Share this page!

Eric Topol Profile picture
Twitter logo
3 Jan, 6 tweets, 8 min read
Connecting the dots between RSV, F, erection, S, and 2P's
1. The @McLellan_Lab work on RSV virus to stabilize the F protein (which may lead to successful vaccines)
From newyorker.com/magazine/2021/… @NewYorker by @lawrence_wright
2. The @ScienceMagazine paper in 2013 that was, in retrospect, a frontrunner for coronaviruses and #SARSCoV2 sharing the property of membrane fusion and the need to stabilized the fusion protein to get effective vaccines
science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/34…
3. That was by X-ray crystallography which didn't enable visualization of the spike (S) protein of coronaviruses until this @nature publication by @WardLab1 @McLellan_Lab @KizzyPhD and colleagues in 2016 via cryo-EM nature.com/articles/natur…
4. Which laid the foundation for stabilization of the S protein via the 2-proline substitution (2P) by @goodwish916
subthread
5. More on this remarkable discovery leading to stabilization of S and the high efficacy of #SARSCoV2 vaccines (~50X neutralizing antibody production cf no 2P substitution)
podcast w/ @WardLab1
6. This new @NatGeo piece by @jilliankramer provides a great summary of the puzzle solving over an extended period that set up success for the #SARSCoV2 vaccines
nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/1… @KizzyPhD @McLellan_Lab @NIH @NIAIDNews

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Eric Topol

Eric Topol Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @EricTopol

Eric Topol Profile picture
1 Jan
On our new podcast, we interviewed @angie_rasmussen, one of the leading virologists, who has been a guiding light during the pandemic. Thread here to summarize, transcript and audio medscape.com/viewarticle/94… @cuttingforstone /1
Current status
"We're essentially experiencing the equivalent of a 9/11 every day in terms of number of deaths; our hospital systems are overburdened. ...We're going to be dealing w/ this for some time to come, even after people get the vaccine, certainly #LongCovid is real." /2
On her strong efforts for dispelling misinformation
"My philosophy about public health is that you can't have it without the engagement of the public. And my philosophy about communication is that information empowers people to decide for themselves" /3
Read 12 tweets
Eric Topol Profile picture
30 Dec 20
The Phase 3 @moderna_tx #SARSCoV2 vaccine trial is published @NEJM nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
The historic cumulative event curve
Subgroup analysis, maintenance of efficacy across the board
Read 6 tweets
Eric Topol Profile picture
28 Dec 20
We interviewed @SteveFDA and Peter Marks @US_FDA about the new vaccines
webmd.com/coronavirus-in… w/ @drjohnwhyte @WebMD @Medscape
Key points that we covered:
1. The EUA tightening that got the trials to full efficacy completion and better read on safety
2. Operation/Project Warp Speed was invented by Peter Marks (a star trekkie) to streamline and accelerate the path to a successful vaccine
More on that here washingtonpost.com/health/coronav… by @lauriemcginley2
3. Why didn't the vaccine trials study transmission (mucosal impact/ sterilization immunity)?
The requirement of the participants for daily nasopharyngeal swabs would have been cumbersome and slowed down the trial's critical question of preventing illness
Read 9 tweets
Eric Topol Profile picture
26 Dec 20
Countries the B.1.1.7 variant has been found in:
UK, Denmark, Singapore, Australia, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Lebanon, France, Israel, Italy.
Hard to imagine it has not reached US by this time
Add: Japan, Iceland, Belgium, Germany
Now add Ontario, Canada in a couple with no history of travel
Read 4 tweets
Eric Topol Profile picture
24 Dec 20
We've now doubled the peak hospitalizations from the previous 2 US case surges.
And it's no wonder the death toll again today is nearly 3,500.
@COVID19Tracking
Sure the virus is hard to contain, but that's especially the case when so little is being done
The @HHSgov declared covid as a public health emergency on Jan 31st
And @WhiteHouse a national emergency March 13th whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…
If that was emergency, then what is this?
The actions we could take beyond financial support that still has not been approved......
1. Distribute high quality (surgical or K/N95) masks to all households [@USPS planned 650 million distribution in April, blocked by @WhiteHouse]
2. Make mask mandates a national policy with enforcement
3. Provide free rapid home covid tests to all households for daily use
Read 5 tweets
Eric Topol Profile picture
23 Dec 20
1. Structural biology has been a standout in the pandemic, mapping the virus, antibodies and vaccines atom by atom. So I had a conversation with one of its leaders, Andrew Ward @WardLab1, my @scrippsresearch colleague soundcloud.com/prescrippsions…
2. Back in 2016, Andrew and his colleagues were the first to see and publish the coronavirus spike protein, via cryo-electron microscopy (a common cold virus, HKU1) nature.com/articles/natur… @nature
Note the team, which proved to be formidable
@McLellan_Lab @KizzyPhD Barney Graham
3. In the podcast, Andrew reviews how they came together. A next act was the famous 2P (2 proline substitutions) paper that was rejected 5 times before being published @PNASNews
Subthread about that here:
Read 14 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @EricTopol has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @EricTopol!

Read all threads by @EricTopol