Team #46. Former Assistant Secretary @Energy; Former President @FAScientists; Tweeting about science and technology. Personal account.
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2/The SARS-CoV-2 virus is made up of components (proteins, RNA, lipids) that come together and give rise to functional virus particles. Paxlovid blocks the ability of some of the proteins to function, resulting in a defective virus. Here's how… 
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1. Lowers energy costs for consumers:
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2/Monkeypox is closely related to the infamous smallpox. After smallpox was eradicated through a global vaccination campaign we rightly stopped vaccinating against it. But that allowed monkeypox, once confined to remote areas, to spread more. 
2/N95 respirators are made of polypropylene material that go through a "melt blowing" process where it's melted & extruded through small-diameter holes into hundreds of tiny fibers (like spaghetti) that are tangled together. They block incoming particles. rb.gy/nz3vgx 
2/After the virus infects cells, it replicates its RNA genome, turns that RNA into proteins, & assembles proteins into new viruses (virions)
2/researchers created a model of the virus in aerosols from billions of 'virtual atoms'. They also included other molecules & proteins found in these aerosols. They ran simulations using Summit: one of world's fastest Supercomputers @ORNL, a Department of Energy National Lab.
2/"Our results demonstrate the 
Viruses from both episodes were sequenced to confirm reinfection w/ distinct variant, as opposed to a single prolonged infection. The 2nd episode contained the E484K which @jbloom_lab has shown to be less susceptible to some antibodies 2/3
2/In July study found the virus to be stable in air. Mechanically generated aerosols/airborne #SARSCoV2 retained ability to infect cells for at least 16 hrs. Hardier in aerosols than SARS-1 or MERS. Helps explain why #airborne route is a major culprit: rb.gy/jxh0oh 2/8 
2/Second infection was more severe. Given the infections were 5 months apart its hard to know whether the immune response against the 1st infection simply waned, or, alternatively, if the variant virus managed to evade the immune response 2/6
2/The "Receptor Binding Domain" on the Spike protein of the virus is a critical site for antibodies to bind to because those antibodies can block the virus from binding the ACE2 receptor on our cells. Mutations at that site are allowing the virus to escape antibodies. 
2/#SARSCoV2 is covered w/Spike proteins that help the virus grab human cells. To make the vaccine, researchers first isolated the gene that is responsible for making the Spike protein. They 'snipped' it from the rest of the genetic material of the coronavirus. 
2/Intranasal (I.N) and aerosol inoculation caused more severe respiratory pathology, higher viral loads and increased weight loss. Fomite exposure led to milder disease. Here's weight loss👇Black lines are control animals in each group. 2/7 
2/That's done by taking the Spike DNA🧬and splicing it into a larger piece of DNA that is used to deliver genes into cells that are growing in a lab. Those cells "read" the DNA, turn it into RNA, and then into proteins. The Spike proteins are then harvested and purified. 
2/To confirm apt units are indeed connected, tracer gas was released into drainage system of one unit and shown to come out of the other. Evidence for alternative mechanisms of transmission (e.g. use of public spaces, elevators, etc..) could not be found. 
2/Another mutation, P681H, is near Spike's "Furin cleavage site" Unclear what the mutation does, but the location is significant because it's where enzymes "process" Spike, helping virus infect airway cells & enable efficient human-to-human transmission: rb.gy/sp0p34 
