A*STAR ) in Singapore , and his colleagues report a new method to generate large quantities of red blood cells ( RBCs ) from induced pluripotent stem cells ( iPSCs ) , cells that have been reprogrammed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embryonic-like state .
Oh and his colleagues set out with the mission of finding ways to manufacture RBCs—which alone are sufficient for blood transfusions—from iPSCs at scale in 2015 .
At the time , Oh says , the available approaches were unable to develop enough high-quality immature blood cells , called erythroblasts , to expand and mature in large bioreactors—one of the reasons being that scientists were primarily using monolayer cultures , which limited how much the cells could grow .
“ We wanted to push the bioprocessing technology as far as we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one day able to make off-the-shelf universal blood , ” Oh says .
Oh ’ s team set out to develop a scalable method for generating type O-negative , or universal donor , blood cells .
To do so , they attached the iPSCs derived from various tissues to supportive structures called microcarriers that enable their growth , then placed them in cell cultures that were under constant agitation ( by shaking or stirring , for example ) .
Growing dense cell cultures requires high levels of nutrients and oxygen , and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critical components to reach the growing cells than a static environment does , Oh explains .
( Oh has patents for the techniques used in this study , and is the founder of Zenzic Labs and SingCell , two Singapore-based biotechnology companies working with stem cells . )
Throughout this process , different cocktails of cytokines were added at various stages to induce differentiation into erythroblasts .
The team repeated this protocol in culture platforms of different sizes—beginning in plates with 5 mL individual wells and ending with 500 mL spinner flasks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surrogates for controlled , small-scale bioreactors .
Using this technology , Oh and his colleagues generated cultures of erythroblasts with cell densities reaching 1.7 x 107 cells per mL .
In addition , they demonstrated that it was possible to carry out this process using iPSCs from eight different cell lines , including those derived from umbilical cord blood , bone marrow , and skin .
For erythroblasts to become RBCs , they need to go through enucleation—the process through which the cell loses its nucleus .
Oh ’ s group achieved up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cultures using one of the current leading techniques for enucleation , which involves adding OP9 cells , bone marrow–derived stem cells from mice .
The entire process from iPSC starting material to mature RBCs took around 35 days .
When the team compared the RBCs generated from iPSCs to those derived from adults , they reported minimal differences in crucial functions such as oxygen-carry capacity , as well as in their transcriptional profiles .
“ This demonstrates , for the first time , that you can produce red blood cells starting from iPSCs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , all the way to the final end product in a controlled suspension environment , ” Oh says .
Showing that this process of going from iPSC to erythroid cells can be carried out in spinner flasks is a big step , says Emile van den Akker , a scientist studying erythropoiesis at Sanquin , a not-for-profit organization that supplies blood in the Netherlands , who was not involved in this work .
Transferring a static culture to something that can be used in a scalable bioreactor is “ the real strength of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ looking for methods to generate red blood cells from stem cells for transfusion purposes , and the biggest challenge remains scaling up to mass production , says Luc Douay , a professor at Sorbonne University in France and the president of the biotech startup Erypharm , which is working on ways to generate red blood cells for transfusion and was not involved in this study .
“ It ’ s an interesting paper , ” Douay says .
But the authors do not report large-scale production or “ address the question of how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ To reach the quantities of RBCs found in transfusions , scientists need to achieve densities of at least 1 x 108 cells per mL—which is still an order of magnitude larger than what Oh ’ s team has currently been able to achieve .
Currently , the technique ’ s maximum cell density appears to be what the team achieved in the study , according to Oh .
However , Oh says he is hopeful that his team will be able to reach the levels required for transfusion .
One approach they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cells lines so that they will continually proliferate and thus generate more cells—as well as save the time and money it takes to always start with iPSCs .
Lab-generated erythrocytes could be useful in other ways .
Scientists are also looking at methods to load them with specific therapeutics that could , for example , be used in chemotherapy or to clear toxins from the plasma .
Because these applications may not require the volumes of blood needed for transfusions , “ this is where I see the quickest translation to a product @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Still , “ the ultimate goal , of course , is transfusion blood.
” J. Sivalingam et al , “ A scalable suspension platform for generating high-density cultures of universal red blood cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells , ” Stem Cell Reports , doi:10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.11.008 , 2020 .

ABOVE: A red blood cell generated from a human induced pluripotent stem cell
BENOIT MALLERET, DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY, YONG LOO LIN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a steep drop in blood donations, leading blood centers in the US to raise the alarm about critical shortages, laying bare the fragility of the current blood supply. For years, scientists anticipating disruptions to the blood supply—due to issues such as emerging pathogens that can be transmitted through blood or the rapidly aging population, which could drastically reduce the number of potential donors in the future—have been working on developing ways to produce blood in factories in order to provide an alternative source of the vital substance.
In a study published December 10 in Stem Cell Reports, Steve Oh, the director of the Stem Cell Bioprocessing group at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore, and his colleagues report a new method to generate large quantities of red blood cells (RBCs) from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), cells that have been reprogrammed from a differentiated state back to an embryonic-like state.
Oh and his colleagues set out with the mission of finding ways to manufacture RBCs—which alone are sufficient for blood transfusions—from iPSCs at scale in 2015. At the time, Oh says, the available approaches were unable to develop enough high-quality immature blood cells, called erythroblasts, to expand and mature in large bioreactors—one of the reasons being that scientists were primarily using monolayer cultures, which limited how much the cells could grow. “We wanted to push the bioprocessing technology as far as we could, with the endpoint of being one day able to make off-the-shelf universal blood,” Oh says.
Oh’s team set out to develop a scalable method for generating type O-negative, or universal donor, blood cells. To do so, they attached the iPSCs derived from various tissues to supportive structures called microcarriers that enable their growth, then placed them in cell cultures that were under constant agitation (by shaking or stirring, for example). Growing dense cell cultures requires high levels of nutrients and oxygen, and a continuously agitated environment offers more of those critical components to reach the growing cells than a static environment does, Oh explains. (Oh has patents for the techniques used in this study, and is the founder of Zenzic Labs and SingCell, two Singapore-based biotechnology companies working with stem cells.) Throughout this process, different cocktails of cytokines were added at various stages to induce differentiation into erythroblasts.
The team repeated this protocol in culture platforms of different sizes—beginning in plates with 5 mL individual wells and ending with 500 mL spinner flasks, which, according to Oh, are surrogates for controlled, small-scale bioreactors.
Using this technology, Oh and his colleagues generated cultures of erythroblasts with cell densities reaching 1.7 x 107 cells per mL. In addition, they demonstrated that it was possible to carry out this process using iPSCs from eight different cell lines, including those derived from umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, and skin.
To reach the quantities of RBCs found in transfusions, scientists need to achieve densities of at least 1 x 108 cells per mL—which is still an order of magnitude larger than what Oh’s team has currently been able to achieve.
For erythroblasts to become RBCs, they need to go through enucleation—the process through which the cell loses its nucleus. Oh’s group achieved up to 60 percent enucleation in their cell cultures using one of the current leading techniques for enucleation, which involves adding OP9 cells, bone marrow–derived stem cells from mice. The entire process from iPSC starting material to mature RBCs took around 35 days.
When the team compared the RBCs generated from iPSCs to those derived from adults, they reported minimal differences in crucial functions such as oxygen-carry capacity, as well as in their transcriptional profiles.
“This demonstrates, for the first time, that you can produce red blood cells starting from iPSCs, and with a range of donors, all the way to the final end product in a controlled suspension environment,” Oh says.
Showing that this process of going from iPSC to erythroid cells can be carried out in spinner flasks is a big step, says Emile van den Akker, a scientist studying erythropoiesis at Sanquin, a not-for-profit organization that supplies blood in the Netherlands, who was not involved in this work. Transferring a static culture to something that can be used in a scalable bioreactor is “the real strength of this paper.”
A range of lab-generated mature red blood cells Benoit Malleret, Department of Microbiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Many teams have been looking for methods to generate red blood cells from stem cells for transfusion purposes, and the biggest challenge remains scaling up to mass production, says Luc Douay, a professor at Sorbonne University in France and the president of the biotech startup Erypharm, which is working on ways to generate red blood cells for transfusion and was not involved in this study. “It’s an interesting paper,” Douay says. But the authors do not report large-scale production or “address the question of how this process can be scaled up.”
To reach the quantities of RBCs found in transfusions, scientists need to achieve densities of at least 1 x 108 cells per mL—which is still an order of magnitude larger than what Oh’s team has currently been able to achieve. Currently, the technique’s maximum cell density appears to be what the team achieved in the study, according to Oh. However, Oh says he is hopeful that his team will be able to reach the levels required for transfusion. One approach they are pursuing are ways to immortalize their erythroblast cells lines so that they will continually proliferate and thus generate more cells—as well as save the time and money it takes to always start with iPSCs.
Lab-generated erythrocytes could be useful in other ways. Scientists are also looking at methods to load them with specific therapeutics that could, for example, be used in chemotherapy or to clear toxins from the plasma. Because these applications may not require the volumes of blood needed for transfusions, “this is where I see the quickest translation to a product,” van den Akker says. Still, “the ultimate goal, of course, is transfusion blood.”
J. Sivalingam et al, “A scalable suspension platform for generating high-density cultures of universal red blood cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells,” Stem Cell Reports, doi:10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.11.008, 2020.


thescientist--2020-12-17--Opinion: Being Scientists Doesn't Make Us Science Communicators

A few weeks ago , in the wake of the news that an effective vaccine for COVID-19 had been developed , a popular persona in the science communication Twittersphere shared a thread on COVID-19 immunity .
The intent of the thread was to explain to a nonscientific audience how the vaccine protects against the virus .
While this is an admirable goal , the thread was promptly met with an influx of replies pointing out a mistake in the information .
As I perused the profiles of those who supplied the correction , I repeatedly noticed “ virologist ” or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The thread-writer , on the other hand , is a chemistry professor .
It wasn ’ t difficult to determine who was right—indeed , the chemist issued an apology and deleted the erroneous tweet .
Communicating science beyond the academic bubble is necessary to enhance public understanding of health and environmental issues and help individuals make well-informed personal decisions .
I believe this so strongly that I have made the time during my PhD at Northwestern University to participate in many science communication training courses and conferences , write for a blog that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and work with other contributors to make their pieces more accessible to the general public .
I also believe that scientists who engage in science communication must acknowledge that their area of expertise is deep but narrow , and recognize the limitations in their own knowledge .
That is not to suggest that they only write or present on their own research , but rather , that they consult with an expert if the topic is outside of their discipline .
Fact-checking with a scientist who works in the specialty will prevent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the process of doing so may yield interesting new tidbits that can be incorporated .
It is equally imperative to emphasize that being an expert on a topic doesn ’ t automatically make a scholar qualified to communicate it to a nonscientific audience .
In response to this year ’ s global reckoning with the importance of science in our lives , I ’ ve noticed a rise in the number of “ explainers ” in my Twitter feed .
These public-aimed explanations of scientific phenomena come from scientists with appropriate credentials , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way of explaining .
One RNA biologist shared a complicated analogy involving a library , books , paper , a recipe , ingredients , and a cake to explain mRNA-based vaccines .
I can ’ t propose a specific alternate analogy because I am a chemist with no expertise in this area .
But I can say that one where you don ’ t need a written key to keep track of what each item represents would be a huge improvement .
Science communication is a science in and of itself , one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ My science communication training courses taught me how to identify and eliminate jargon and develop effective analogies through which to explain complex concepts ( effective being the operative word ) .
They had textbooks and written exercises and objective evaluations , just like my science courses .
You can not simply assume communication expertise—imagine if someone just decided that they were a physicist and started trying to contribute to the field without the necessary background !
Doing a poor job communicating science to the public will only create confusion and widen the gap @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trying to close .
The mere title of “ scientist ” lends us a certain authority , and with that authority comes the responsibility to ensure that our communication with the public is accurate and clear .
If you are a trained science communicator , seek out experts from your network of contacts when applying your skills to new areas of science .
And if you are a scientist who hasn ’ t yet honed these science communication skills , don ’ t hop on Twitter for your first attempt .
Instead , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a low-stakes environment in which you can receive feedback from professionals .
The free Science Communication Online Training Programme ( SCOPE ) through Northwestern and ComSciCon conferences are valuable resources available to graduate students .
Additionally , a growing number of universities are providing science communication training for faculty .
Inquire at your own school about whether any science communication courses are offered , or request to virtually participate in one at another institution ( which should be easier than ever these days ) .
I believe taking these measures will ensure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result—making science more accessible to everyone .
Sarah Anderson is a PhD candidate in the chemistry department at Northwestern University and an aspiring science writer .
Check out her Twitter page @ seanderson63 for more of her work .

ABOVE: © ISTOCK.COM,
DESIGNER
A few weeks ago, in the wake of the news that an effective vaccine for COVID-19 had been developed, a popular persona in the science communication Twittersphere shared a thread on COVID-19 immunity. The intent of the thread was to explain to a nonscientific audience how the vaccine protects against the virus. While this is an admirable goal, the thread was promptly met with an influx of replies pointing out a mistake in the information. As I perused the profiles of those who supplied the correction, I repeatedly noticed “virologist” or “epidemiologist” in their bios. The thread-writer, on the other hand, is a chemistry professor. It wasn’t difficult to determine who was right—indeed, the chemist issued an apology and deleted the erroneous tweet.
Communicating science beyond the academic bubble is necessary to enhance public understanding of health and environmental issues and help individuals make well-informed personal decisions. I believe this so strongly that I have made the time during my PhD at Northwestern University to participate in many science communication training courses and conferences, write for a blog that covers scientific topics for a lay audience, and work with other contributors to make their pieces more accessible to the general public.
If you are a scientist who hasn’t yet honed these science communication skills, don’t hop on Twitter for your first attempt. Instead, look for opportunities to practice science communication in a low-stakes environment in which you can receive feedback from professionals.
I also believe that scientists who engage in science communication must acknowledge that their area of expertise is deep but narrow, and recognize the limitations in their own knowledge. That is not to suggest that they only write or present on their own research, but rather, that they consult with an expert if the topic is outside of their discipline. Fact-checking with a scientist who works in the specialty will prevent the inadvertent spread of misinformation, and the process of doing so may yield interesting new tidbits that can be incorporated.
It is equally imperative to emphasize that being an expert on a topic doesn’t automatically make a scholar qualified to communicate it to a nonscientific audience. In response to this year’s global reckoning with the importance of science in our lives, I’ve noticed a rise in the number of “explainers” in my Twitter feed. These public-aimed explanations of scientific phenomena come from scientists with appropriate credentials, but often do very little in the way of explaining. One RNA biologist shared a complicated analogy involving a library, books, paper, a recipe, ingredients, and a cake to explain mRNA-based vaccines. I can’t propose a specific alternate analogy because I am a chemist with no expertise in this area. But I can say that one where you don’t need a written key to keep track of what each item represents would be a huge improvement.
Science communication is a science in and of itself, one that requires rigorous training and instruction. My science communication training courses taught me how to identify and eliminate jargon and develop effective analogies through which to explain complex concepts (effective being the operative word). They had textbooks and written exercises and objective evaluations, just like my science courses. You cannot simply assume communication expertise—imagine if someone just decided that they were a physicist and started trying to contribute to the field without the necessary background! Doing a poor job communicating science to the public will only create confusion and widen the gap between science and society that you were trying to close.
The mere title of “scientist” lends us a certain authority, and with that authority comes the responsibility to ensure that our communication with the public is accurate and clear. If you are a trained science communicator, seek out experts from your network of contacts when applying your skills to new areas of science. And if you are a scientist who hasn’t yet honed these science communication skills, don’t hop on Twitter for your first attempt. Instead, look for opportunities to practice science communication in a low-stakes environment in which you can receive feedback from professionals. The free Science Communication Online Training Programme (SCOPE) through Northwestern and ComSciCon conferences are valuable resources available to graduate students. Additionally, a growing number of universities are providing science communication training for faculty. Inquire at your own school about whether any science communication courses are offered, or request to virtually participate in one at another institution (which should be easier than ever these days). I believe taking these measures will ensure that our good intentions yield the desired result—making science more accessible to everyone.
Sarah Anderson is a PhD candidate in the chemistry department at Northwestern University and an aspiring science writer. Check out her Twitter page @seanderson63 for more of her work.


thescientist--2020-12-17--Shifting Space and Time: How Harnessing Our Most Powerful Cells is Changing Immune Medicine

Immune medicines hold promise as therapies for debilitating disorders such as cancer , infectious diseases , and inflammatory diseases .
@ @ @ @ @ , researchers gain insights into which patients will respond to various immunotherapies .
To accelerate @ @ @ @ @ , scientists use applications that decrease the space and time needed for assays that target @ @ @ @ @ this event brought to you by IsoPlexis , industry and academic leaders describe how data @ @ @ @ @ shift conceptions about how humans mount effective immune responses , including which cells orchestrate a @ @ @ @ @ technological advancements that enable researchers to use functional proteomes to detect powerful , highly active @ @ @ @ @ , the speakers highlight applications for harnessing these powerful cell subsets to advance cell and @ @ @

Shifting Space and Time
How harnessing our most powerful cells is changing immune medicine
Immune medicines hold promise as therapies for debilitating disorders such as cancer, infectious diseases, and inflammatory diseases. By studying immune cell subsets, researchers gain insights into which patients will respond to various immunotherapies. To accelerate the timelines for finding cures, scientists use applications that decrease the space and time needed for assays that target single immune cells.
In this event brought to you by IsoPlexis, industry and academic leaders describe how data from small immune cell subsets shift conceptions about how humans mount effective immune responses, including which cells orchestrate a balanced attack. They discuss technological advancements that enable researchers to use functional proteomes to detect powerful, highly active immune cell subsets. Additionally, the speakers highlight applications for harnessing these powerful cell subsets to advance cell and gene therapies.


2020 in Pictures

In January of this year , researchers used cells derived from a frog embryo to create “ manufactured organisms ” designed to carry out different tasks .
Here , a xenobot shuffles across the bottom of a petri dish .
This photo , released in February , shows the characteristic “ crown ” of spikes on SARS-CoV-2 for which the coronavirus is named .
Scientists in Germany reported in February a new tissue-clearing technique that allows them to view intact human organs such as the kidney ( above ) , brain , eye , and thyroid .
This white mouse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mouse , and thanks to a new method that mimics the mechanism by which tumors evade detection , the limb survived for more than 200 days , scientists reported in March .
In Shenzhen , China , BGI Genomics deployed the Huo-Yan Air Lab in April , an inflatable laboratory to analyze SARS-CoV-2 samples , equipped with a medical waste exhaust system , qPCR instruments , and genetic sequencers .
Steven Henikoff , an epigeneticist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center , smiles from his new lab bench , which had previously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cellar before he began working from home in April .
A union member representing faculty at the City University of New York demonstrates in June against an announcement that the university system would be laying off faculty members and cutting courses .
In August , the SCU Lightning Complex Fire came dangerously close to Lick Observatory , an astronomical research center in the hills above San Jose , California .
Other field stations were damaged this summer in a series of fires that swept the West Coast .
Conservationists in Argentina are planning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iberá wetlands , including the two-year-old Mbareté ( pictured ) .
In November , The Scientist reported on researchers ’ efforts to understand how large apex predators—and their absence—affect ecosystem functioning .
A gut biopsy from a recovered COVID-19 patient harbors traces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus ( green ) up to six months after infection , researchers reported in November .

SAM KRIEGMAN
In January of this year, researchers used cells derived from a frog embryo to create “manufactured organisms” designed to carry out different tasks. Here, a xenobot shuffles across the bottom of a petri dish.
NIAID-RML
This photo, released in February, shows the characteristic “crown” of spikes on SARS-CoV-2 for which the coronavirus is named.
HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM MÜNCHEN / ERTÜRK LAB
Scientists in Germany reported in February a new tissue-clearing technique that allows them to view intact human organs such as the kidney (above), brain, eye, and thyroid.
UPMC
This white rat received a leg transplant from a brown rat, and thanks to a new method that mimics the mechanism by which tumors evade detection, the limb survived for more than 200 days, scientists reported in March.
BGI
In Shenzhen, China, BGI Genomics deployed the Huo-Yan Air Lab in April, an inflatable laboratory to analyze SARS-CoV-2 samples, equipped with a medical waste exhaust system, qPCR instruments, and genetic sequencers.
JORJA HENIKOFF
Steven Henikoff, an epigeneticist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, smiles from his new lab bench, which had previously been the counter in his laundry room-slash-wine cellar before he began working from home in April.
NINA WESTERVELT
A union member representing faculty at the City University of New York demonstrates in June against an announcement that the university system would be laying off faculty members and cutting courses.
In August, the SCU Lightning Complex Fire came dangerously close to Lick Observatory, an astronomical research center in the hills above San Jose, California. Other field stations were damaged this summer in a series of fires that swept the West Coast.
MATÍAS REBAK
Conservationists in Argentina are planning to release five adult jaguars into the Iberá wetlands, including the two-year-old Mbareté (pictured). In November, The Scientist reported on researchers’ efforts to understand how large apex predators—and their absence—affect ecosystem functioning.
C. GAEBLER ET AL, BIOARXIV, 2020
A gut biopsy from a recovered COVID-19 patient harbors traces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (green) up to six months after infection, researchers reported in November.
Correction (December 21): We mistakenly called the rat in the photo above a mouse. The Scientist regrets the error.