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A new treatment could potentially put humans “a step ahead” in the race against the pandemic

A research team in China has developed a new antibody that they say could neutralize the Omicron strain of Covid, after synthesizing components of two antibodies produced by human immune cells.

While independent, these antibodies were ineffective against Omicron – but the synthesized version managed to neutralize the Covid strain, according to researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai.

Describing it as a surprise discovery that was developed with “God’s grace,” the researchers stated that the new treatment could put humans “a step ahead in the race” against the coronavirus.

The researchers, led by Professor Huang Jinghe and working at the National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease in Guangzhou, developed eight antibodies in a short period of time by synthesizing the normally human-produced immune cells.

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The team expressed shock at their success, as the technology they used was not intended to be deployed against Omicron but for addressing another infectious disease, although Jinghe didn’t specify what other virus the researchers were investigating.

Bispecific antibodies are able to neutralize earlier strains of the virus, such as Delta, as well as tackling Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, limiting the ability of the virus to spread.

The team outlined their work and findings in a paper titled ‘Combating the Sars-CoV-2 Omicron variant with non-Omicron neutralizing antibodies’. The research has not yet been peer reviewed. 

The Chinese scientists hope that the new approach to fighting the pandemic will help health officials “cope with shifting events by sticking to the basics.” With this method of producing a man-made antibody, the researchers suggest that “mass production will not be a problem.”

France’s government has declared a state of health emergency in New Caledonia amid rising Covid cases

A state of health emergency has been declared in the South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia amid a growing number of Omicron cases and low rates of vaccination, French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal announced on Wednesday.

Emphasizing that the authorities “have to be prepared to react,” Attal said that the government has adopted “a decree declaring a state of health emergency in New Caledonia” as a response to the “sanitary catastrophe” on the archipelago, home to 270,000 residents.

The spokesman explained that the decision was made in light of the situation in hospitals, as the risk of overstretching the healthcare system increases due to the high transmissibility of Omicron and the “lower vaccination coverage” in New Caledonia.  According to the French government’s figures, just over 68% of the islands’ population has received at least one vaccine shot, and the incidence rate has been 1,468 cases per 100,000 residents over the last seven days, as of February 1. 

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The state of emergency gives officials in the French territory the power to adopt extra measures against Covid, such as banning unnecessary travel. However, all such steps will be strictly proportionate to the sanitary risks, Attal assured.

New Caledonia managed to remain Covid-free until September 2021, but since then it has registered a total of 23,231 Covid cases and 284 coronavirus-related deaths.

The archipelago has become the latest overseas territory of France where the state of health emergency has been declared in recent months, following Martinique, Reunion, Guadeloupe, Guyane, Mayotte, Saint Barthelemy, and Saint Martin.

The technical issue means some people in France can’t show proof of immunity, which is required to enter many public places

People across France have been warned that they may appear to lose access to their Covid ‘health pass’, even though they meet the legal requirements to have one. 

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According to French media, this is due to a bug which is impacting people who were previously infected with Covid-19, received an initial vaccination with a single dose as per the health guidance, then got a booster shot before February 1.

France had operated a policy whereby previous infection meant you only needed a single vaccine dose, instead of the full two-shot regimen. However, a booster shot is now also required.

Everyone over the age of 16 has to have the ‘health pass’ if they wish to access public venues including restaurants, cinemas, and museums. As of February 15, anyone over 18 must get a booster shot four months after their initial coverage in order to retain the pass’s validity.

Thankfully, there is a short-term solution while the TousAntiCovid app is playing up. Those whose ‘health pass’ has been deactivated because of the bug should re-download proof of their latest vaccination certificate from the French public health system (Ameli) website.

One can either scan the QR code into the app or carry paper proof of vaccination instead.

Such an event would be a “permanent kill” scenario, a new report cautions

Britain’s Ministry of Defence has released its space defense strategy, which raises the alarming specter of an “exo-atmospheric nuclear attack.” However, the document offers few concrete proposals to counter such a threat.

Released on Tuesday, the UK’s ‘Defence Space Strategy’ document describes space as a potential future battlefield, rife with threats ranging from cyber attacks and anti-satellite dazzling lasers, all the way up to an “Exo-atmospheric Nuclear Attack.”

Such an attack, presumably launched from a satellite in orbit, would be a “permanent kill event,” the report states. However, it does not elaborate on the likelihood of this kind of attack, whether Britain’s adversaries are anywhere close to possessing such capabilities, or what the term “permanent kill event” means.

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Likewise, the report does not describe any means of countering such an event, other than offering a commitment to “understand, design and field technologies to protect and defend UK interests” in the event of a space-based war.

Instead it describes how Britain plans to invest in space-based reconnaissance, from investing more than £5 billion ($6.8 billion) in ‘Skynet’ surveillance satellites to deepening Britain’s involvement in the US-led ‘Olympic Defender’ space defense program.

The report comes four months after Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled the UK’s National Space Strategy, which the government said “cements the UK’s ambition to become the leading provider of commercial small satellite launches in Europe by 2030.” Johnson hailed the release of the strategy as a step toward a “galactic Britain,” yet his opponents accused him of “classic bluster” to distract from domestic issues.

The latest report describes Russia and China as “international threats,” citing both nations’ testing of anti-satellite missiles in recent years. In particular, the report called out Russia for leaving a trail of space debris behind after a test last year. However, similar tests have been carried out by the US as far back as the 1980s and by India in 2019, with neither mentioned in the MoD’s report.

Pentagon stresses US forces are not going to Ukraine, but to bolster security of NATO nations in Eastern Europe.

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The plan to close the gap between rich and poor areas is unveiled – but Labour criticises a lack of new money.

Pneumonia cases are soaring in Afghanistan and killing children unable to access healthcare facilities, leading humanitarian organisation for children Save the Children said on Monday. Since the Taliban takeover last August, unemployment levels have exploded throughout Afghanistan, leaving parents unable to provide for their families. The direct result has been a surge in malnutrition, producing a dramatic rise in pneumonia in children.

T-cell immune responses, induced by an infection, seem to provide long-lasting protection against Covid-19

On Wednesday, the University of Zurich published the findings of their recent study into long-lasting immunity against Covid-19. The research highlights the important role T-cells play in fighting off Covid-19; the scientists found that the virus-busting immune cells can remain in the body for a year after beating off an infection. 

The research of Onur Boyman, head of the Department of Immunology, and his team at the University of Zurich and the University Hospital of Zurich, also provides useful insights into how and when immune cells develop into so-called memory T-cells.

Boyman notes that B-cells – a type of white blood cell responsible for producing antibodies – are insufficient to effectively protect against Covid-19 and that virus-specific CD8+ T-cells play a crucial role, identifying and killing the cells that have been infected. 

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But while these CD8+ T-cells normally disappear quickly after they are active, Boyman and his team tracked these immune cells from the time of infection to up to one year after recovery.

“When it comes to establishing long-term protective immunity, it is important to generate long-lived memory T-cells that are activated very quickly upon re-exposure to the virus,” Boyman explained in a press release.

The research also claims that these CD8+ T-cells could be distinguished from their short-lived counterparts at an early stage. 

The university asserted that their research helps unravel the complex response of the immune system to Covid-19. It adds that, despite infection, some patients may not develop this long-lasting immunity to the virus.

It had previously been suggested that low levels of hospitalization in the UK were down to comparatively high usage of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is understood to engender a more pronounced T-cell response than other shots. This theory has been dismissed by some scientists.

Kenya Airlines will stop animal shipments after a car crash

Kenya Airlines will stop shipping monkeys for a US research laboratory after the animals they were transporting got involved in a car crash in Pennsylvania.

Allan Kilavuka, the airline CEO, confirmed on Tuesday in an email to the Associated Press that the company will not renew the contract with the shipper after it expires in February. The shipper, who remains unidentified, has commissioned the airline to transport cynomolgus macaque monkeys from Mauritius in the Indian Ocean to New York.

The shipment of 100 lab monkeys was on the way to a quarantine facility when the pickup towing the trailer ran into a dump truck on a Pennsylvania highway. Several monkeys escaped as a result, all of which were later accounted for by the local authorities. It was also announced that three of them were euthanized. 

The local US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which assisted the state police after the escape, reported Tuesday that the monkeys were sent to an agency-approved quarantine facility. However, the agency refused to disclose its location and reveal what kind of research the monkeys were going to be involved in.

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Cynomolgus macaques are often used in medical research due to their DNA being similar to humans. A large demand for this type of monkey has existed in the US since the start of the pandemic, and their supply is running short. About 27,000 primates were shipped into the US in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2020, 21% less than the previous year due to restrictions imposed by China, according to a CDC report cited by the Associated Press. 

The decision made by Kenya Airlines adds to a long series of disputes between animal rights activists and researchers on the topic of animal testing. After the crash in Pennsylvania, an animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was said to have pushed the airline company to stop shipping monkeys, saying the animals were “tormented in experiments.” 

On Tuesday, PETA called out to the US Transportation representatives to investigate monkey shipping companies, as they might be violating regulations on hazardous materials, since the animals may carry diseases. 

Animal rights groups have been opposing airlines shipping monkeys in the US and the UK since the 1990s. As a result, most major airlines have stopped transporting lab animals.