‘Unprecedented risk’ to life on Earth: Scientists call for halt on ‘mirror life’ microbe research Experts warn that mirror bacteria, constructed from mirror images of molecules found in nature, could put humans, animals and plants at risk of lethal infections
"Although a viable mirror microbe would probably take at least a decade to build, a new risk assessment raised such serious concerns about the organisms that the 38-strong group urged scientists to stop work towards the goal and asked funders to make clear they will no longer support the research. "
“The threat we’re talking about is unprecedented,” said Prof Vaughn Cooper, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Pittsburgh. “Mirror bacteria would likely evade many human, animal and plant immune system responses and in each case would cause lethal infections that would spread without check.”
Bowel cancer rising among under-50s worldwide, research finds Study suggests rate of disease among young adults is rising for first time and England has one of the fastest increases
Weight loss drugs may also treat addiction, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease Pharmaceutical companies are already cashing in on their other health benefits.
Do people reach 100 by surviving, delaying, or avoiding diseases? A life course comparison of centenarians and non-centenarians from the same birth cohorts
Why hasn’t the bird flu pandemic started? Some scientists examining mutations found in H5N1 viruses fear major outbreak is imminent but others say pathogen remains unpredictable
"So why hasn’t H5N1 touched off a pandemic yet?
One simple answer is that the virus may just need more time to hit the right combination of mutations. The high mutation rate of influenza viruses should tip the odds in H5N1’s favor: “My rule of thumb is that one in 4000 [virus] particles will have a mutation at the amino acid that you are interested in,” Paulson says. Indeed, one polymerase mutation the virus likely needs, dubbed 627K because it leads to the amino acid lysine (K) at position 627 of the protein, has been found several times in strains infecting mammals but also in virus isolated from the first human case associated with the U.S. outbreak in dairy cows."
How BioNTech’s “revolutionary” lung cancer vaccine actually works The promising new treatment builds on research that went into developing COVID vaccines.
Sold-out farm shops, smuggled deliveries and safety warnings: US battle over raw milk grows Unpasteurised milk, seen as both anti-government and anti-corporate, soars in popularity among conspiracy theorists and new agers
Two patients with spinal injuries have seen improvements in their ability to walk again, thanks to deep brain stimulation (DBS). Intriguingly, the therapy targets a region of the brain that normally isn’t associated with motor skills.