I Got My Second Shot!
And I’m HAPPY!
Moderna, it was. So in appreciation of the woman who helped made it possible, here’s Mitch Benn:
(special thanks to pucklady for the introduction to Mitch)
I’m so happy that I will be able to dance again soon. Oh, what a feelin!
Animals
I mostly link to cat stuff, because I think they are cute, but these warmed my heart. :)
Then finish off with a puppy pic:
Oh, all right. And some kittens!
Found some more — this camera got a little closer than strictly safe…
Wednesday was Michael Palin’s birthday.
(b 1943)
Friday was the birthday of Johannes Brahms
(b 1833)
SCIENCE!
Unilever has partnered with LanzaTech and India Glycols to produce a laundry soap made from industrial carbon emissions—instead of from fossil-fuels.
The innovative shift in production utilizes biotechnologies and a newly configured supply chain between the three partners, who are working together for the first time.
Typically derived from fossil fuels, surfactants are a critical ingredient for creating the foam and cleaning action of many household cleaning and laundry products—from dish soaps to fabric detergents. The new process now allows surfactants to be made using recycled carbon.
Recycled carbon is a key form of renewable carbon and is essential to eliminating the use of fossil fuels.
These Companies Are Working On Covid Vaccines That Could Stop The Next Pandemic, Leah Rosenbaum, Forbes, May 4, 2021.
VBI is now leading a new contingent of companies: smaller biotechs that are focused on creating a pan-coronavirus vaccine that can be effective against all variants of Covid-19, as well as coronaviruses that might have pandemic potential in the future. This is a contrast to the “vanguard 5,” whose next-generation vaccines are currently more geared towards booster shots and specific new variants. In March VBI entered a $33 million partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, also known as CEPI, to develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine that can protect against new Covid-19 variants and other coronaviruses. Clinical trials will start in the second half of this year.
Half a dozen other companies are charting the same course, hoping to be the winner in this second Covid-19 vaccine race. A vaccine that could protect against all variants of Covid-19 could quickly replace the current vaccines, some of which have shown diminished efficacy against variants first discovered in South Africa and Brazil. But the real prize would be a vaccine that could protect against all betacoronaviruses, the family of viruses that also birthed SARS, MERS and varieties of the common cold. “We’ve seen coronaviruses mutate to be humanly transmissible about every 9 years,” Baxter says. “We need to figure out just how wide we can make those goalposts to cover any novel or mutant strain.” ✂️
In other words, instead of looking for the exact spike protein that signals a specific coronavirus infection in the body, VBI wants to teach the immune system to be on the lookout for any similar spike protein. “Instead of having a very targeted approach, we’re trying to broaden it,” Anderson says. “There’s ample data out there that says the virus will find a way to mutate,” he continues, and the company also plans to catch it in the event it tries to disguise itself. So far it looks like their approach might work — in animal testing, the company immunized animals with their pan-coronavirus vaccine and looked to see if these antibodies would recognize a betacoronavirus that they hadn’t seen before. Its researchers chose human coronavirus OC43, the cause of many common colds. Were the new antibodies able to identify it as an infection? “The answer was yes,” says Anderson.
Musica Finale
Lighter Side — you’ll have to page down for the memes, but they are worth it. :D