RenoVous

  This is what I think of every time this new variant is mentioned. So let's take a look. "Omicron's very emergence is another reminder that although many of us might think we are done with COVID-19, it is not done with us," says WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The variant was discovered by researchers in South Africa and Botswana, showing mutations that help the virus enter and infect cells.  It has now been found in Israel, the UK, Hong Kong and Australia.  Earlier this week, a case was reported in California. Scientists are concerned when looking at the molecular level, as it shows 30 changes in the spike protein, which is how the virus breaks in.  There are about 20 changes in other proteins that would assist in replication and interfering with early immune responses. A specific mutation, called P681H, shared with the alpha variant, which is believed to help the virus transmit from person to person. But we don't actually know yet if it is mor...

 World Health Day marks the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization in 1948. This year's theme is building a fairer, healthier world. "As COVID-19 has highlighted, some people are able to live healthier lives and have better access to health services than others." "We urge leaders to monitor health inequities, and to ensure that all people are able to access quality health services when and where they need them." The WHO is an agency of the United Nations, focusing on the health of the world at large. Countries that have signed the WHO Constitution agree: Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition. The health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and ...

  Today's Google Doodle marks the 142nd birthday of Dr. Wu Lien-teh, a Chinese-Malaysian epidemiologist who invented the surgical face mask.   He was appointed to investigate the Manchurian Plague of 1910, and when he found that it was spread through respiratory transmission, he developed the protection we are still using today. In asking people to wear this new mask and restrict their travel, the disease was under control within four months. And here we are, entering the second year of Coronavirus... Wu was the first student of Chinese descent to graduate from Cambridge University. In 1935, he became the first Malaysian, and first person of Chinese descent, to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine. "A devoted advocate and practitioner of medical advancement, Wu's efforts not only changed public health in China but that of the entire world." USA Today

 We're dropping the "Fun" again as we look at some info regarding the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Researchers in London analyzed the organs of 41 patients who died of Covid-19 between February and April 2020 at the University Hospital of Trieste. They found just under 90% showing characteristics typically seen in pneumonia death, and this could explain why many who recover from the virus have lingering symptoms. What they're seeing is extensive blood clotting in the lung's blood vessels, and a study released earlier this week suggests the virus itself triggers the release of autoimmune antibodies that cause blood clotting. They've also found evidence of syncytia - the fusion of different cells into single large cells.  Lung cells were found to be abnormally large with many nuclei. Further, they discovered RNA of the virus still lurking in the single-celled layer that lines the blood vessels and the surface epithelial cells of the lungs, which might explain l...

Scientists have been working around the clock to understand COVID-19, including how it was initially transmitted.  Snakes have been suggested as the link between bats and humans, but a recent study suggests it was actually pangolins. Most experts agree that bats are a natural reservoir for SARS-CoV-2, but an intermediate host was needed for the transmission. By studying the virus' genome and a sequence of the spike protein - a key protein responsible for getting the virus into mammalian cells - they were able to find similarities in pangolin tissues that are 91% identical to the human virus' proteins. The sequence comparison between human and pangolins showed only 5 different amino acids, versus 19 differences between human and bats. In Chinese medicine, pangolin scales are used for a variety of treatments, including: to promote blood circulation, to stimulate lactation, to drain pus, and to relieve skin diseases.  This trade is part of the reason the ...

Today's Google Doodle honors Ignaz Semmelweis, an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures and hand disinfection.  A timely look back. An Austro-Hungarian physicist born July 1, 1818 - working in Vienna General Hospital in 1847, he was called "The Savior of Mothers" as his hand washing measures drastically reduced the incidence of puerperal fever.  He noticed that the mortality rate was higher with doctors than with midwives, and then realized that many doctors were coming from autopsies into the delivery room.  He proposed the use of chlorinated lime solution before examining pregnant women and the mortality rate dropped from 18% to just 2.2% over a year. His ideas weren't widely accepted until years after his death, when Louis Pasteur confirmed germ theory around 1864. Germ theory states that microorganisms known as pathogens, or germs, can lead to disease through their growth and reproduction within a host. Pasteur's pasteurization exper...

We're dropping the "Fun" this week since we're going to look at the very serious situation of the Coronavirus. Locations with confirmed cases. At this time in the United States, there have been 1,629 reported cases and 41 deaths. Washington alone has 457 cases, the highest in the country. There's a lot of information flying around the internet so I'm only sourcing from the CDC and WHO. Coronavirus itself is not new, but we are currently experiencing a new strain which has been named SARS-CoV-2.  COVID-19 is an abbreviation for Coronavirus 2019.  This, and other so called "betacoronaviruses" originate in bats and it is believed that this new emergence came from an animal reservoir in the Wuhan region of China.  This is the first pandemic of a coronavirus, so there was little research on hand - previous pandemics have been novel influenza viruses. From the National Institute of Health COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, and symp...