Spike protein as the virus fuses with host human cells reveals an opportunity to disrupt dynamics and halt transmission.
Scientists have simulated the transition of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein structure from when it recognizes the host cell to when it gains entry, according to a study published on August 31, 2021, in eLife.
The research shows that a structure enabled by sugar molecules on the spike protein could be essential for cell entry and that disrupting this structure could be a strategy to halt virus transmission.
To infect a human cell, the S1 subunit binds to a molecule on the surface of human cells called ACE2, and the S2 subunit detaches and fuses the viral and human cell membranes.
The simulations revealed that glycans form a 'cage' that traps the 'head' of the S2 subunit causing it to pause in an intermediate form between when it detaches from the S1 subunit and when the viral and cell membranes are fused.
"Our simulations indicate that glycans can induce a pause during the spike protein transition. This provides a critical opportunity for the fusion peptides to capture the host cell," concludes co-author Paul C. Whitford, Associate Professor at the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics and Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, US. "In the absence of glycans, the viral particle would likely fail to enter the host. Our study reveals how sugars can control infectivity, and it provides a foundation for experimentally investigating factors that influence the dynamics of this pervasive and deadly pathogen."
Reference: "Sterically confined rearrangements of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein control cell invasion" by Esteban Dodero-Rojas, Jose N Onuchic and Paul Charles Whitford, 31 August 2021, eLife.
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Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Scientists Discover Opportunity To Disrupt SARS-CoV-2 Dynamics, Prevent COVID-19 Transmission
Biden State Department Left 600 of Its Own Journalists Behind in Afghanistan
The Biden administration stranded hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans in Afghanistan as they fled the country earlier this week.
Now there are reports that Joe Biden and Secretary of State Tony Blinken stranded 600 State Department journalists and family members behind in Afghanistan.
They abandoned the reporters when they left the country.
The administration was warned early and often about the 600 or so employees, contractors and family members who worked for U.S.-sponsored news organizations under the umbrella of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, a federal agency funded by Congress.
They include journalists working for the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio LIberty who have worked in Afghanistan for years - at great personal risk.
The Taliban has killed four RFE/FL journalists since 2016 through suicide bomb attacks, and the company's journalists routinely receive death threats from the extremists.
Now, the leaders of these organizations say the State Department promised to get their vulnerable people out of the country before the Aug. 31 troop withdrawal deadline, only to later renege on that promise amid the chaos and confusion at the Kabul airport.
New Taiwan Military Report Warns China Can "Paralyze" Island's Defenses
It's no secret the Chinese communist regime is preparing to invade Taiwan.
A new annual report by the Defense Ministry in Taipei, seen by Bloomberg, offers a stark reality that China's armed forces can "Paralyze" Taiwan's defenses.
Taiwan's Defence Ministry explained in the report, addressed to lawmakers, that china can launch "Soft and hard electronic attacks." This means China can unleash electronic warfare weapons to degrade communications across the island and communications from Japan and the Philippines.
With the probabilities increasing, China could attempt to seize Taiwan by force amid America's disorganized exit from Afghanistan, which has tarnished U.S. prestige.
Allies of the West, such as Japan and Taiwan, held talks about increasing aggression in the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory, even though it has never ruled it, and has threatened invasion to prevent Taipei lawmakers from moving toward complete independence.
We have noted countless times that Beijing's war drills around Taiwan are dry runs in preparation for an invasion.
Ohio Judge Orders Hospital to Treat Ventilated COVID-19 Patient With Ivermectin
A Butler County judge in Ohio has ordered a hospital to administer Ivermectin to a ventilated COVID-19 patient, granting an emergency relief filed by the patient's wife.
Ler County Common Pleas Judge Gregory Howard ruled last week that West Chester Hospital, part of the University of Cincinnati's health network UC Health, must "Immediately administer Ivermectin" to patient Jeffrey Smith following his doctor's prescription of 30 mg of Ivermectin for 21 days, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.
"There is no reason why the defendant cannot approve or authorize other forms of treatments so long as the benefits outweigh the risks." Julie had read about some lawsuits reported by Chicago Tribune and The Buffalo News where patients in severe condition from COVID-19 later recovered after being given Ivermectin.
Federal Agencies Oppose Ivermectin For COVID-19 Ivermectin is a drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat certain infections caused by internal and external parasites.
Last Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an official health advisory, reiterating its opposition to the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19 treatment.
"The National Institutes of Health's COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel has also determined that there are currently insufficient data to recommend Ivermectin for treatment of COVID-19." "Adverse effects associated with Ivermectin misuse and overdose are increasing, as shown by a rise in calls to poison control centers reporting overdoses and more people experiencing adverse effects," the advisory continued.
FDA warned on its website that taking large doses of Ivermectin is "Dangerous and can cause serious harm." The agency also stressed that Ivermectin products for animals are different from products for people because animal drugs are often highly concentrated.
Jake Sullivan refuses to call the Taliban the enemy and says 'it's hard to put a label on it'
Jake Sullivan wouldn't classify the Taliban as an enemy of the U.S. - or really put them under any classification - during a Tuesday interview upon the president declaring an end to the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Taliban chiefs reportedly ordered their fighters to hunt down pilots from the disbanded Afghan Air Force who received U.S. training to fly the high-tech warplanes and choppers left behind.
Earlier this month, as U.S. forces began pulling out of Afghanistan, the Taliban was able to overrun the country in just over a week.
As the last U.S. troops left Afghanistan on Monday, the Taliban began declaring victory over the U.S. as it raided and seized U.S. and other foreign-run facilities in the country.
The Taliban and their supporters took to the streets that day after the total U.S. withdrawal to celebrate, waving their flags and chanting victory over their western adversaries.
Originally, Biden aimed to have all U.S. military out of Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, which is the 20 year anniversary of the catalyst that led to the war in the first place - the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Biden's withdrawal led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members when an ISIS-K suicide bomber deotnated his vest last Thursday outside the Kabul airport - killing 11 Marines, an Army special forces soldier and a Navy Corpsman along with dozens of Afghanis trying to flee in the Taliban takeover.
Taliban Holds Huge Victory Parade Showing Off US Military Hardware
The day after a defiant Joe Biden deemed his Afghanistan exit a "Success" - the Taliban did a little celebrating of their own, holding a 'victory' parade in the streets of Kabul featuring the Taliban army's new 'toys'.
"The Taliban Wednesday paraded some of the military hardware they captured during their takeover of Afghanistan," AFP wrote in confirming the spectacle that mocked the whole US debacle of a twenty year occupation that ended in handing over billions of dollars in military equipment.
WATCH: Taliban throw military parade with US equipment.
The parade even included a helicopter flying over a long line of Humvees decked out with the white and black Taliban flags.
An AFP journalist observed that "a long line of green Humvees and armored fighting vehicles drove in single file along a highway outside Kandahar - the spiritual birthplace of the militant movement - many with white-and-black Taliban flags attached to aerials".
Starting weeks ago as Taliban militants began capturing base after base and easily steamrolled major cities across the country with little resistance, it became clear they were putting their newly acquired expensive American and NATO equipment to use, given they began taking cities in the south while riding in on Humvees and armored battle vehicles.
More images of the Taliban's victory parade in Kandahar today.
High-Profile FDA Officials Resign Over Biden's Rush For Booster Shots
Several high-profile U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials are resigning from their positions within the federal agency in protest of the Biden administration's overreach when it comes to COVID-19-related scientific decisions such as booster shots.
Despite the lack of clear evidence in support of booster shots, the Biden administration plans to move forward with supplemental jabs for adults beginning as early as the White House's Sept. 20 deadline, pending the FDA's approval.
Among those leaving are research head Marion Gruber, who will depart the FDA in October after spending 32 years in the federal agency, and vaccine research and development OVRR Deputy Director Phil Krause, who will leave in November after more than 10 years at the agency, according to a report from BioCentury.
"A former senior FDA leader told Endpoints that they're departing because they're frustrated that CDC and their ACIP committee are involved in decisions that they think should be up to the FDA. The former FDAer also said he's heard they're upset with director Peter Marks for not insisting that those decisions should be kept inside FDA. What finally did it for them was the White House getting ahead of FDA on booster shots," Endpoints News reported.
NEW: Senior officials Marion Gruber and Phil Krause leaving the FDA. Apparently, "They're frustrated that CDC and their ACIP committee are involved in decisions that they think should be up to the FDA" and especially concerned about "Booster shots."
The FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Peter Marks lamented the employee loss in a letter to his other staff but said the search to replace the officials has already begun.
Despite Marks' letter, Politico reported that several other FDA officials are more than disgruntled as top administrators in the agency, such as FDA acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock, have already bent to the will of the president and even join his unproven efforts to push booster shots.